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Sustainability: the next wave of transformation PRME Report
To preserve HSG’s position as a leading, integrative business university, it is essential to enshrine sustainability in the organisation both strategically and operatively on a broad basis. This means dealing with environmental problems such as climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as using resources in a sustainable manner, and this in all areas of the University: from the curriculum and co-curricular activities to research and campus management. With its ecological sustainability strategy, HSG pursues the goal of educating its graduates to become entrepreneurial executives who assume responsibility in the face of big environmental problems – and, as a university, of acting as a role model at the same time.
Communicating competencies for sustainable development Decision-making competence and reflection competence, as well as collaborative, problem-solving and critical thinking, play a major part in sustainable development. HSG fosters these skills by action-oriented teaching formats and supports co-curricular activities. Faculty, students and further internal stakeholders work together to enshrine sustainability more robustly in the curriculum. Career events and a mentoring programme are intended to back up students’ increasing commitment to and interest in the issue of sustainability and show them professional perspectives of how they will be able to make contributions to entrepreneurial solutions to future challenges. Numerous researchers at various HSG institutes also take the concept of sustainability into consideration in projects ranging from renewable energies to business models and thus make a contribution to the solution of urgent ques-tions in society, business and politics.
Acting as a role model HSG wants to act as a role model and demonstrate how a climate-compatible future can be developed. By signing the Global Universities and Colleges Climate Letter in October 2019, the University of St.Gallen joined the UN-FCC’s Race to Zero, thus committing itself to becoming climate neutral by 2030 and to integrating ecological sustainability issues into its curriculum, campus, research and social engagement. The Climate Solutions Taskforce set up for this purpose regularly assesses the University’s greenhouse gas emissions. On this basis, students develop innovative ways to reduce emissions in a context of action-oriented learning.
Today’s generation is ready to become active “Sustainability and responsibility are central topics in the curriculum of the University of St.Gallen, not least thanks to our committed students. There were three times more applications than places for the new Managing Climate Solutions certificate programme: a clear sign that today’s generation is ready to become active,” says University President Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ehrenzeller.
