The ZHAW School of Management and Law (ZHAW SML) is based in the metropolitan area of Zurich in Winterthur and is one of the largest business schools in Switzerland. It serves 4,986 students in Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes, 4,167 participants in executive education and employs 631 faculty and staff (as of 2022). The ZHAW SML was founded in 1968 and since 2007 is one of the eight schools of the parent institution the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW, which is a comprehensive public university. The ZHAW SML is AACSB accredited since 2015 and is currently in the process of obtaining EQUIS accreditation.
For the ZHAW SML, sustainable development is not only a theory but a way of life that carries a responsibility toward its stakeholders and has been working towards a more sustainable approach in teaching, research, processes, and governance for many years. The ZHAW SML is guided by the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.
The ZHAW SML fully integrates Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability (ERS) into its Mission, Strategy, and operational activities. It is a central element of the Mission Statement which specifically states: “We practice and actively promote sustainable development and corporate responsibility.” In addition, integrity and independence are among the Core Values of the ZHAW SML: “We conduct ourselves with integrity. We believe in the value and protection of scientific and organizational independence.”
Originating in the industrial and economic hub of Winterthur, proactive and deep connections with the industry pervade all activities of the school. The ZHAW SML contributes to developing and transferring knowledge in ERS through a wide range of business-oriented research projects.
Such projects typically involve one or more industry partners. The partners and Innosuisse, the Swiss innovation agency, are funded jointly. These projects promote cooperation between academia and the market through projects, networking, training, and coaching, laying the groundwork for innovative products and services. They aim to impact society tangibly and contribute to a prosperous and sustainable economy. The school is committed to ensuring that ethics and corporate responsibility are increasingly integrated into the projects proposed by
industry partners for student group assignments in the future. This commitment will raise student awareness of this critical aspect of the modern business world and enable them to apply ERS in business contexts.
The ZHAW SML has various units focusing on ERS: Center for Corporate Responsibility, Center for International Industrial Solutions, Center for Innovation Systems, Center Energy and the Environment, Center for corporate Performance and Sustainable Financing, Center for Social Law, and Center for Asset Management. Furthermore, the ZHAW SML’s commitment to ERS is evident by contributing to ethics and sustainability in business through teaching business professionals’ relevant expertise and skills. To this end, the ZHAW SML has recently developed executive programmes covering ERS-related topics such as Managing Circular Economy, Corporate Finance and Sustainability, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Finance.
The school maintains partnerships with 192 universities in 50 countries and is an active member of several international networks and associations, European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance (EELISA), PRME Champions Network, ISCN (International Sustainable Campus Network), and INUAS (International Network of UAS). The school is also involved in many initiatives such as Zurich Knowledge Center for Sustainable Development ZKSD, ClimateChage@ZHAW, Climate-KIC and Sustainability Week Zurich.
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