REVIEW article
Front. Sustain. Cities
Sec. Smart Technologies and Cities
Sustainable Development Strategies for Smart Sustainable Campus Operations: Global Trends, Challenges and Opportunities
Aniefon Essien
Eghosa Noel Ekhaese
Daniel Babalola
Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
ABSTRACT: Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) worldwide are increasingly adopting the Smart Sustainable Campus (SSC) model to drive sustainability across campus operations. This systematic literature review (SLR) critically examines global strategies, trends, challenges, and opportunities in SSC implementation, focusing on the five core operational domains: waste management, setting and infrastructure, energy management, water management, and sustainable mobility. Based on the PRISMA Flow Chart, the research examined 90 peer-reviewed publications dated 2015 – 2025, sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Emerald Insight. The findings indicated that, despite breakthroughs already made, notably in energy management and intelligent infrastructure, gaps remain in integrated frameworks, standardised metrics, and comprehensive policy approaches. Financial constraints, technological differences, policy fragmentation, and data privacy are among the challenges common in a developing context. Yet, recent technological advances, such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, digital twins, cross-sector collaborations, and capacity-building efforts, offer a radically new possibility for SSC development. The study provides a detailed roadmap linking SSC operations to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), positioning HEIs as pivotal agents in building sustainable, resilient, and inclusive academic environments.
Summary
Keywords
Energy Management, Smart Sustainable Campus, Sustainable development goals, sustainable mobility, Waste Management, Water Management
Received
16 November 2025
Accepted
04 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Essien, Ekhaese and Babalola. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Aniefon Essien
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.