Hanze and sustainability: where do we stand?

As the new academic year gets under way, Hanze continues to work steadily towards its sustainability ambitions in education, research and our operations. A good moment to take stock.

Earlier this year, Hanze was awarded silver in the Sustainabul, the national sustainability ranking for higher education. The ranking, organised by Studenten voor Morgen (Students for Tomorrow), places educational institutions into gold, silver or bronze categories based on their sustainability performance. 

Joanne Boonstra, Sustainability Programme Manager at Hanze: "The real value doesn't lie in a high position on a league table, but in the insights that show where we're making an impact and where we still have steps to take when it comes to sustainability." 

What's going well? 

Hanze achieves gold in the categories of vision and environment. Together with regional partners, the university of applied sciences is working on concrete solutions to societal challenges, including through practice-based research that contributes to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Petra Smeets, member of the Executive Board: "With our new Strategic Plan, we've made a deliberate choice to use the SDGs increasingly as our compass. This gold rating shows that we're putting that ambition into practice every day, together with our students, staff and partners." 

What could be improved? 

In the categories of curriculum, professional development, research and social sustainability, Hanze scores silver. In pedagogy and didactics, and in operations, it scores bronze. 

Renate Comou, board member responsible for the SDGs: "To truly realise the ambitions set out in our Strategic Plan, we're continuing to actively keep sustainability on the organisation's agenda. Together with all the university's directors, we've drawn up a shared vision on the Sustainable Development Goals. Building on that, we've set out our ambitions in an implementation agenda that will guide our education, research and operations in the years ahead." 

Sustainability in education and research 

Embedding the SDGs in education and research earns a silver score. Hanze is working on building a broader overview of where and how the SDGs are already being addressed within programmes and research, including through pilots with a self-assessment tool at various degree programmes.  

Emil Bosloper, Project Leader for Education and Research: "It's great to be able to bring together good examples from across our teaching and make them visible. Lecturers tell us it offers valuable insights and gives them new ideas for integrating sustainability even further into their teaching." 

Sustainable education isn't only about curriculum content, but also about the way students learn: through activating teaching methods, interdisciplinary collaboration and attention to societal issues. In this respect (pedagogy and didactics), development is still in its early stages, resulting in a bronze score. In the coming years, we will build on this further through the implementation of our Hanze Learning Concept. As for staff professional development: Hanze was one of the first universities of applied sciences to offer training in sustainable development as part of lecturer professionalisation, although the number of participants remains limited. 

Sustainability in operations 

With a roadmap for circularity and sustainability and a new travel expenses scheme, Hanze is taking concrete steps in its own operations. On themes such as water conservation, circular operations and sustainable mobility, there's still ground to be gained — a picture that, according to the Sustainabul report, applies to many universities of applied sciences. 

Simon Snapper, Procurement & Supplier Management Manager: "We expect Hanze to make progress on all these themes in the years ahead. That requires not just a well-worked-out plan on paper, but also a change in behaviour and choices from all of us." 

Social sustainability was included in the assessment for the first time this year and earns Hanze a silver score. Since 2021, the university has been actively committed to diversity and inclusion. Here too, we're taking the next step. Alet Denneboom, Diversity & Inclusion Programme Manager: "A project is currently under way to ensure our policy is genuinely embedded and translated into structural implementation with measurable impact."