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DTU publishes its first sustainability report

Under the heading 'We develop technologies for people and sustainable change', DTU has published a report on the University's sustainability.

DTU, Technical University of Denmark, has worked with sustainability for a long time – in research as well as in day-to-day operations. But now, for the first time, DTU is publishing a report documenting climate accounts, consumption of resources and recycling, as well as the degree of socially sustainable surroundings and behavior.

The Sustainability Report 2022 is based on ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) data, i.e. data on environmental, social, and governance issues, which together provide a status on DTU's sustainability conditions and indicate the direction of DTU's ambitions. The report describes many of the initiatives DTU has taken and will continue to take to create a sustainable university.

"The World is changing – and so is our perception of sustainability. At DTU, we constantly want to develop in a more sustainable direction. Sustainability is an integral part of how DTU educates engineers as well as in our research and development of new technologies. The sustainable dimension is crucial," says DTU President Anders Bjarklev.

Good start, but we need to go further

The report is based on a review of relevant data, policies, and focus areas with a focus on operational data in the green area, environment data, as well as initiatives within good business conduct and integrity. The report is a snapshot of the current situation, but also sets the direction for the coming years.

Research and development of world-class technology is resource-intensive, as the University relies on laboratories and research infrastructure that consume energy and raw materials. But this does not mean that the University does not have ambitions to reduce resource consumption and create socially sustainable surroundings and behavior.

"At DTU, we believe that openness and transparency are important. This is especially true in work with sustainability. Both students and staff are aware of their habits and want to act sustainably. Therefore, we also try to create a physical environment that allows everyone on campus to minimize their own use of resources. It is a work we have started, but we can go much further," says Anders Bjarklev.

Read more in the report: https://www.dtu.dk/english/about/strategy-policy/sustainability-report

by Jen Crothers

Technical University of Munich appoints VP Sustainable Transformation and publishes sustainability strategy

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) has anchored the topic of sustainability in university leadership to ensure robust realization of its Sustainable Futures Strategy. Werner Lang, TUM Professor of Energy Efficient and Sustainable Design and Building, is the new TUM Vice President Sustainable Transformation after already winning the TUM Sustainability Award 2022.

TUM has declared sustainability to be an integral guiding vision for its plan of action. President Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann recently presented the TUM Sustainable Futures Strategy 2030 at the first TUM Sustainability Day in October 2022. With six action fields, it addresses the challenges of the sustainable transformation of the university and society with a “whole-institution-approach”.

Research: TUM encourages and supports research activities that contribute to the sustainable transformation of society. To this end, the university provides targeted support for the digitalization and scaling of developed solution strategies while taking ecological, political and societal aspects into account.

Education and Lifelong Learning: TUM helps students, employees and alumni as well as external expert and management staff develop their own understanding of sustainability. Above and beyond the spectrum of university teaching and continuing education, TUM conveys competencies in data-based and evidence-based sustainable behaviors.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation: TUM promotes and empowers founders in leveraging their own entrepreneurial opportunities to accelerate sustainable transformation. In the future, innovative technologies, products and services as well as new business models are to unite economic success with ecological and social responsibility.

Campus Operations and Resource Management: As an organization, the university itself is to serve as an exemplary model for the deployment of a sustainable and resilient society. The university's tasks include reducing consumption of energy and resources, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy and resource efficiency and reduced-emission mobility as well as improving equality, diversity, inclusion and providing healthy working and studying conditions.

Governance and University Community: TUM intends to motivate its students and members of the university community to actively participate by strategically anchoring the Sustainability Strategy at the General Management level and by implementing open, participatory decision-making processes.

Communication and Global Engagement: TUM intends to create an even greater societal awareness of sustainability with transparent and self-critical communication and to take on a proactive role in the transformation process. To this ends, the university combines its research and teaching agenda with entrepreneurial drive in the fight against climate change and pollution, poverty and inequality as well as against the lack of access to proper health care and education.

With the its Sustainable Futures Strategy 2030, TUM is making the university an innovative place for sustainable transformation – on its campuses and beyond.

"We intend to secure the resilience of our university and shape the sustainable transformation of society with responsibility, talented individuals, scientific excellence and innovative power. We are making TUM a catalyst for the tremendous changes inevitably emerging in our pursuit of sustainable development, taking ecological limitations, economic constancy and social justice into account." – TUM President Thomas F. Hofmann

Photo copyright: Andreas Heddergott /TUM

by Jen Crothers

McGill launches new Sustainable Labs Guide to help researchers implement greener practices

Online resource suggests actionable steps to improve water and energy conservation, procurement, waste management, and more.

