More And Better
Social Responsibility at the FMUL
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Being socially responsible means going beyond complying with legal obligations through a “greater” investment in human capital, in the environment and in relationships with other interested parties.
Broadly speaking, one may point out the main advantages for organisations that wish to set up a system of Social Responsibility management: transparency in their relationship with interested parties; credibility and consequent improvement in their market reputation; increment in the competitive advantages that lead to an increase in productivity and internal savings; better control of legal conformity; better relationships with the interested parties; reduction of risks; and effective contribution towards sustainability.
The organization is one of the institutions of socialization integrated within the educational system, defined as a system that covers all the processes of learning that take place not only in the system of teaching-training, but also those that come from the organisation itself, in social communication and in other groups.
Socialisation within the organisation is also a basic element for the construction of social and professional identities, in the sense that they form a constant process of construction/sedimentation that as a whole make up the individuals and define the institutions" (Dubar, 1991). Being so, the processes of socialization coming from within the organization are one of the instruments that lead towards the forming of social and professional identities.
In the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (FMUL) the first steps have been taken in terms of Social Responsibility, involving both the internal and external stakeholders.
Within the scope of the environmental dimension, some actions have already been implemented contributing towards a reduction of costs and resources, both for the organization and for the environment, within a logic of fighting against waste. Management of waste produced is carried out throughout the whole organisation on the level of recycling paper, plastic, printer consumer items (toners and ink cartridges), fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, and on the level of the treatment of solid waste and dangerous liquids, through a certified outside company. These residues come from laboratories in the FMUL for training and research.
On the level of energy efficiency, the Egas Moniz Building (EEM) has specifically started to take the first steps towards an optimising of resources and the consequent rationalisation of energy consumption. One of the essential tools for the respective control and monitoring of consumption is the existence of a system of Centralised Technical Management, which allows not only a controlling of part of the system of lighting and acclimatisation, according to installation needs throughout the year, but also a monitoring of what is in fact consumed (highlighting the acclimatisation part, which is responsible for about 70% of the overall energy consumption).
In the EEM there is also a concern for maintaining some of the characteristics of the initially installed components (reflecting film on the windows and the white blackout curtains, and light colours on the inside and outside coatings of the building), which have shown to be beneficial in blocking out ultraviolet rays and for the uncomfortable heat of the sun, aiming at improving the room temperature.
There is an effort towards making all users aware of these issues through messages with recommendations as to little gestures one can have to minimize consumption: turning of all the equipment that doesn’t need to be turned on, avoiding stand-bys; preferring natural light to artificial whenever possible; opening windows in the morning and closing them when it is really hot in the summer; always checking if the doors to the freezers are closed properly; and turning off the lights when one leaves the room.
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In relation to the economic dimension, in the field of Social Responsibility, there is a concern for reducing costs and resources whenever possible. So, within a position that cut across the economic and the environmental aspects, there is a focusing on the increasing need to set up increasingly dematerialised processes in the acquisition of public goods and services, therefore contributing towards a radical reduction of paper. This action is reflected in a greater efficiency and contribution to the environment. In this sense it is up to the services involved in the public acquisitions and purchases to implement environmental criteria and practices as to how they work.
On the level of the inside lighting of the building, in relation to reducing consumption, there has been the use of fluorescent bulbs, and in all the common spaces these have been low wattage bulbs, as well as the replacing of inefficient ballasts with electronic ones. Presence sensors have also been installed in the bathrooms and corridors.
In the social dimension, the several different initiatives and actions that have taken place and the other ones set out have strengthened the credibility of the organisation in relation to the interested parties and have contributed towards a better identification of the organisation.
Of note among these are: Food Bank Campaigns, in which the FMUL has had an active role every year (May and November), promoting these actions through the divulging, organisation of volunteer groups and coordination of teams for the different timetables of the campaigns, involving not only students and staff from the FMUL, but also their family members; blood donating campaigns, promoted by the Portuguese Blood Institute (IPS) which take place twice a year in the FMUL premises; collections for bone marrow, also in the FMUL premises; exhibitions to gather funds for non profit-making institutions, such as the AFID (National Association of Families for Integration of the Disabled); collection of foodstuffs and goods (school material, toys, etc) for associations for the homeless and for underdeveloped countries; on the internal level of the organization we annually promote the Outdoor Event with several different activities and rambles for our workers.
The “Candidate’s Day – Studying Medicine at the FMUL” is held every year. The aim is to attract the attention of the final year students at secondary school who might wish to apply to the Integrated Masters Course in Medicine, inviting them to visit our prestigious institution, getting to know the laboratories and scientific and pedagogical/academic activities.
In the issue of Human Resources one should highlight the training provided by the FMUL for its support staff in the most varied areas, such as classes in English and actions promoted in the field of the POPH (Human Potential Operational Programme), with training programmes on essential maters such as SIADAP, acquisition of goods and services, institutional communication and reception, filing techniques and other matters.
As a medium of institutional communication one should also highlight the Institutional Newsletter, which divulges information and initiatives in the field of Higher Education and the area of health, as well as publishing articles of interest for the FMUL and University of Lisbon community.
Social responsibility is in the social conscience and civic responsibility, being a task that belongs to all of us but which demands of each of us a specific stance, born out of a view of the problem and of a possible form of action.
Throughout the course of the FMUL we have given greater attention to the strong commitment and motivation in the several different areas towards a gradual and sustained change of the organisation, with a more and more globalising view, without there being only a concern for the reduction of financial costs and the rationalisation of consumption.
Carla Reis
Egas Moniz Building Management Unit
47043
creis@fm.ul.pt
Bibliography:
Bento, L. (2009). Da Cidadania à Responsabilidade Social. Lisbon
Responsabilidade Social das Empresas e Segurança e Saúde no Trabalho. Facts 54 by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Bilbao
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