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Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) made a public presentation of its first Sustainability Report. BHOS is the first higher education institution to develop this report. The launch was attended by SOCAR Vice President for Economic Issues Suleyman Gasimov, Head of the Department of Sustainable Development and Social Policy within the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Huseyn Huseynov, Head of Climate Change and Sustainable Development services of EY in Azerbaijan and Georgia Gunel Farajova, Executive Director of AmCham Natavan Mamedova as well as BHOS academic and teaching staff.

While welcoming the guests, BHOS Rector Elmar Gasimov informed that the Sustainability Report pursued the objective to make public, in a transparent way, the accomplishments of the Higher School achieved in its support for economic, social and environmental areas. The Rector pointed out that the report captures integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the BHOS strategy, reflects approaches applied by BHOS towards sustainable development, and illustrates sustainability of BHOS in the education, research, organizational and operations areas. Elmar Gasimov stressed that the Higher School’s approach towards sustainability is centralised and resolute, and the process does not only engage the BHOS students and staff, but also includes advocacy for participation of the Higher School’s partnering and cooperating institutions.

SOCAR Vice President for Economic Issues Suleyman Gasimov mentioned that, over the past seven years, Baku Higher Oil School has been successfully implementing the strategy of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev to convert oil capital into human capital. He informed that the continuous aspiration for excellence pursued by the Higher School’s senior management and staff has led to its becoming the first education institution to prepare and make public the internationally required reporting on sustainable development. Suleyman Gasimov thanked everyone who contributed to the production of a high quality and substantial report.

 Head of the Department of Sustainable Development and Social Policy within the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Huseyn Huseynov informed that, in pursuance of the Decree No. 1066 signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev on 6 October 2016, the National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development was established to primarily identify essential for Azerbaijan national priorities and corresponding indicators by 2030 which are aligned with the global goals and targets, ensure the alignment of national long-term programmes and strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals, and produce annual reports on the progress towards the SDGs. He said that the report developed by BHOS serves as a contribution of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Head of Climate Change and Sustainable Development services of EY in Azerbaijan and Georgia Gunel Farajova underscored the importance of considering sustainable development not only as a mere concept, but rather as a value, and pointed out the universal role of education. She particularly stressed the significance of the education institutions’ value-based approach to sustainable development and transferring it to the students who will evolve into the next generation of qualified specialists. Gunel Farajova congratulated the Higher School’s senior management and staff on launching the Sustainability Report, noting that they all are taking the issue of corporate responsibility seriously, and thanked the Higher School for playing a role model for other education institutions.

Executive Director of AmCham Natavan Mamedova appreciated the pithy and substantial report and underlined its exemplary role for the higher education institutions and companies.

 The launch was concluded by a brief presentation made by BHOS Programme Manager Nargiz Tarverdiyeva concerning the Higher School’s strategy for sustainable development, highlighting various sustainability themes addressed in the report such as education, environmental impact, opportunities and access, accountability and transparency, financial capability, partners and society, health, wellbeing and safety, workspace, innovation and research.

The Sustainability Report produced by the Higher School meets the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. The accuracy of the report was positively assessed and validated by EY Azerbaijan. This report indicates the Higher School’s compliance with the requirements of corporate responsibility and proves that its operations meet international standards. The Higher School is committed to producing this report on a biannual basis and encourages other institutions to develop their sustainability reports.