Sustainable Development

Sustainability is the responsibility of everybody and cannot be achieved without collaborations between people, industries, and governments. The proportion of South Africans connected to the internet has been steadily rising, which improves our capacity to connect to each other and the rest of the world.  SU has a longstanding tradition of fostering a diverse and inclusive campus community. 

Annually, hundreds of international students choose to enrich their academic journeys at SU, contributing to a vibrant tapestry of cultures and perspectives. Aligned with SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals and AU Agenda 2063’s emphasis on knowledge sharing and innovation. Founded in 1993, SU International celebrated 30 years of internationalisation in 2023, bringing together 128 partnerships from 76 institutions in 37 countries (out of 354 international partners in 57 countries) in March 2023. The meeting discussed topical issues around internationalisation, such as African multilateral and bilateral partnerships, the sustainable development agenda, and the internationalisation of the curriculum.

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Relationships with regional NGOs and government for SDG policy and data gathering and best practice.  

Universities can improve partnerships by connecting with other universities and national and international industries to meet the SDGs.  SDG 17 connects to all the other SGDs as achieving the SDGs is and will be a collaborative effort. As for Agenda 2063, it links to AU Goal 9: Key continental financial and monetary institutions established and functional; AU Goal 19: Africa as a major partner in global affairs and peaceful co-existence; and AU Goal 20: Africa takes full responsibility for financing her development. 

Developing funding models for national agencies

Stellenbosch University’s Professor Guy Midgley and the School for Climate Studies (SCS) were commissioned in 2023 to write a report for the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) on Sustainable Funding models for SA weather services. The report funded by the World Bank is titled: Development of Funding Model Options for Public Good Weather/Climate Observation Infrastructure and User-tailored Service Delivery Mechanisms in Support for the Implementation of the National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS).

Data for Decision Making

The School for Data Science and Computational Thinking at SU aims to solve societal challenges through interdisciplinary programmes and partnerships with academic entities, researchers at other institutions, and private and public entities. They have succeeded with the DAWA project (Data Advancing Wellness in Africa), working with researchers from Makerere University in Uganda and Harvard and MIT in the USA to understand Africa’s social health determinants.

Health Policy development

The Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) and South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA), based at SU and jointly at the FMHS and School for Data Science and Computational Thinking collaborated with an international consortium, CLIMADE (Climate Amplified Diseases and Epidemics), to deliver the Climate Change and Epidemics Synthesis Report and Summary for Policymakers (2023) at COP28 by the WHO AFRO COP28 delegation, the Ministry of Health of Mozambique and CERI. The report emphasises the urgent need for policy to ensure preparedness against epidemics exacerbated by climate change, focusing on building health resilience in vulnerable, underserved communities in the Global South.

Biodiversity preservation 

The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is a public entity under the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. It facilitates access to biodiversity data, generating information and knowledge, building capacity, providing policy advice, and showcasing and conserving biodiversity in its national botanical and zoological gardens. The Centre for Invasion Biology (CIB) at SU is a key contributor to SANBI. In 2023 they co-hosted the National Symposium on Biological Invasions. The conference topic dealt with “Global Invasion Targets in a South African Context.” The trans-disciplinary participants added to capacity building in the field to help improve policy and strategy.

Biodiversity conservation

IPBES, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is an independent intergovernmental body established to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development. SU, through the SCS and CIB, is an active contributor to the body for biodiversity and climate change and modelling future nature scenarios.

Carbon in the Southern Ocean

SU contributes to the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observatory (SOCCO) through research by both staff like Prof Pedro Monteiro of the CSIR and SCS, who gathers data on carbon dioxide in the ocean, and Prof Thulani Makhalanyane, who works on the marine microbiome, as well as students enrolled in postgraduate studies. SOCCO is a programme that was developed in South Africa, and its integrated science and innovation strategy links the value chain from basic science to societal impact. SOCCO leverages South Africa’s geographic location to enhance long-term predictions of the Southern Ocean’s carbon-climate system, supporting climate adaptation planning and effective climate risk management.

