Responsibility and Sustainability has a long history at the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and is integrated into its governance structures. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the sustainability student association oikos, the Institute for Business Ethics (IWE-HSG) and the Institute for Economy and the Environment (IWÖ-HSG) were founded. In 2010, the President’s Delegate for Responsibility & Sustainability role was established, with an official mandate to steer the University’s sustainability activities.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as a guiding framework for social and environmental topics relevant to the University. HSG has been a member of UN PRME since 2010 and produces biennial sustainability reports.
We envision a University of St.Gallen where sustainability is deeply embedded in all aspects of university life. In doing so, we aim to contribute to solving grand sustainability challenges of our times, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequality. This mission guides our actions in transforming HSG towards sustainability.
The HSG Strategic Plan 2025 deeply integrates sustainability in a broad sense as an overarching area and across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. In doing so, HSG aims to embed sustainability in all its core areas of activity, namely teaching (all degree levels), research, societal engagement, as well as campus & operations. Our overarching goals are:
Based on both the HSG sustainability strategy and the selection of strategic SDGs, we defined three action pathways where we are convinced that HSG can make particularly impactful contributions to sustainable development:
“Our deep history with sustainability, rooted in student activism, teaching and research, means that we are well-positioned to take a leading role.”
“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our times. As future leaders in business and society, our students will have to navigate a carbon-constrained world. The MaCS programme prepares them to become part of the solution.”
“With respect to its three missions—education, generation of knowledge and dissemination of expertise for a positive impact on society—our strategy builds on the integration of ecological, social and economic thought and action.”
Integrating sustainability into teaching at all levels of education is an integral part of HSG sustainability strategy, supported by the Delegate's team for Responsibility & Sustainability (R&S). The team offers different support to faculty and programme managers to further integrate sustainability in courses and programmes. In 2019, the certificate programme Managing Climate Solution (MaCS) was established, providing an opportunity for students to supplement their chosen Master’s degree. Launched in 2024, the certificate programme in Integrative Sustainability Management (SuM) enables students to enrich their bachelor studies with additional tools and skills to understand and effectively tackle complex sustainability challenges. Our Executive School offers a broad range of sustainability-related content as well as specific courses on e.g., Renewable Energy Management and Leading Sustainability Transformation.
The R&S team also supports the development of co-curricular activities on sustainability topics: The ECOnnect platform collaborates with and connects students and student organisations with the goal to empower changemakers to co-create a sustainable future for people and the planet. The team also initiated the NextGen Sustainability track as part of the HSG Mentoring programme. Furthermore, it organises regular panel discussions on impactful career paths, and numerous other events.
At least a third of the University's Institutes and Centres conduct research in the area of sustainability addressing topics on the natural environment, ethics, leadership and values, diversity, inclusion, social and responsible innovation, circular economy, and the global south. Over the last couple of years, HSG has increasingly sought out new hires to support its goal to develop sustainability excellence. In addition, the HSG Impact Scholar Community was created in 2020 to connect and support sustainability scholars. In 2022, the HSG joined the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS) to further strengthen research collaboration on sustainability. In 2023, the Circular Lab was launched. As an interdisciplinary and inter-regional platform, it seeks innovative solutions for a circular economy through optimising business models, developing product designs, and supporting the development of sustainable ecosystems.
In 2019, HSG has joined the UNFCCC’s Race to Zero and thereby pledged to become net zero. In 2022, HSG released its first Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting report. Building on this, various initiatives are either underway or planned to reduce HSG’s emissions in the fields of procurement, travel and mobility, infrastructure and energy, general operations, and divestment from fossil fuels. In addition to climate action, HSG is also promoting biodiversity on campus and has been certified for the near-natural design of its environment by the Nature & Economy Foundation since 2007. HSG also runs various projects to strengthen diversity and inclusion on campus, and is a member in various networks and alliances that focus on different aspects of environmental and social sustainability.
For general enquiries, please contact us via sustainability(at)unisg.ch
President's Delegate for Responsibility and Sustainability
