In spring 2024, we at the Centre for Environmental Education SEVER interviewed those responsible for working on sustainability at the participating universities as part of the Teachers for a Sustainable Future research project. Let us now look at an example of good practice from Czechia and describe the role of the sustainability coordinator at Palacky University in Olomouc.
Coordinating the topic of sustainability at university level is not a Czech idea; it is an inspiration from abroad. This position at universities can be found especially in the Netherlands, who are leaders in the field. Afterwards, UK, France, Germany and Canada followed this model. If we move eastwards on the map, we find rather isolated local examples.
As part of our research, we interviewed Mgr. Zuzana Huňková, the first sustainability coordinator at Palacky University in Olomouc: „I was the first person who started working on the sustainability agenda at the university. The first task was to create a sustainable development strategy, now we are following the goals of this strategy. We have 15 sectors. We try to have almost everything in there from some operational things like energetics of buildings, waste, green space, etc. But we also deal with it during courses , because that's an equally important part of it and of course it's fundamental for universities. “Zuzana refers to the diversity of her coordinated areas. She mentions the research field, the social sector, the health support for students with specific needs, cooperation across universities and with the city of Olomouc.
She named a specific example of good practice: „In Berlin they had a nice example of lawn mowed partially so that people could comfortably lie down. Now we are introducing that here. “
As she says, teamwork is crucial. „The agenda is developing. It's about coordinating the strategy and the implementation of the goals the university has set. And this is across the whole university, i.e. including the faculties, the rector's office... just across all areas and buildings. That's the duty of the sustainability coordinator. “She mentions the need to connect different departments. As she explains, she cannot be expert in civil engineering, energy and other different areas at the same time. „That function is more about knowing how it's done and who to connect with so that those topics can be moved forward. “Besides, faculty ambassadors also play a key role in successful implementation, „It's great that we have a central sustainability office and it should definitely start like that, but the implementation in those faculties is not easy. Each faculty has its own ambassador and that is the connection we need. We have some strategies, action plans to promote the goal, but we need each faculty to take it in their own way. The ambassador, in addition to being a communicator and having a great overview of what's going on, will have their own customized sustainability action plan (for their faculty).“
The coordinator is in charge of financial support for student organizations. In Olomouc, for example, they contributed to the restoration of the community garden. What else should the coordinator pay attention to? „Active listening. When they (students) come with a request, a plea, it's not thrown under the table, but there's someone who is dedicated to them and tries to help them. “At the same time, Huňková feels that it's about working with students, university staff and academics on a daily basis. „They know who to contact. “The university's aim is to connect everyone to each other: „it shouldn't be separated into students, staff and academics. I think students are the ones who should have the leading role in terms of where the university is heading. That's what we're trying to encourage within our department. “
More information about the project in Czech can be found on our webpage:
Jakub Opršal, Researcher at Centre for Environmental Education SEVER Horni Marsov
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