Governance
Objectives and measures of the Sustainability Strategy in the area of governance
In this video, Prof. Dr Georg Pohnert explains measures of the Sustainability Strategy.
In order to effectively embed sustainability into research, teaching, knowledge transfer, and operational practices, we need to build a University-wide culture of collaborative innovation. Our pathway towards becoming a sustainable university is a collective learning process that can benefit from the diversity of our members and their skills.
However, this diversity can also pose a challenge to our sustainability governance: It requires us to engage stakeholders with diverse interests, role perceptions and understandings of sustainability in continuous dialogues and involve them in our decisions. This process can only succeed if it is transparent, respectful and open in terms of its outcome.
If our University is to make a lasting contribution to sustainable development, we need to adapt our organizational structure and processes to deliver this task. We will need to strengthen internal structures that pool our expertise and the commitment of all stakeholders involved. We will also need to support innovations and exnovations in everyday university life (i.e. transitioning away from unsustainable infrastructures, technologies and practices).
This task will also require a central coordination point that navigates our central and decentral activities along with a suitable strategy to communicate our sustainability efforts. One way our efforts to embed sustainability into our institutional structures will be visible to the outside world is by forming new alliances that promote societal and environmental transformations.
In order to effectively implement sustainability goals and permanently embed this topic at our institution, the University pursues three overarching aims, each of which results in further objectives and measures.
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G.1.1 Friedrich Schiller University Jena strengthens central and decentral structures in order to deliver sustainable development at our institution.
Sustainable development in higher education happens at different organizational levels. These levels often have context-specific requirements and very different options for actions at their disposal. In order to coordinate all these diverse activities and generate synergy effects, we will need to strengthen, integrate and create both centralized and decentralized structures.
We aim to permanently embed sustainability into our structures and to create contact points for interested University members.
- G.1.1.1 Continuation of the Senate’s existing Sustainability Working Group, chaired by the Executive Board, which deals with strategic aspects of sustainability
- G.1.1.2 Establishing the Green Office as a central contact point for sustainability matters at our University
- G.1.1.3 Establishing an environmental management system and developing a climate protection concept
- G.1.1.4 Introducing Sustainability Representatives at interested faculties to develop sustainability strategies that are relevant for specific subjects or research cultures
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G.1.2 Friedrich Schiller University Jena is committed to promoting the implementation delivering and further developmenting of its Sustainability Strategy through qualification opportunities and knowledge management measures.
The journey towards becoming a sustainable university often starts with committed individuals or small groups actively engaged in sustainability. However, as a dynamic and complex organization, we are reliant on systematically professionalizing our staff and on safeguarding the expertise we have gained.
We therefore aim to offer our staff more sustainability training and to develop a dedicated knowledge management structure.
- G.1.2.1 Offering training opportunities for decision makers in academic and non-academic areas
- G.1.2.2 Encouraging all staff to participate in sustainability training and raising awareness among senior staff to create the freedom required to do so
- G.1.2.3 Developing a concept for a knowledge management structure dedicated to sustainability
- G.1.2.4 Developing a regular sustainability briefing for decision makers
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G.2.1 Friedrich Schiller University Jena works with its partners in research and academia to promote sustainable development in higher education.
In order to improve the framework conditions of research and higher education policies that promote sustainable development at our University, it is essential that we network and articulate shared interests with other higher education and research institutions. We strive to mobilize existing networks for sustainable development in higher education and to build new alliances, especially at a regional level.
- G.2.1.1 Building a regional network for sustainability in higher education
- G.2.1.2 Reviewing synergy potentials of sustainable development in higher education in existing national and international university cooperation
- G.2.1.3 Strengthening policy engagement to improve the framework conditions for sustainable development in higher education
- G.2.1.4 Regularly analysing good sustainability practices at other universities
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G.2.2 Friedrich Schiller University Jena encourages its members to act sustainably and creates a climate that promotes innovation.
Delivering our Sustainability Strategy is a task that requires the collective effort of all members at our University. In order to enable our academic and non-academic staff and students to contribute their skills and ideas effectively, we need to offer attractive and target group-specific communications and accessible engagement opportunities.
On our pathway to becoming a sustainable university, we strive to harness the diversity within our community as best as possible and to create a climate that makes everyone feel valued and promotes innovation.
- G.2.2.1 Regularly informing all university members about current sustainability activities
- G.2.2.2 Running university-wide events such as themed days and weeks on sustainability in everyday university life
- G.2.2.3 Creating a central digital platform for sustainable development in higher education that encourages people to exchange ideas and submit suggestions for improvement
- G.2.2.4 Annual funding call for projects (especially student projects) that identify concrete potentials for improvement in our operations and develop sustainable solutions
- G.2.2.5 Delivering engagement formats to further develop our Sustainability Strategy
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G.2.3 Friedrich Schiller University Jena is committed to offering good employment and working conditions for its academic and non-academic staff.
Good employment and working conditions are vital to ensuring that our staff can effectively contribute to our journey of becoming a sustainable university. This does not only include avoiding precarious employment relationships or promoting work environments free of discrimination. We also need to ensure that our staff can actively contribute to the sustainable development of our University during their working hours.
We therefore aim to further improve our employment and working conditions and create the freedom required for sustainability engagement.
- G.2.3.1 Evaluating and further developing our ‘Staff Development Concept for Academic Staff and Early Career Researchers’ and continuing to deliver the measures specified including non-academic staff
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G.3.1 Friedrich Schiller University Jena is committed to driving its sustainable transformation and to ensuring that it delivers its Sustainability Strategy.
The holistic nature of our Sustainability Strategy includes objectives geared towards short-term changes and long-term transformations. This requires comprehensive monitoring as well as the networking and engagement of all stakeholders involved. We aim to make our delivery process transparent and binding and will communicate that delivering this strategy requires a collective effort of all members at our University.
- G.3.1.1 Regularly publishing a sustainability report to show university members what has been achieved to date
- G.3.1.2 Submitting an annual report to the Executive Board and Senate reviewing our progress and actions required
- G.3.1.3 Continuing to develop this strategy collectively and resubmitting it to the Senate after three years
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G.3.2 Friedrich Schiller University Jena is committed to the sustainable acquisition of financial and human resources needed to deliver this strategy.
Delivering the objectives and measures set out in this strategy requires both human and financial resources. We therefore aim to provide the resources needed to implement this strategy and to acquire additional funding to help us become a sustainable university.
- G.3.2.1 Seeking to have sustainability efforts at higher education institutions recognized by the Thuringian Ministry for Economic Affairs, Science and Digital Society
- G.3.2.2 Systematically reviewing and applying for funding for our sustainability activities at federal, national, and EU level
- G.3.2.3 Establishing an internal sustainability fund to finance sustainability measures
Information
This spreadsheetThis link requires a loginde (German only) contains details of the objectives and measures in each of the five areas and provides an insight into the current status of implementation. It also lists the parties involved and examples of best practice (updated in March 2024).