The School of management Fribourg became an important player in sustainability at a national level

For several years, the HEG-FR has been very engaged in teaching, consulting and research in the fields of sustainability, corporate responsibility and social entrepreneurship. To further reinforce this emphasis, the HEG-FR has incorporated into its network the CCRS as an associated institute at the start of 2022, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the school.

The HEG-FR is convinced that a comprehensive understanding of the role of business in society is the fundamental basis for a future-oriented and thus sustainable business strategy. Through its Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes as well as its continuing education programmes, the HEG-FR aims to make a significant impact on sustainable entrepreneurship and progressively evolve from a traditional "Business School" to a "School for Business and Society".

Founded by the "Stiftung Zentrum Nachhaltigkeit" (Sustainability Center Foundation) in 2003, the CCRS shall continue to be managed by a Foundation Board. However, the Foundation Board was recomposed in January 2022 and is presided over by the Director of the HSW-FR.

For a number of reasons, the CCRS is an excellent fit with the long-term strategy of HEG-FR as it moves towards becoming a leading business school:

• The CCRS is known nationally as an interdisciplinary and practice-oriented research institute and has an extensive network in business, science and society.
• CCRS has made a name for itself in recent years with various key publications and conferences on the effective implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• CCRS has been successfully translating research into practice. For instance, together with various private sector partners, the institute has developed an innovative rating and reporting tool for SMEs. It has also designed a sustainability rating system for real estate, which will be updated in spring 2022 with renewed support from its users. The CCRS has thus succeeded in creating a concrete impact on the recording and improvement of sustainability for business and research.
• The partnership with the CCRS and its academic partners in the greater Zurich area, namely the ETH and the University of Zurich, offers the HEG-FR a unique opportunity to expand and strengthen its network in German-speaking Switzerland. Consequently, courses and conferences of the HEG-FR will attract more interested parties from the German-speaking part of Switzerland while also expanding into this region. For this purpose, the CCRS and its partners have various premises at their disposal. Conversely, the CCRS will actively develop courses in the area of sustainability and corporate responsibility at the HEG in Fribourg. The director of HEG-FR has emphasized that the integration of the CCRS will further strengthen the position of the university of applied sciences in French-speaking Switzerland and its trilingual orientation in French, German and English.

The HEG-FR and the CCRS look forward to an intensive cooperation with the goal of increasing knowledge in the field of sustainability, in teaching as well as in research and consulting. Together, they will make a positive impact on the economy and society of the future.

HEG-FR

Founded in 1991, the School of Management Fribourg (HEG-FR) offers 550 students the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes as well as certifying continuing education programmes such as the CAS, DAS and EMBA. The institution has strong ties to its region, with which it builds relationships that lead to collaborations, performance contracts or applied research projects. It broadens its horizons by forging links with educational institutions in Australia, France, Canada, the USA, Singapore and Mexico, among others.

CCRS

The Center for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability is an associated institute at the School of Management Fribourg (HEG-FR). The aim of the center is to examine the part that the private sector plays in promoting responsible corporate governance and sustainable development at the local, regional, national and global levels.