Emerging areas in research on higher education for sustainable development – management education, sustainable consumption and perspectives from Central and Eastern Europe

• HESD has become a differentiated research field.
• There are emerging areas in HESD research which have to be discussed more intensively.
• There is still too limited research on measuring learning outcomes.
• More research in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Africa, Asia and Latin America is needed.
• Strategies for sustainable organisational change have to be prioritised.

Management education for sustainable development, sustainable consumption in higher education institutions, and higher education for sustainable development in Central and Eastern Europe can be considered as three highly relevant emerging areas in research on higher education for sustainable development. The transformation of management education to meet the increasing societal demands for responsible business has been reinforced in the light of the current economic situation. In this context, it is explored which competencies are needed for tomorrow's business professionals and which concepts and approaches are useful to foster these competencies. With regard to sustainable consumption, several universities have initiated creative projects that have transformed campus life and have had an impact on staff's and students' attitudes and behaviour. Moreover, initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe show interesting developments, for example how sustainability issues have been integrated into the curriculum, particularly in the context of intense coal mining as well as urban planning. Thus, this Special Volume of the Journal of Cleaner Production presents the current progress in concepts and practices in the three emerging areas management education for sustainable development, sustainable consumption in higher education institutions, and higher education for sustainable development in Central and Eastern Europe, which to date have not been intensively discussed in the scientific discourse on higher education for sustainable development. In an overall manner, the Special Volume provides evidence that the following issues are of particular importance for future research and development in higher education for sustainable development: measuring learning outcomes; accounting for different geographical, political and cultural contexts for higher education for sustainable development; and prioritising strategies for sustainable organisational change.