Citation :

Masao Tsujimoto, "Exploring Organizational Growth and Environmental Conservation in Universities in the UK, the US, and Canada," International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 1-22, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V13I4P101

Abstract

This study explores how universities in the UK, the US, and Canada can achieve organizational growth alongside environmental conservation through a cross-national analysis. Primary datasets on management performance and environmental impacts have been drawn from 91 universities in these three countries, selected from the top 150 institutions in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025. Annual data from 2019 to 2023 are analyzed separately, covering the COVID-19 period. Regression analyses grounded in the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis confirm a series of turning points in operating Revenue Per Area (Rev/Are), ranging from USD 3.252 Billion to 3.922 Billion/Km², At Which Co₂ Emissions, Energy Consumption, and water usage per kilometer (CO₂/ARE, ENR/ARE, and AQU/ARE) begin to decline. The results suggest that the EKC pattern in higher education is shaped by three interrelated dimensions: pressures and motivations to achieve higher rankings and evaluation scores assigned by external organizations; universities’ positioning as both fund recipients and investors; and a growing emphasis on social engagement and contribution. Reaching these REV/ARE thresholds provides an empirical benchmark for verifying the EKC hypothesis and demonstrates a feasible trajectory through which universities can actively achieve organizational growth alongside environmental conservation, thereby advancing ongoing discussions in environmental economics and higher-education management.

Keywords

Environmental Economics, University Governance and Management, Environmental Disclosure, University Rankings, and EKC Hypothesis.

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