Corporate Governance

At SU, the Centre for Corporate Governance in Africa (CCGA) at the Stellenbosch Business School, contributes actively to the field. The Carrots & Sticks (C&S) project co-founded by Dr Cornis van der Lugt and Prof Daniel Malan (SU), was launched in the 2000s with KPMG, the UN Environmental Programme and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), later joined by the University of Edinburgh, and King’s College London. The C&S online database provides insights into ESG and sustainability policies, covering over 2,463 policies from 132 countries and 76 organisations in 38 languages, from 1897 to today. The 2023 C&S report was launched in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on 18 September.

Policy for the Just Energy Transition

Prof Mark Swilling of SU’s Centre for Sustainability Transition (CST) was appointed as a non-executive director to the board of Eskom, the South African state-owned power supplier, in 2023. Building on his work on the Just Energy Transition as the SARChI Chair in Urban Governance and Energy in Africa. He will contribute to setting the overall policy direction and strategic management framework and guiding the executive team.

Promoting Female Entrepreneurs

Prof Sope Williams of SU’s African Procurement Law Unit has supported international organisations, including women entrepreneurs in several African countries’ public procurement markets. In 2023, she collaborated with UN Women (South Africa) to provide public comments on gender-responsive procurement for the draft national Public Procurement Bill. From 2022, she worked with the Brookings Institute (USA) on gender-responsive procurement in Nigeria. Since 2022, she has supported the International Development Research Centre, Canada, in promoting gender-responsive procurement in five East African countries.

Partnership for Research Progress

SU is an active partner for the ARUA-Guild Centres of Research Excellence (CoREs), an equitable collaboration between African universities in the ARUA (African Research Universities Alliance) network, and the Guild (The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities). These CoREs focus on crucial alignment with the 2023 AU-EU Innovation Agenda and address critical societal and scientific challenges through innovative, interdisciplinary research. These partnerships enhance the ability of African and European universities to create knowledge that promotes societal transformation, builds climate resilience, and drive innovation for Sustainable Development

Cross sectoral dialogue about SDGs

SU has taken part in a host of events over the years, both internally with our own students and staff, as well as on an international stage.

Sustainability World Café

SU International’s Unit for Global Education hosted Global Week 2023 from 9 – 13 October. The week was marked by various engagements to drive conversations around student mobility, sustainability, and global citizenship. The week began with the Sustainability World Café on 9 October, hosted with the SDG/2063 Impact Hub. The event brought together diverse voices to discuss Sustainability. “The World Café was an enriching experience that underscored the importance of education, individual initiative, collaboration, and leadership on our journey towards a more sustainable world,” says Corina du Toit of the Hub. “By working together, sharing ideas and pooling resources, we can achieve more and create lasting change on a global scale.”

Sustainability Events:

SU is the only African member in the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC). In 2022, the Africa Regional Forum on Climate Change hosted by SU’s SDG/2063 Impact Hub, the SCS and GAUC brought together delegates from 45 different universities across Africa. The focus of the event was preparation for COP27 and the launch of the African Journal of Climate Studies (AJOCS).

Leading up to Earth Day in April 2023, the Hub co-hosted several events with SU’s Facilities Management team to broaden the conversation around environmental sustainability, contributing to the institution’s net zero carbon campaign. On Earth Day students could pledge to reduce their carbon footprint on campus and at home, while Prof Guy Midgley of the SCS delivered a seminar on “How to Avoid Climate Disaster: An African View.” In July 2023, the Hub hosted the launch of “People’s and Workers’ Climate Justice Charter: Futures for South Africa.”

GIBS collaboration

In November 2023 Prof Midgley took part in a panel at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in preparation for COP28: Where is South Africa on Climate Change Negotiations? Other panellists included Dr Jill Bogie, GIBS; Ms Tanya Dos Santos, GIBS; Mr Stephen Nicholls, Head of Mitigation, Presidential Climate Commission; Prof Barend Erasmus, University of Pretoria; Ms Thureya Alali, Team Leader: Global Stocktake, Negotiation, COP28. 

