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Work Environment and Sustainable Development

Mälardalen University was the first higher education institution (HEI) in the world to be environmentally certified, and the University was also the first higher education institution in Sweden to be work environment certified.

The Environment and Work Environment Policy lays down the overall principles and guidelines for a good environment/work environment. These are the driving forces for introducing, following up and continually improving environment and work environment activities.

Work Environment Policy

At Mälardalen University all employees and students work in a proactive and stimulating work environment. In the University’s work environment activities, legal and other requirements are regarded as a basic level and the work shall be focused on continual improvement. The University will systematically follow up and evaluate the decisions on improvements that are made.

A good physical and psychosocial environment is of great importance for everyone to feel enjoyment and satisfaction in their work and thereby to be able to achieve good results at work and in studies. This presupposes that the Management, employees as well as students work together on work environment issues.

Work environment activities shall be conducted proactively so that ill-health, risks and accidents are prevented. Each employee and student at the University shall feel a personal responsibility, and personally be a role model, for a good working climate within the University. The Vice-Chancellor has the overall responsibility at the University for planning, leading and following up work environment activities.

This Work Environment Policy forms the basis of an annual production of overall work environment goals and also broken down into local work environment goals and action plans adapted to every School/Unit/Division and the University Library’s local prerequisites and needs.

Policy for Sustainable Development

  • The Vice-Chancellor is responsible for the policy being documented, registered, updated and communicated to all employees as well as being accessible to the general public.
  • Managers of the University’s organisational units as well as managers of the environment/work environment shall disseminate and firmly establish the policy at workplace meetings.
  • The Environment/Work Environment Policy shall be accessible to the general public on the University’s website.
  • The managers of the Environment/Work Environment Policy and the University’s website respectively are responsible for keeping the policy up to date on the University’s website.
  • The University web pages are kept updated in accordance with the Web Policy.
  • The Vice-Chancellor is responsible for breaking down the policy into environmental and work environment goals for the University.
  • Departmental Heads check the relevance of and compliance with the Environment/Work Environment Policy in connection with changes in the organisation and at the internal reviews of the work environment.
  • Employers and students provide input on the policy to the work environment committee or work environment manager, who will then raise these comments at the work environment committee’s meeting and at the Management briefing.
  • At the Management briefing the policy is scrutinised in respect of future suitability.