According to Magdalena and Debra (2008), efforts have been made at universities, in organizations, in governmental educational bodies, at international conferences to address sustainable issues. Government and media actively engage in debate on a number of environmental issues and consumers around the world more alert and increases their ecological awareness and concern (Felita & Yelena, 2013). However, the interminable discussion of the definition of ‘sustainability’ and its misconceptions is daunting and the concepts not readily understood even by many of the academics fostering the debate (Filho, 2000).
The environment has primacy in this take on sustainability, and that has been our traditional approach. However, by touching sustainability’s …show more content…
(2003), there was a distinct necessity for the global community to address the struggle that developing countries faced between combating environmental damage caused by a acute poverty and effectively developing their weak economies. Malaysia, which is at an intermediary stage of development, is facing tremendous challenge in ensuring sustainable development. Urban air quality, river water quality, deforestation, household wastes and hazardous waste are some of the examples of environmental issues faced by the nation (Aini et al., 2003). Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng, Pahang is a typically example of sustainable issues in Malaysia which encompasses environment, social and economic pillars. The project will contribute towards increasing Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP). It is reported that the plant may generate up to 1% of the nation’s GDP (Gholamreza et al., 2011). However, its economic contribution to our economy is still debatable. The truth is, it had generated enormous volumes of radioactive waste and toxic and it is linked with serious environmental pollution. Besides, the location of LAMP is in a densely populated area with 700,000 people living within a 20 kilometre radius. If the waste is to be stored in Malaysia, it might have possible negative effects on the residents and endanger the environment. Exposure to such radioactive material is hazardous. Radiation can cause or trigger cancer in humans in the long term …show more content…
Because universities are educating people that will be managing and developing society’s future institutions, higher education has a responsibility to increase student knowledge about importance of sustainability (Earl et al., 2003). Universities in Malaysia expressed a commitment to implement sustainable practices when only a few universities were moving toward creating a sustainable campus (Mohd Zulhanif et al., 2011). Besides that, campus physical development planning in Malaysia is less sensitive to change and does not satisfy the needs of students on campus, even though they are the primary ‘clients’ in campus (Mohd Tajuddin, 2003). Universities act as a channel or agents of raising awareness of sustainability among students. An understanding of student’s perception of sustainability may give insight into whether or not and how they are likely to engage in sustainable practices (Emanuel & Adams, 2011). Therefore, this research is intends to study the sustainability knowledge level and perception of students of University of Putra Malaysia towards sustainability. Besides, this research also aimed to know how these two factors will influence the student’s commitment to participate in sustainable