SustainaBul: The Hague University of Applied Sciences rises to 15th place sustainability ranking
On Friday, May 26th, the SustainaBul ranking was presented during the ‘Groene Peper’, the sustainability event for education of the future. A ranking in which higher education institutions in The Netherlands are rated on sustainability. The Hague University of Applied Sciences rose to place 15th in this year's SustainaBul ranking out of 33 higher education institutions. In 2022 THUAS was in 20th place , and in 2021 we scored 27th. This year Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences won the SustainaBul 2023, followed by VU University Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam. De Haagse Hogeschool warmly congratulates the winners.
Framework for sustainable development
Organised by Students of Tomorrow since 2012, SustainaBul assesses participating educational institutions using a questionnaire divided into the themes of sustainability in research, education, operations and best practices. Sustainability is defined by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Doughnut Economics visual framework for sustainable development – shaped like a doughnut or lifebelt – combining the concept of planetary boundaries with the complementary concept of social boundaries.
The 2023 scores of THUAS
Each educational institution could score a total of 360 points. THUAS received 58,5 points out of the maximum 110 points in the field of education. For research, there were 98.7 (out of the maximum possible score 110) and for the domain business operations we received 64.2 out of 100 points. For best practices, THUAS gained the full score of 30 points. The Hague's total score was 224.5 points.
The total Benchmark can be found here.
Best practices
In addition to the questionnaire, educational institutions also sent in best practices. THUAS submitted three best practices in 2023. The Food Boost Challenge, was one of them. An Initiative where more than 200 students from the Nutrition & Dietetics programme developed a concept to get young people to eat more fruit and vegetables in a sustainable way. Earlier this year, this initiative was already awarded The Pim Breebaart research award presented during THiNKFeST. Another best practice we submitted was our approach to achieving the 2030 zero waste ambitions.
Sustainability at THUAS
Rising in this ranking gives recognition to THUAS’ institutional plan ambition and continued commitment to contribute to a sustainable and just world. This is only possible because we build on sustainability as a THUAS community. The Global Strategy & Community Hub aims to give even more attention and focus to making our university more sustainable. The Hub is working on a sustainability strategy to implement a university-wide approach and embed sustainability in the organisation.
In addition, there are many other sustainability initiatives at THUAS. For example, researchers within Mission Zero are guiding TIS faculty in making their programme curriculums more sustainable. The Global Education Lab helps lecturers integrate sustainability into programmes, and the Green Office is the sustainability platform for and by students.
Every year, participating in SustainaBul provides valuable feedback from the student rankers of Students for Tomorrow. Based on this feedback The Global Strategy & Community Hub can formulate recommendations for the Executive Board in response to the feedback report.
Sustainability is done together
Collaboration and impact-driven efforts make us achieve THUAS’ ambitions on a sustainable and just world. One of the ways THUAS can do this is, is by embedding sustainability in the educational vision and research agenda as well. On Tuesday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 13, from 12-14 hours, thematic tables are organized Introducing Educational Vision themes & contribute a theme of your choice around sustainability and equity. We cordially invite you to join us there to think about and work together toward sustainable education.
More information
For information about SustainaBul please contact The Global Strategy & Community Hub via Veronika Brantova ([email protected]). For insights on how you can apply best practices in education please contact Lucita Couto Gestal ([email protected]).