Sustainable development and responsibility

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences’ four promises on the road to sustainable development and responsibility:

1. Our higher education community is responsible and promotes sustainable development
2. We train experts who promote sustainable development
3. Our RDI activities produce solutions to sustainability challenges
4. Carbon-neutral university by 2030

Sustainable development and responsibility for more than 10 years

SAMK has been promoting sustainable development in an organised and continuous way for more than 10 years. SAMK’s first sustainable development action plan was launched in 2012.

SAMK has signed its own environmental policy and joined the town of Pori as a climate partner. The agreement between the city of Pori and Satakunta University of Applied Sciences was signed in 2017. The roof of the Pori campus has solar power systems with a combined output of about 30 kW. The systems are used in both teaching and research.

The strategic goal of SAMK is to be carbon-neutral by 2030. Sustainability and responsibility affect all operations. Responsibility will be reflected in SAMK’s values and operations more and more strongly. SAMK is responsible for educating skilled workforce for the needs for modern and multidisciplinary working life in Satakunta region and nearby regions, as well as in selected fields throughout Finland.

SAMK’s programme for sustainable development and responsibility has been created in cooperation with the staff and the student organization SAMMAKKO. The measures of the programme promote sustainable development and responsibility at SAMK. The work is continuous and development activities are carried out one step at a time. New objectives are constantly being added to the programme and the it’s measures are monitored annually in the management review.

Responsibility means that we take into account the direct and indirect effects on the surrounding society in all our activities.

Sustainable development means ecologically, socially, culturally and economically sustainable development.

Sustainability and responsibility development group

SAMK has a sustainability and responsibility development group. The group’s tasks are:

• To monitor and, if necessary, update SAMK’s sustainability and responsibility programme.
• Ensure that students and staff are equipped with sustainability and responsibility skills.
• Monitor
  • the implementation of sustainability and responsibility in SAMK’s strategy,
  • how RDI activities respond to sustainability and responsibility,
  • how SAMK acts as a responsible economic operator and investor; and
  • SAMK’s achievement of carbon neutrality by 2030.