Expertise

Faced with the many challenges posed by the transition to a truly sustainable society, the university is regularly called upon by civil society to contribute its expertise in this field: These include public authorities, citizens' groups and economic bodies looking for alternative business models. They are all asking questions about the content of their projects, as well as the ways in which they can be implemented.

UNIL has a duty to support the work of these players, by providing scientific input in terms of both methodology and theoretical content.

The Centre de compétences en durabilité (CCD) has its own relations department which develops close contacts with practitioners in the field and puts them in touch with researchers.

Through these collaborations, the CCD helps to respond to complex requests for expertise by supporting the implementation, networking and dialogue between a wide range of stakeholders. It also develops standardised methodologies for developing sustainability strategies.

The CCD is involved in a number of projects:

• The development of a sober energy focus in energy policy in the canton of Vaud;
• The positioning of a communal décological transition march;
• The incorporation of strong sustainability principles into regional planning;
• The application of the Donut approach across an institution or territory;
• The implementation of a process for analysing and monitoring the sustainability of an economic body in the canton of Vaud.

UNIL also has a number of units bringing together communities of scientists who are active in specific fields. These centres or platforms are committed to producing expertise in response to the demands of civil society on sustainability issues.