Collaboration with NGO and similar entities for SDGs

There are a range of programmes at Stellenbosch University that contribute towards SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals and AU Goal 9: Key continental financial and monetary institutions established and functional; Goal 19: Africa as a major partner in global affairs and peaceful co-existence and Goal 20: Africa takes full responsibility for financing her development. For more information, see the Division of Social Impact’s Platform for SDG 17.

Volunteerism

Our engagement with local communities builds shared purpose and strengthens our social license. In 2023, SU had 30 active social impact initiatives and 19 pending. These initiatives enhance community well-being and offer students and staff chances to engage and understand societal challenges. Staff initiatives involved 77 staff, 56 students, and 51 partners, totalling 12,276 staff hours and 4,771 student hours.

Social Impact through Community Engagement

Since 2017, the Division for Social Impact’s Social Impact Knowledge Platform (SIKP) has been documenting the university initiatives per Faculty and per SDG. SU students and staff can register their initiatives through the platform, not only to help elevate the status of their work, but also to document their progress, apply for funding, find collaborators and volunteers, and mainstream their projects.

Interested parties can search SIKP for SDG-related projects across the various themes. Examples of active projects in 2023 include:

SDG 3 and 4: Stellenbosch Kinderkinetics: KIDS move (Wellness Programme): The programme is aimed at children in our immediate community who require extra attention in the development of gross motor skills. This is mostly due to a lack of exposure to physical activities in their early years due to COVID-19 when schools were closed.

SDG 4: Teacher Mentor Programme: A collaboration between the Faculty of Education and the Western Cape Education Department with teacher unions to develop a mentor programme for student teachers in training during the school-based, practical phase of their degree programme.

SDG 14 and 15: Saldanha Bay Water Quality Fund Trust: A project of our Military Faculty to monitor the industrial impact on the natural environment of Saldanha Bay and the Langebaan Lagoon for the sustainable development and monitoring of the ecosystems. This Trust plays an important role in the area and the provincial governance of the Western Cape.

SDG 4, 5, 8, 9, and 16: GUS (Gallery of the University of Stellenbosch): GUS, under the Department of Visual Arts, is a critical space to build a community around the visual arts by hosting guest artists and events from beyond the immediate SU academic community. It provides a safe space for community programme working with the arts to effect positive social change. Furthermore, it accommodates reviews and, examinations, internships for students from other institutions while providing hands-on space for students to explore curatorial practices and arts administration via service-learning opportunities, as well as hosting internship opportunities for students from other institutions.

Publication of SDG reports – per SDG

The SDG/2063 Impact Hub at SU International was established in late 2021 to advocate for the visible uptake of Sustainability at SU. As we look to Africa’s aspirations to become a global powerhouse, we align the 20 AU Goals and seven Aspirations that make up the African Union’s Agenda 2063 for the First 10 Year Implementation Plan (FTYIP) for a peaceful and prosperous Africa with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for a sustainable and prosperous future for all.

As part of our work, we publish an annual report on our sustainability contributions through research, teaching, operations, community engagement, and governance. Throughout the reports, we align the AU’s 20 Goals with the 17 SDGs to illustrate the synergy between the two Agendas while emphasising and contextualising the sustainable development needs in Africa.

Reports include Sustainable Development for The Africa We Want 2021/2022 and A Sustainable Africa: Partnerships for Progress 2022/2023. The most recent edition uses the seven Aspiration of the FTYIP and aligns the AU Gaols and SDGs in the context of African values, identity, and a desire for socio-economic and political integration, fair democratic governance, and peace and security for all.

The reports are for a calendar year from 1 January to 31 December, released in the next year.

Education for the SDGs

The university has integrated sustainability principles and concepts into its curriculum across various disciplines. By incorporating the SDGs into teaching and research, SU helps equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to address global challenges.

