University environmental social responsibility in Latin America: motivations and barriers from a systematic review

Abstract

University environmental social responsibility (USR) is a strategic approach aimed at integrating sustainable practices that reduce the ecological impact of higher education institutions and contribute to environmental protection. In this context, the objective of this article was to identify and analyze the motivations and barriers associated with environmental social responsibility programs developed by Latin American universities during the period 2020–2024. A systematic review of the literature was conducted, following the PRISMA guidelines, with an analytical, descriptive, and explanatory design. The corpus consisted of 54 scientific articles retrieved from the Scopus, SciELO, and Google Scholar databases, as well as from official websites. The main search term was “university environmental social responsibility,” applied with language filters in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. The results show that university USER programs are based on positive motivations, such as social commitment, the promotion of sustainable development, and the strengthening of ties with the community. However, they face significant structural barriers, including the absence of clear institutional policies, limited financial and human resources, insufficient management support, and an inadequate understanding of the environmental approach. Consequently, it is concluded that the development of university environmental social responsibility in Latin America is still in its infancy, requiring more robust institutional strategies for its consolidation.