How green is your campus? Have you switched the lights off when you leave? Did you consider the environment before printing that email? Is sustainability really being taken seriously at your university?
Universities are well placed to help society address the challenges of sustainability. They have considerable power to shape thinking and to develop new ideas about how to tackle issues such as the climate crisis, global health, food security and green energy, and develop ways to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As large and complex organisations, there are many ways that universities can choose to operate sustainably, for example, through divesting in carbon intensive industries, or managing their buildings and estate to reduce carbon emissions and increase biodiversity. Many institutions promote sustainability through their policies and encourage sustainable behaviours among students and staff (eg low carbon travel plans, plant-based food options and waste management policies). Sustainability is increasingly being integrated into institutional values and framed as a competitive advantage to recruit students and staff.
There are also clear efforts across the higher education sector to develop teaching about sustainability, too. Today’s students are keenly aware of the scale of sustainability challenges they face. They know that an awareness of sustainability is essential for many graduate roles. Many institutions have responded to this by embedding sustainability into their learning and teaching strategies, for example, requiring all taught programmes to address the SDGs.
