Register now: CHE Online Forum

On 19 and 20 October 2022, the CHE Online Forum “Strategische Nachhaltigkeit – wie und wozu messen?” (German) will take place. The online forum will be held with the support of CHE Consult, XOLAS and PRME.

Sustainability has become a central challenge for higher education institutions on various levels. A prerequisite for managing sustainability processes based on empirical evidence is the measurement of sustainability. The CHE Online Forum addresses questions of necessity, operationalisation and application as well as opportunities and risks of measuring sustainability strategies.

Global challenges such as advancing climate change, resource scarcity, threatening biodiversity loss as well as inter- and intra-state conflicts and social inequalities threaten present and future life. A comprehensive transformation is needed to put society as a whole on the path to sustainable development. But what role does the institution of higher education play in this context?

If universities want to make a positive contribution to a sustainable societal transformation process, this must relate to several levels: On the one hand, this positive contribution refers to primary performance dimensions of higher education institutions (teaching and studies, pedagogy, research, avoidance of unethical cooperation) and to management and organisation of higher education institutions (e.g. energy and resource management). On the other hand, non-university activities are expected, such as intensified cooperation with primarily local actors from society and business, especially in the form of sustainability-related projects. In addition, students demand a “more open ear” from the respective university management for student concerns as well as active support of student initiatives by the university.

The forum will address these topics in keynote speeches and interactive workshop sessions, from the management of sustainability in universities, the consideration of sustainability aspects in studies and teaching, including sustainable management teaching, as well as in research and transfer. Special attention will be paid to the measurability and measurement of the different aspects of sustainability. Keynote speakers are:

• Prof. em. Dr. Thomas Dyllick, Director at the Institute for Business Sustainability CH-IB, Prof. em. for sustainable management and former Vice President University of St. Gallen,
• Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Fröhlich, President (acting) of the CBS Cologne Business School, and
• Regina Obexer, Senior Lecturer & UN PRME Coordinator at MCI | The Entrepreneurial School