AUS achieves ISO certificate for sustainability initiatives

American University of Sharjah (AUS) has achieved the ISO 14001 certificate, after having successfully implemented a framework to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste and drive down costs. To celebrate this achievement, Vilhelm Paus Hedberg, Managing Director, ME of QMS Global Management Systems Certification, presented Dr. Björn Kjerfve, AUS Chancellor, with a certificate attesting to this accomplishment at a gathering held yesterday.

AUS aims to become a leader in areas of recycling, energy conservation, water and waste management, transportation and purchasing processes. In addition, AUS incorporates green building standards into all its new construction and building renovation projects.

Dr. Kjerfve told the gathering, "AUS believes that sustainability is an important part of its philosophy, policy and purpose. Our vision and strategy strive to deliver excellent education and research in a sustainable manner. In addition to academic excellence, AUS is committed to shaping a sustainable future for the community and the world. The university strives to be a role model in sustainability, representing principles and values that reveal our commitment to stewardship of resources and respect for the environment, now and in the future.

The ISO 14001 Environment Management System standard is a systematic framework to manage the immediate and long-term environmental impacts of an organization's products, services and processes and the aim is to protect the surrounding environment against adverse environmental impacts and respond to changing environmental conditions without asking the future generations to compromise.

To obtain the ISO 14001 Certificate, an Environmental Management System (EMS) manual was developed and implemented at AUS since 2015 to help reduce the university's carbon footprint and as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and the university is well on its way to being a more sustainable institution.