This study aims to expand knowledge and provide further insights on how education for sustainable development (ESD) has been integrated into programmes at higher education institutions (HEIs) in Portugal.,A questionnaire survey was given to key actors in charge of sustainability implementation at each Portuguese public university. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 13 of the survey respondents and the data were analysed.,Results showed that Portuguese public universities have their own strategies and policies on ESD, leading them to introduce initiatives arising from their proactiveness rather than governmental edicts. Some universities implemented ESD planning and beneficial “green” practices such as waste separation and recycling and ways to reduce energy consumption that can be a result of the improvement after the United Nations Decade 2005-2014. However, these actions seem to have been taken in isolation and not holistically integrated. Universities face many barriers including lack of funding, not properly trained people and inept government policies. They also must overcome challenges in implementing ESD.,This research into the implementation of ESD has a national scope; the findings should be interpreted only in a Portuguese university context despite the high number of interviewees.,The study has increased knowledge, provided further insights on how ESD has been integrated at HEIs and provided examples of integrated practices at Portuguese universities. A Sustainability4U platform was proposed for enhancing awareness of the need for increasing sustainable development.,This study contributes to defining a country’s profile and how to implement sustainability in HEIs. The importance of obtaining information from key actors in sustainability at Portuguese public universities was highlighted.

中文翻译：

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大学就实施可持续发展挑战大声疾呼

这项研究旨在扩大知识并就如何将可持续发展教育（ESD）纳入葡萄牙高等教育机构（HEIs）的计划中提供进一步的见解。对每个负责可持续发展实施的关键参与者进行了问卷调查葡萄牙公立大学。还对13位受访者进行了半结构化访谈，并对数据进行了分析。结果表明，葡萄牙公立大学在ESD方面有自己的策略和政策，导致他们引入主动性而不是政府法令。一些大学实施了ESD计划和有益的“绿色”实践，例如废物分离和回收以及减少能源消耗的方法，这可能是2005-2014年联合国十年之后改善后的结果。然而，这些行动似乎是孤立地采取的，而不是整体整合的。大学面临许多障碍，包括缺乏资金，训练有素的人员以及无能的政府政策。他们还必须克服在实施ESD方面所面临的挑战。尽管受访者人数众多，但研究结果仅应在葡萄牙大学的背景下进行解释。该研究增加了知识，提供了更多关于HEI如何整合ESD的见解，并提供了葡萄牙大学整合实践的示例。提议建立一个Sustainability4U平台，以增强人们对增加可持续发展的必要性的认识。这项研究有助于确定一个国家的概况以及如何在HEIs中实现可持续性。强调了在葡萄牙公立大学中从关键人物那里获取信息对可持续发展的重要性。