Avans is committed to sustainability. Please find more information about our efforts in this area below.
Avans Duurzaam sustainability programme
Avans prepares students to become professionals who will make a difference. No matter what their discipline is, they always act with the future in mind. We support them in acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to make a sustainable contribution to the society in which they work.
By sustainable we mean they have a strong sense of social responsibility and put people, planet and prosperity at the heart of what they do. Although sustainable development is one of today’s concerns, it is ultimately a long-term investment we make for future generations as well as our own. Sustainable development increases global prosperity.
At Avans, students learn how to find sustainable solutions to tomorrow’s problems. This requires an analytical and inquisitive attitude, entrepreneurship, interprofessional collaboration and creativity – and a moral compass to guide their actions.
AISHE certificates
The Avans Duurzaam sustainability programme was launched on the basis of this ambition. It ensured that all full-time Avans study programmes earned 2 stars under the AISHE sustainability certification scheme in the 2015-2016 academic year. 2 study programmes in Den Bosch were even awarded 3 stars: the Bachelor of Advanced Business Creation (ABC) and the Bachelor of Small Business and Retail Management (SBRM). These higher professional education study programmes are the only 2 in Noord-Brabant province to have been awarded 3 AISHE stars. Avans is the first university of applied sciences in the Netherlands to achieve sustainability certification for all its full-time study programmes.
AISHE stands for Auditing Instrument for Sustainability in Higher Education. It is used to assess the degree to which sustainability is part of our education and research, our business operations and the ways we interact with our environment.
Sustainability is by no means a new focus area for us. The AISHE objectives merely placed a greater emphasis on our sustainability initiatives, creating a joint starting point.