Finalist

SDG Initiative of the Year Award

UUBS SDG Dashboard

Finalist of the SDG Initiative of the Year Award

Ulster University Business School - United Kingdom

"Transforming Higher Education by Tracking and Reporting Sustainable Impact"


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@UlsterBizSchool
(Ulster University Business School Twitter)
@DrSusannPower
(Dr Susann Power Twitter)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/susannpower
(Dr Susann Power LinkedIn)
@prof_durkin
(Professor Mark Durkin Twitter)
@DrLynseyHollywood
(Dr Lynsey Hollywood Twitter)
#SustainabilityAtUlster
(Hashtag for Twitter or LinkedIn)

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Summary

Demonstrating leadership in Higher Education across the UK and Ireland, Ulster University Business School (UUBS) was the first Business School to adopt the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Dashboard, an online reporting tool collating sustainable practices across the SDGs in research and curriculum content. By partnering with the SDG Dashboard Developers, the Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, USA, implementation of the SDG Dashboard has enabled UUBS to align its teaching, research, partnerships, dialogue, and organisational practices with the sustainable development goals in ways that have a positive influence to businesses and wider society. Alongside seventeen other universities across eight countries, including Brazil, Germany, India, and the United States, the implementation of the SDG dashboard has enabled UUBS to identify the impact of their academic activity across five impact areas validating their thought-leadership in sustainability. Through the development of this reporting tool UUBS demonstrates its strategic commitment to responsible and sustainable management by encouraging academics to think about the sustainable impact of their teaching and research activity.

Key People


Dr Susann Power
Lecturer in Hospitality Management
Hospitality and Tourism Management/ Chair of Sustainability Team,  Ulster University Business School



Dr Lynsey Hollywood
Manager, Food and Drink Business Development Centre
Hospitality and Tourism Management,  Ulster University Business School



Robyn Simpson
Sustainability Engagement and Communications Assistant
Hospitality and Tourism Management/Member of Sustainability Team,  Ulster University Business School



Professor Mark Durkin
Executive Dean of Ulster University Business School
Ulster University Business School



Dr Bronagh Magee
Lecturer in Sustainable Business
Management, Leadership, and Marketing,  Ulster University Business School


Acknowledgements

Prof. David Steingard, Associate Professor, Associate Director of the Pedro Arrupe Center for Business Ethics and the team at the Haub School of Business, St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia.

Images

UUBS SDG Dashboard

SDG Global Dashboard showing global universities with their own Dashboard

Dr Susann Power and Professor Mark Durkin for SDG Dashboard Press Release photo

SDG Dashboard Press Release

Sustainability Committee at SIREN Festival showcasing SDG Dashboard

IMPACT STORY

Impacting lifes

At Ulster University, we pledged our commitment to integrating sustainability into all aspects of operations whether it be through teaching, researching, partnering with other organisations, helping our local community, or increasing awareness in the higher education sector. Through the implementation of our SDG Dashboard reporting tool, we have raised awareness to our staff and researchers on how their activities and outputs directly contribute to the 17 UN SDG Goals and the need for learning and participating in sustainable development. This initiative has encouraged staff across Ulster University Business Schools’ departments to further their contributions to these goals, continue their sustainable development practices and implement SDG teaching into their curriculum in order to educate the next generation of business leaders to be more conscious of the 17 goals. At a faculty level this process has promoted responsible, sustainable management through governance of the Dashboard and as a resource for strategic planning. To be able to complete this project, a full time placement student was employed as a Sustainability Engagement and Communications Assistant to oversee the delivery of the Dashboard and other related initiatives. Through completing this project, the placement student experience allowed for increased knowledge and upskilling in sustainability, international networking opportunities and the production of sustainability communications.

LEARNINGS

Lessons learned

From the outset, senior management commitment, effective communication, and collaboration was necessary for the project to be successful. As a result of senior management commitment, sufficient time and resources were allocated which was coupled with dedication from all departments within the Business School. From web developers to lecturers, a variety of staff were involved in this project to ensure a high standard of organisation in the collection of data across departments. This project could not have happened without our collaboration with the Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph’s University who created this SDG reporting tool and worked alongside UUBS to create our bespoke SDG Dashboard, demonstrating the inherent value of partnerships in achieving a more sustainable environment for Higher Education. If other institutions are seeking to develop their own SDG Dashboard, they should work directly with the team at Saint Joseph’s where they will be provided with information about the tool and help with implementation on their website. Being the first business school in the UK and Ireland to have this standard of SDG reporting, we hope that it encourages other business schools to consider adopting this approach to transform the higher education sector into a force for good.

FUTURE PLANS

What's coming?

Since developing the SDG Dashboard, UUBS has developed a strategy toward sustainability where a new formal UUBS Sustainability Committee has been created. The committee consists of 7 Members, one from each faculty department and its two secretariats. The committee has been allocated a budget to continue making sustainable impacts both internally across the faculty, and externally with organisational partnerships and events. The Dashboard is now updated quarterly, forming part of the faculty’s official Department Board and Faculty Board papers and will be used for making insight driven decisions on areas for advancement in our field. The SDG Dashboard will also play an instrumental part in UUBS’s application in any accreditation applications where our commitment to sustainability will be evaluated. The student sustainability placement role that was initially created as part of this initiative will continue to be recruited for ongoing sustainability related projects and to increase stakeholder engagement with our commitments.

KEY STATISTICS

5000

students impacted

240

SDG related activities reported

150+

UUBS academics impacted

17

SDGs reported on

4

Departments within Ulster University Business School involved in reporting

3

Countries impacted through research and teaching activity

Triple E Awards

The Triple E Awards are a global recognition of efforts toward the quest for entrepreneurship and engagement in higher education. It is the first award to focus specifically on different dimensions of the universities' third mission. Implemented regionally, the Triple E Awards aim to foster change in universities and to emphasize their role in their communities and ecosystems.

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