Sustainability
At the University of Bern, conscious efforts are being made to ensure that sustainability is not just treated as a topic but as an approach that permeates the institution and its research.
Sustainability, while complex to define, is one means by which holistic solutions are sought to the world's problems that take the long view not the short one.
Leading the charge in helping to transform the world in a sustainable way is the University's Centre for Development and Environment through interdisciplinary development-oriented research.
One of the greatest challences to human kind is being addressed by the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research.
Here, the aim is to understand the complex earth system and its response to perturbations in the past and the future, with a focus on the impact of climate change on humans and ecosystems.
Within and beyond this Centre, topics such as biodiversity and management of resources like water and energy are being placed under the spotlight.
UN sustainable development
The University is a strong supporter of the United Nations' goals in sustainable development. This involvement stretches back many years.
Such expertise has enabled the University's researchers to participate widely in the work of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
In particular, an IPCC working group co-chaired by Professor Thomas Stocker was instrumental in laying the basis of the Paris Agreement of 2015. This international treaty aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, based on the scientific evidence provided by Stocker and his colleagues.
The University also supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is a member of the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, a partnership between UN agencies and higher education institutions, and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Peter Messerli, a professor of sustainable development at the University, is co-chair of the science-policy group that is currently drafting the first ever UN Global Sustainable Development Report.
This group - co-chaired by Switzerland and Indonesia - is tasked with providing guidelines grounded in science to help UN member states implement the SDGs. The report is due to be published in 2019.