Martha Patricia Díaz Limón, Jairo Agustin Reyes-Plata, Ilane Hernandez-Morales, Desalegn Yayeh Ayal, Ulisses M. Azeiteiro, Henri-Count Evans, Inga Grinfelde, José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra, Jasenka Gajdoš Kljusurić, João Carlos Correia Leitão, Chunlan Li, Newton R. Matandirotya, Bethwel Mutai, Gustavo J. Nagy, Thierry Razanakoto, Jame Schaefer, Goran Trbic, Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga, Sane Pashane Zuka, Charles Galdies, Adriana Consorte-McCrea, Francisco Platas, Mittul Vahanvati, Pedi Obani, Safwatun Nida, Lucas Gabriel Zanon, Mayara Régia Sousa de Melo, Alison Glover, Roman Vakulchuk
Higher education institutions play a pivotal role in fostering innovation to address climate change, through the promotion of sustainable development initiatives within university incubators. This is particularly significant in Central Mexico, a region characterized by agroindustrial and manufacturing activities. While many universities in the region have integrated sustainability into their academic curricula, a gap remains in recognizing the relationship between innovation for sustainable development and climate change in student-led initiatives. University incubators serve as crucial platforms that link student ideas to innovation and investment, accelerating the transformation of these projects into successful ventures. However, these incubators often lack robust criteria for assessing projects based on their impact across the three dimensions of sustainable development: environmental, economic, and social. This research examines the potential and challenges of university incubators in Central Mexico as they integrate Sustainability evaluationsustainability evaluation criteria, with a particular emphasis on climate change mitigation actions. Through interviews with key stakeholders responsible for university incubators, three significant findings emerged: (i) climate action, as a facet of sustainable development, is largely absent from the core philosophy of these incubators; (ii) incubators could better utilize the interdisciplinary nature of their institutions to foster the skills necessary for projects focused on sustainability and climate action; (iii) there is a critical need to design and implement comprehensive tools for evaluating projects based on sustainability and climate change criteria. In conclusion, enhancing both human and institutional capacities is essential to fully understanding the impacts and opportunities of incubators in advancing sustainable development projects that support climate action. This study underscores the urgent need for a paradigm shift in how university incubators operate, with a specific focus on sustainability and climate change mitigation. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
Institute of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Engineering, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava, Latvia; Center for Sustainable Development (Greens), Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul), Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil; School of Urban and Regional Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Centre, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Kgotso Development Trust, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; CERED, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar; Marquette University, Milwaukee, United States; University of Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico; University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Land Economy, University of Malawi, The Polytechnic, Blantyre 3, Malawi; Institute of Earth Systems, University of Malta, Msida, Malta; Academy for Sustainable Futures, Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom; Casa de Cultura de la UAEMéx en Tlalpan, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico; School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom; Science Education Department of Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil; State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil; The Open University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo, Norway; Laboratorio Interdisciplinario de Sostenibilidad, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Unidad León, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, León, Guanajuato, Mexico; Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa Univesity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; The Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal; Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Eswatini, Manzini, Kwaluseni Campus, Matsapha, South Africa
