Going Green online: how higher education institutions use Instagram to communicate sustainability

Abstract

As institutions of higher education increasingly seek to differentiate themselves through sustainability initiatives, social media platforms such as Instagram offer a powerful channel to reinforce these commitments. This study explores the differences in sustainability-related messaging between colleges and universities ranked on the Princeton Review’s Top 50 Green Colleges list and those not included. Drawing on a dataset of more than 4,400 Instagram posts from 30 U.S. institutions posted over a one-year period, we categorize content based on three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social, and financial – and assess differences in post frequency, media type, and engagement. Results reveal that schools on the Green Colleges list post about sustainability significantly more often, particularly in the social and environmental domains, and use a more diverse set of tactics. However, sustainability-themed posts do not uniformly receive higher engagement, suggesting that frequency alone may not drive visible audience interactions. These findings provide actionable insights for institutions seeking to align their Instagram content more closely with their stated sustainability commitments.