The Internal Audit Office conducted a follow-up audit of the University's climate and sustainability work at the behest of the University Board. The goal was to check whether the proper governance structures are in place to ensure the University meets all legal criteria, fulfils its commitments and works towards the targets it has set. This came after the Internal Audit Office found certain shortcomings in the University's environmental management system in 2018.
Environmental management system up and running
Susanne Hellqvist, Audit director, Internal Audit Office
Photo:
"Since our last audit, the University has made quite some progress in its climate and sustainability work. The Internal Audit Office's assessment is that the University now has a well-established environmental management system and a systematic, set approach to its climate and sustainability work. We do, however, feel the University could step up its governance to ensure ambitions are in line with the University's Environmental policy and its commitments in the context of the Climate Framework for Swedish Higher Education Institutions," says Susanne Hellqvist, audit director at the Internal Audit Office.
Since the previous audit, the University has reviewed and updated certain policy documents, while the Board has approved a revised version of the Environmental policy. The Vice-Chancellor has approved a new rule for the University's climate and sustainability work as well as the so-called Action plan for climate and sustainability 2021–2023.
Recommendations and measures going forward
In its follow-up audit, the Internal Audit Office focused on the governance mechanisms the University has developed and approved since the last audit. The auditors evaluated how well the University follows the rule that regulates its work and looked at the implementation of the abovementioned action plan.
In the resulting report, the Internal Audit Office outlines the need for the University to keep working on developing, clarifying and entrenching its climate and sustainability governance mechanisms. The auditors made four recommendations to the University Management, which has decided to implement all proposed measures, following a decision the University Board made on 7 December.
Hans Wiklund, University Director, University Management
Photo: Mattias Pettersson
"Climate and sustainability are important. As a higher education institution, we not only have a duty to make society more sustainable: we also actively want to contribute to doing so. I am pleased that the Internal Audit Office found that our persistent efforts have made our climate and sustainability work more systematic. Going forward, my ambition is to take additional steps, partly based on the Internal Audit Office's recommendations, to make both the way we ourselves operate more sustainable and to promote sustainability in society at large," says University Director Hans Wiklund.
These are the four measures the University Management will be taking, based on the Internal Audit Office's recommendations:
- Considering ways of clarifying the University's strategic climate and sustainability goals by specifying targeted levels;
- Ensuring the University's Action plan for climate and sustainability is clearly communicated to and borne by the entire organisation, so its strategic climate and sustainability goals permeate all operations;
- Ensuring any decisions that are taken following annual internal climate audits clearly stipulate the measure(s) that should be taken to address identified areas of improvement, and who will be tasked with implementing those measures;
- Ensuring the University Board is regularly briefed on the University's climate and sustainability work, given the topic's strategic importance.
Find out more
To learn more about the Internal Audit Office's report Follow-up audit of Umeå University's climate and sustainability work, please contact Susanne Hellqvist.
To learn more about the measures the University Management will be taking as a result of the report, please contact Hans Wiklund.