Higher Education Sector for Halting Biodiversity Loss: Insights for Achieving SDG 15 from Italian Universities

This chapter investigates the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in halting terrestrial biodiversity loss through the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 15 (Life on Land), with a specific focus on Italian universities. Grounded in institutional, stakeholder, and legitimacy theories, the study examines how non-financial disclosure (NFD) documents reflect universities’ actions and initiatives aimed at biodiversity conservation, particularly in relation to SDG target 15.2 on sustainable forest management and ecosystem restoration. Adopting a multiple-case research design, the chapter analyses three public Italian universities selected according to geographical balance, institutional relevance, and commitment to SDG15. An automated content analysis is conducted using Leximancer (version 5) on a dataset comprising sustainability reports and website disclosures published between 2018 and 2023. The findings reveal that while sustainability and SDGs are prominent themes in universities’ disclosures, biodiversity and SDG15-specific actions are weakly articulated and lack conceptual centrality. Teaching, research, and community engagement emerge as the main channels through which universities contribute to biodiversity protection; however, these contributions are not consistently or explicitly reported. The chapter highlights a significant gap between universities’ declared commitment to SDG15 and the clarity, depth, and effectiveness of their biodiversity-related disclosures. It concludes by emphasising the need for more structured, transparent, and standardised NFD practices—aligned with emerging biodiversity reporting frameworks—to enhance accountability, stakeholder understanding, and the legitimacy of HEIs’ contributions to halting biodiversity loss.