BlueSky Thinking Summary

University activists forced major environmental change in the 1990s and early 2000s by advocating for sustainability actions in institutions.

Part of the growth from the university environmental movement was the development of these dedicated positions, with sustainability managers leading such efforts within universities.

What started as a grassroots position, normally filled at that time by environmental activists who defined for the role its early goals, became years later institutionalized and underscores specialized environmental studies degrees as sustainability management became entrenched.

Research by Brayden King and Grace Augustine followed these transitions, illustrating that early activists had considerable impact in defining the parameter of that role.

Indeed, as sustainability management became more legitimate, applicants with education backgrounds in environment began to increasingly take on these roles.

This study underlines how social movements can bring about organizational change through an initial phase of activist-driven innovation and then through institutionalization, likely at the cost of the original activist spirit and risk-taking.

It is, therefore, by engaging activists in new roles that innovation could be catalyzed, with positive disruption in organizations desiring transformation.