Sustainability
FSS MU places great emphasis on specific and practical steps in the field of reducing the negative impact on the environment and sustainable development.
Since the beginning of 2020, the FSS MU Sustainability Working Group has been in operation, which is an advisory body to the Dean of the Faculty and is composed of three academic staff and three students (all nominated by the FSS MU Academic Senate) and one member of the faculty administration (nominated by the faculty bursar). It meets several times a year, debates proposals for individual measures and thinks about further procedures (email: udrzitelnost@fss.muni.cz).
The primary objective of the Committee on Sustainability at FSS MUNI is to foster and consolidate a culture of sustainability within the Faculty of Social Sciences in its broadest sense. We define sustainability as a multidisciplinary challenge transcending traditional economic efficiency and environmental building management boundaries. We strongly believe that the faculty should serve as a forum for open discourse on contemporary issues regarding sustainability and their impact on our future. Hence, our group aspires to serve as a conduit for these discussions.
Acknowledging the diversity of perspectives and approaches to sustainability, we regard such magnitudes as a source of strength. As a collective, we are committed to proactively identifying and addressing key contemporary issues, not merely reacting to external stimuli. Our endeavours are based on the principles of transparency and inclusivity, with a strong commitment to listening to and addressing the proposals and concerns of all stakeholders, including students, academic staff, administrative personnel, and the public.
Our overarching goal is to inspire reflection and action in the realm of sustainability and contribute to cultivating a solid and meaningful academic environment that mirrors and promotes our shared values and objectives. We are dedicated to sharing knowledge and working collaboratively to ensure that sustainability not only permeates every facet of our academic life but also serves as a guiding principle in shaping the future trajectory of our faculty aligned with the global sustainability agenda.
Consequently, the essence of our work revolves around:
- Providing advisory guidance to the dean in pivotal decision-making processes.
- Direct involvement in shaping strategic frameworks for sustainable development of FSS MUNI.
- Encouraging critical dialogue on the consequences of our actions on society in its fundamental meaning.
- Supporting essential topics regarding sustainability within the faculty's public domain to spread awareness and engagement among the faculty community.
University level
Beyond the faculty level, Masaryk University is taking a number of steps that have a direct impact on faculty sustainability.
In 2020, MU purchased green electricity for the first time on the Czech-Moravian Commodity Exchange in Kladno.
In autumn 2020, it became a member of the CSR Stakeholder Platform under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, making it one of the first organisations in the country to adopt and take over measures taken by the government or individual ministries in relation to sustainable development in the country.
In 2021, MU ranked 131st out of 956 universities in the GreenMetric World University Ranking, which evaluates the world's universities in relation to their CSR and sustainability activities and improved by 100 places year-on-year.
In May 2022, MU was awarded the Innovator of the Year 2021 award in the field of public procurement in the Czech Republic for the public contract for the selection of a waste management provider for MU. Thanks to this, all municipal waste generated at the university is currently being reused and does not end up in landfills.
MU's dynamic purchasing system takes into account the environmental friendliness of individual products (a criterion that RMU's Procurement Department takes into account when awarding public contracts).
Faculty level
Since September 2019, the following specific improvements have been made in the area of sustainability at FSS:
- the ceiling on the top floor of the faculty building was insulated, thus closing the last weak point of the building in terms of energy leakage;
- the heating temperature of the building has been reduced by one degree Celsius, thus permanently reducing the energy needed for heating by about 6%;
- smart thermoregulating heads were installed on the heating elements in the corridors and toilets, saving about 850 GJ of heating energy per month;
- Modern energy-saving LED luminaires were installed during the renovation of six classrooms; the old luminaires were dismantled and will be used for spare parts, which will help extend the life of the existing luminaires;
- the faculty is purchasing appliances that are labelled as energy-saving when purchasing new appliances;
- The faculty stopped producing its own promotional items, and also significantly reduced the use of university promotional items;
- catering does not use plastic disposable utensils at faculty events;
- waste is sorted at the faculty; the amount of mixed municipal waste has been significantly reduced;
- In 2021, the scholarship programme for student projects in support of cultural and social activities was newly extended to explicitly include the area of sustainability;
- the accessibility and availability of the bike room for all staff and PhD students was newly improved in 2021
- significant progress has been made in the area of computerization of administration (contracting, stock-taking, guides, etc.), with the faculty striving for a paperless office;
- enrolment in all forms of study is done online, which eliminates the need to travel to Brno and the need to deal with these matters on paper;
- confirmation of study is issued only electronically.
- Do you have an idea where to take the faculty further in this direction? Contact us at udrzitelnost@fss.muni.cz and we will discuss your idea at the earliest opportunity.