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This paper aims to analyse trends in implementing the main initiatives in the field of environmental management and sustainability in Spanish universities, taking as a reference point the guidelines adopted by a number of universities in countries most committed to sustainable development.

An analysis of information available on the Internet and of data collected from a questionnaire completed by a significant proportion of Spanish higher education institutions was carried out.

The research found that the Spanish university system follows international trends: it possesses permanent working structures, applies a variety of environmental management and sustainability tools and carries out other activities related to the environment and sustainable development. But there still appears to be scope for improvement in some aspects, including to increase the visibility of the efforts in the environmental area, and other aspects such as the varying terminology used to refer to similar tools and processes and, conversely, of the same nomenclature to refer to distinct concepts.

This paper provides new data and updated information on sustainability in Spanish universities and some recommendations for improvement.