Sustainability

The School's mission

To develop knowledge, educate, and foster independent thinking for a sustainable world

The School has the ambition to be among the international leaders in integrating sustainable development perspectives into education, and to produce research that contributes to private as well as public decision-makers gaining the best possible knowledge base for dealing with societal challenges. This often presupposes interdisciplinary approaches. The fact that the School has a  disciplinary breadth and is part of a broad university are therefore important assets.

In education

The School's impact on societal development as an academic institution depends on the knowledge, skills, and abilities we provide to our students. It is therefore of great importance that our students are prepared and trained to address sustainability-related problems and to make ethical judgements relevant for their future careers. This is to an increasing degree reflected in our program portfolio, even though there is still room for improvement. Since 2013, sustainability perspectives have been included in all undergraduate programs at the School.

Sustainability Days

For the School's programme students, every year during their education a Sustainability Day is arranged as a complement to the sustainability elements within the courses. The Sustainability Days have different complementary focus and themes, and are often visited by external guests, such as small entrepreneurs, larger companies, actors from the public and non-profit sector and researchers from other universities.

The three Sustainability Days at the Bachelor's level have been mandatory since the start in 2013 and focus on challenges, responsibilities and solutions. The Sustainability Days at Master's level have been arranged since 2019 and focus on transition to a sustainable society and sustainable jobs.

Together with the sustainability elements in the regular courses, this gives the students knowledge and tools to be able to in-depth analyze and handle the major issues related to social, ecological and economic sustainability. 

The goal is an integration of sustainability into all education at undergraduate and graduate levels, with the ambition to be at the forefront in comparison with corresponding education nationally and internationally.

The curricula for all programs include learning objectives linked to sustainable development.

Bachelorprogramme in Environmental Social Science

The Programme in Environmental Social Science started in 2001 and integrates social science and environmental science. It was the first of its kind in Sweden and gives the students broad career opportunities. By studying together with science students, the students gain a broad understanding of environmental issues, while specializing in one of five scientific profiles where environmental economics, environmental planning and sustainable business are provided at the School.

Courses at Bachelor's and Master's level

All departments at the School gives courses related to sustainable development. See our courses.

Participation in university-wide sustainability education

The School collaborates with other faculties in sustainability-profiled programmes at Bachelor's and Master's level, like the Master's Programme in Geography and the Sea and Society, Master's Programme.

In collaboration with business and society

The School's ambition that research and education should contribute to a positive development for society at large presupposes an active commitment to contemporary societal development, but also a close collaboration with the surrounding society. Cooperation between partners from different sectors - academic institutions, private companies, public organisations, regulators and civil society - is crucial to building ever more sustainable societies.

The collaboration takes place in many different ways, including in research projects at departments and centers, in education, and in the Partnership Programme. Among other things, the School has developed collaboration with Getinge on sustainable business strategies, with the Västra Götaland region and Getinge on Health Governance and with Volvo Cars on sustainable transport. The School  has also initiated roundtable discussions between leading representatives of companies and organisations and sustainability researchers. Additionally, many individual researchers from the School have been appointed to expert councils and working groups on local, regional, national, and international arenas.

Environment for Development (EfD) is a global network of 13 research centers established in 2007 with the purpose of increasing the use of environmental economics to reduce poverty and increase sustainability in the Global South. EfD contributes to solve the world’s most pressing environmental and development challenges through policy-relevant research, capacity development and policy engagement. EfD’s research addresses the most important sustainability challenges. These are identified in a close dialogue with decision makers at EfD's centers and through continous learning between countries. EfD works actively to reach policy makers and other stakeholders with the research results and contributes thereby to policy making that promotes poverty alleviation, increased equality and sustainable development.

The network is coordinated by the EfD Global Hub, located at the School of Business, Economics and Law. The organization is financed by external funds.

Sustainable campus

Of course, we must practice what we preach, and work constantly to make our business more sustainable. This applies, for example, to the physical environment - where we have solar panels on the roof - and how we arrange our events.

Our campus has ISO 14001 accreditation, together with the entire University of Gothenburg. This means that there is an environmental policy that continuously drives improvements in our environmental work through time-specific goals and annual inspections of the business.

In the ongoing newbuilding project, the School works for environmentally and energy-efficient solutions. The School also strives to increase the number of installations and functions that meet the dual goals of having a positive environmental impact while showing our footprint and our dependence on natural resources. We also prioritise reuse and reconditioning of furniture before new purchases.

When it comes to purchasing goods and services, and waste management, the School continuously works to minimize the environmental impact, both in daily work and at conferences and other events.

The School works for sustainable and climate-smart investments in its financial assets by continuously reviewing and discussing the conditions for investments with the asset managers.