Short Course: Future17 SDG Challenge

The Future17 SDG Challenge, launched with Stellenbosch University in 2022, offers students a chance to tackle sustainable development challenges across cultures and disciplines, in addition to their formal degree programmes. The SDG/2063 Impact Hub hosted the third and fourth programme sessions in 2023, involving partner universities from New Zealand, Hong Kong, the UK, Egypt, Sharjah, the USA, and Brazil. The programme connects SU students with peers and mentors globally, promoting design thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and critical skills in sustainable development. This aligns with SU’s commitment to impactful education on global sustainability, helping students address real-world challenges while boosting employability. It’s also an example of internationalisation at home, where students work with international peers while studying at SU.

The SU student participants had the following to say:

• I learnt about the importance of integrated approaches that balance social, economic, and environmental objectives. Sustainable development means generating prosperity while safeguarding the environment and guaranteeing social inclusion and fairness. This holistic perspective encourages people to think about the interplay of several elements of development and to seek solutions that provide multiple benefits.
• I enjoyed meeting new people and seeing the types of careers in the sustainability field. I loved the structure of the course and felt there was more than enough time to complete everything.
• Flexible and collaborative approaches are pivotal for responding to evolving situations and needs for the SDGs to be met. The main takeaway from the course underscores the necessity of collective action and partnership among diverse stakeholders to address the SDGs effectively and that linear strategies may lack the adaptability required to navigate complex and dynamic challenges with multiple uncertainties.

Thematic networks with an eye on Sustainability and ClimateX

SU has been a member of GAUC, the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate, alongside 15 Universities on 6 continents since 2021. SU students and academics have taken part in the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC), ClimateX programmes since 2023. SU is a member of the Alliance alongside the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, University of California, Berkley, Columbia University, Imperial College London, Yale University, Sciences Po, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics and Political Science, Indian Institute of Science, Australian National University, University of Tokyo and Tsinghua University. 

Degree Courses and Modules for Sustainability

The CST brings together research on the complex dynamics of sustainability transitions and transformations to inform pressing national, continental, and global sustainability development challenges. The Centre offers an interdisciplinary PhD, Masters and Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development suitable for graduates from various disciplines, as well as postdoctoral research opportunities in sustainability studies. The School for Public Leadership offers an undergraduate Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Development, equipping graduates with skills to excel in the Green Economy.

Further examples include undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Geography and Environmental Science, as well as postgraduate degrees in Environmental Management, Invasion Biology, and Sustainable Agriculture. The following modules are also available for various degree requirements: Urban Sustainability, Invasion Biology, Sustainable Development, Biodiversity and Ecology, Global Change Biology, Systems Thinking for Sustainable Development, Environmental Engineering, several modules on Planetary Health and Medical Education, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Energy Systems and Climate Change, Environmental Management in Agriculture, Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.  RADAR (The Research Alliance for Disaster and Risk Reduction) offers postgraduate modules in Disaster Risk Studies and Development, and Sustainable Cities. 

Sustainability Education for our community

The CST, relaunched its free, online Anticipatory Governance short course in 2023, created with the USAID Resilient Waters programme in 2021 and available on the UNESCO Open Learning platform until 2024. The course equipped over 300 participants with tools to enhance governance capacities amidst uncertainty. It emphasises participatory foresight and complex systems governance, showcasing southern Africa case studies illustrating pathways to socially just and sustainable futures for effective governance and decision-making in complex environments.

SU extends its education for Sustainability beyond degree programmes by offering short courses to any interested parties in renewable and sustainable development. The topics include Bio-Energy, the Global Gap as food standard and specifications of greenhouse produce, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for protected cultivation systems, Renewable Energy Systems, Wind Energy, and Women in Leadership.

The Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES) offers modules from their popular postgraduate degrees as short courses to the public and private sectors covering and overview of the renewable energy sectors, integration and implementation of the technologies. These modules are registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as short courses that qualify for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points.

The CST has a range of webinars that are open to all interested parties with a focus on for example, the features of complex systems and they help us to engage with sustainability challenges in practical ways.