A framework for the management of environmental information in Higher Education Institutions

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are not immune to the global environment problems. An increasing awareness of the environmental responsibilities of HEIs has led researchers to investigate the role of environmental information and Environmental Management Information Systems (EMISs) in HEIs. EMISs play a major role in environmental management and environmental decision making in HEIs. Internationally, an increasing number of HEIs are embracing the concept of ‘sustainable HEIs’ by undertaking green campus initiatives. HEIs often use diverse information systems, some of which are manual systems, proven to be inefficient and this gives rise to redundant and inconsistent databases which result in non-compliance with regulations, confusion and lack of co-ordinated effort. There is therefore need for an integrated, comprehensive software system and framework which can assist with the efficient management of environmental information at South African HEIs. This study fills a gap in the field of environmental sustainability at HEIs as the evaluation of existing sustainability programs has shown common weakness such as: Failure to effectively set baselines, flaws in data acquisition and management and missing documentation. The aim of this study is to propose a framework for Environmental Information Management (EIM) in HEIs. The framework includes guidelines related to the components of the framework which can also be used to perform a gap analysis to facilitate the improved design of effective and efficient EIM processes and data stores. The Design Science Research (DSR) methodology is the research methodology used in the development of the two artifacts of this study namely: The EIM framework for HEIs and an EMIS prototype to serve as proof of concept. Problem identification and motivation was the first activity of the DSR which was done through a rigorous literature review and an investigation and evaluation of extant systems. This resulted in the design of an initial EIM framework for HEIs. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) was the HEI used as the case study. The EIM framework was applied at NMMU and this enabled the researcher to understand the current As-Is EIM processes at NMMU and this resulted in clear objectives of a solution. The EMIS prototype (data warehouse) was then designed and implemented based on the theoretical framework. Three sets of evaluations were done to determine the acceptance of the EIM framework for HEIs and the performance of the EMIS prototype. The EIM framework was generally positively accepted and minor suggestions were made. An updated version of the EIM framework was proposed and evaluated. The experimental evaluation results showed that the EMIS prototype was efficient and effective. The contribution of this study is an EIM framework for HEIs and an implementation of an EMIS (EnviroDW) at NMMU that could be utilised by other HEIs