Biting the League Table that Feeds: Reflections on Managerialism at Work within UK University Sustainability Agendas
David R. Jones
DOI: 10.2190/WR.17.3-4.i
Abstract
The aim of this article is to explore the institutional impact of ecological sustainability performance league tables on current university agendas. It focuses on a narrative critique of one such league table, the UK's "Green League Table," compiled and reported by the student campaigning NGO, "People and Planet," annually between 2007 and 2013, through the popular and academic press. This article offers the proposition that such league tables could be acting as a hegemonic institutional mechanism for social legitimacy through universities' desire to show that environmental issues are effectively under control. It proposes that the espoused "carbon targets imperative" and "engage- ment" eco-narratives can serve as a form of deception by merely embracing the narratives as rhetorical devices rather than as a reflection of or an impetus for proactive, reflexive action. The article argues that this overarching managerial focus on sustainability league table position contributes to the broader ethical, social, and political tensions and inequities of universities, while satisfying the exclusive self-interest of a growing legion of "carbon managers," "sustainability managers," and "environmental managers," in satisfying the neoliberal institutional drive coming from their vicechancellors.
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