Sustainable Development Policy

 The starting point for the university’s sustainability work is based on:

• international policy documents, in particular the UN's Sustainable Development Goals
• the national environmental goals, primarily the generational goal and goals for limited climate impact
• the Higher Education Act, which emphasises the responsibility of higher education institutions to promote a "sound and healthy environment, economic and social welfare, and justice." (Chapter 1, Section 5).

A central task for the university is to contribute to the involvement of students during their studies and in their professions in building a future sustainable society. In our educational programmes, teachers and students together raise complex and socially relevant issues and take a critical-analytical approach. Furthermore, the ability to identify conflicting objectives and make reflections when it comes to ethical values is developed.

The university's research on sustainable development is a priority. Sustainability research is characterised by questions that require a multidisciplinary approach, innovation, and interaction with the surrounding society. By supporting cross-border collaboration, the diversity of ideas and different perspectives is promoted. This contributes to increased quality in both education and research.

The university is an environmentally certified university and will continue to pursue successful systematic improvement work to prevent and minimise its overall environmental impact and to promote social responsibility in its own operations and in the relationship with external actors, locally and globally. The systematic work is to include the entire university. The Vice-Chancellor and management functions have a responsibility to systematically follow up and promote the university's vision of a sustainable university, ensuring that relevant goals are achieved, that current laws and requirements in the field are complied with, and that the ISO 14001 standard is followed.

The increased integration of sustainable development into the university's activities is to have a holistic perspective, taking into account the social, economic, and ecological dimensions. A prerequisite for long-term success in sustainability work is that the university's employees and students actively contribute to continued development towards being a sustainable university. In order to enable such development, employees are to be given the conditions to work in a sustainable way.

Please note: The policy has been translated from Swedish into English. If the English version differs from the original, the Swedish version takes precedence.