UNISINOS, is a Jesuit university in Brazil and is among the top three private universities in the country. At UNISINOS, social and environmental responsibility is an institutional guideline for the design and implementation of plans and policies, at the level of education, research, and extension, and also at the managerial level.
The concept of social and environmental responsibility, as understood by the university, encompasses three major sets of actions and aims at: (a) Recognizing dignity in diversity; (b) Developing, implementing and evaluating policies to overcome social inequalities; and (c) Caring for nature's assets. It has incorporated these ideas within its overall mission, to "build knowledge and train professionals for a sustainable society.”
This institution, that also hosts the Sustainable Society Program within the Humanitas Unisinos Institute, was the first Latin American university in receiving the ISO 14001 certification for its environmental management on campus. Since 2004, the implementation of the requirements of ISO 14001 has been carried out daily, with activities being monitored every six months. The Environmental Management System support projects for communities in the region, with a view of solving specific environmental problems. In this framework the university implements policies for the preservation, conservation and environmental control at its premises.
In addition to offering undergraduate and graduate programs on issues such as Architecture and Urbanism, there are nine graduate programs whose research areas, research groups or projects, deal with sustainability. Directly related to Goal 11, there are two research areas in Architecture and Urbanism: the 'Cities' area, that addresses urban management and the technological processes that allow the management of sustainable environment, and the 'Buildings' area, that addresses sustainable architectural design and focuses on the relationships among new technologies, design and construction processes. In Civil and Mechanical Engineering there are areas focused on minimizing the generation of solid waste, recycling and final disposal of waste, and the management and optimization of the generation and use of energy.
The Extension Program ‘Architecture and Urbanism Model Office’ is a student space for the development of architectural and urban projects and technical consultancy for the local social vulnerable population that does not have access to this type of service. In 2020, the ‘Sustainable Cities Extension Program’, whose objective is to contribute, through projects of different university courses and schools to the achievement of Goal 11, was created.
UNISINOS has promoted the São Leopoldo Science Park – Tecnosinos, home to companies in areas such as Renewable Energy and Environmental Technology. Tecnosinos has its GreenTech Park Program developed to raise awareness and promote sustainable management, offering diagnosis and guided self-implementation plans enabling environmental improvement while adding value to businesses.
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