At a research-intensive university like McGill, laboratories play a critical role both in advancing solutions for a sustainable future and making its campuses environmentally responsible places to study and work. In fact, McGill cannot hope to reach its goals of becoming zero-waste by 2035 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2040 without collaboration from the faculty, staff, and students who use these spaces. This is why the University released an updated version of its Sustainable Labs Guide to support lab users interested in adopting more sustainable practices.

"We hope the guide will become a go-to resource for lab users at McGill, whether they are new to sustainability or looking for ideas and support as they take their green lab habits to the next level,” says Sustainability Officer Kimberly John, who joined the Office of Sustainability in 2022 to lead the development of a Sustainable Labs Certification program.

Divided into eight categories ranging from green chemistry to animal research, the Sustainable Labs Guide suggests roughly 75 actions that lab users can implement to make their operations more sustainable. These tips will be continually updated based on feedback from the McGill community and as the University implements more sustainable lab initiatives in areas such as waste management and energy conservation.

“This new version of the Sustainable Labs Guide brings together the most up-to-date information and resources that lab users need to know in order to make their operations more sustainable, without compromising the quality of their research or the safety of their labs,” says George Lazaris, Director of the McGill Department of Buildings and Grounds, one of the units that helped develop the guide.

In addition to reducing the negative environmental impacts of research, the suggested actions and additional resources provided in the Sustainable Labs Guide can help lab users promote health and safety practices, as well as utilize their supplies, equipment, and funding more efficiently.

A collective push toward greener labs

The actions outlined in the updated guide were developed by the Sustainable Labs Working Group, which was established in 2014 to bring together members of the McGill community looking to incorporate sustainability into the operation and design of labs. The working group includes people from the Office of the Vice-Principal of Research and Innovation, Procurement Services, McGill’s Green Labs Initiative, Facilities Management and Ancillary Services, and others.

“This guide is the result of a collaborative effort between key stakeholders at McGill, including staff, students, and researchers,” says Christian Bouchard, who manages McGill’s Hazardous Waste Management unit and co-authored the first edition of the guide back in 2017.

“We want to provide a tool for researchers where they can find several different ways to improve the sustainability of their lab with minimal effort, all in one place, and without distracting from the main goals of scientific research, which is to make breakthrough discoveries using the best tools available and to minimize the factors that affect the consistency of results.”

To help your lab implement more sustainable practices, consult the Sustainable Labs Guide. 

Photo by Siddhi Aubeeluck.

by Jen Crothers

Climate neutrality for universities: invitation to share

Eddi Omrcen, sustainability strategist at University of Gothenburg, is assisting with a student masters thesis project in collaboration with the university’s Environmental Management team.

The goal of the thesis project is to investigate and evaluate opportunities for the University of Gothenburg to become climate neutral, as well as consequences and repercussions that may follow.

• What are the implications for University of Gothenburg if it were to attain climate neutrality?
• What challenges and outcomes would there be for the University of Gothenburg?

The project includes a benchmarking exercise to identify and learn from other universities that are struggling with the same challenge and that have initiated work or processes to become climate neutral.

The results from the thesis will be shared amongst the participating universities and in the ISCN network.

If you are interested to participate and exchange experiences, please email Eddi Omrcen [email protected] with:

1. Information and/or documents on your climate targets and ambitions.
2. A contact person at your university that is responsible for the process.

by Jen Crothers

EPFLeaders4impact – A new postdoctoral fellowship programme for the next generation of sustainable science leaders

3^rd call for the EPFLeaders4impact programme (deadline 1 March 2023) providing grants to postdoctoral researchers working on innovative solutions to global challenges.

EPFLeaders4impact is a new postdoctoral fellowship programme funding talented researchers who have the ambition to provide innovative solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

EPFLeaders4impact fellows will be able to take steps towards starting a company based on their own research or to have their proposed innovative solution implemented through a technology transfer to an existing company/organisation.

EPFLeaders4impact has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101034260.

What: 12, 18, 24, or 36-month postdoctoral fellowships. The EPFLeaders4impact fellowship consists of a monthly contribution to the salary of the postdoctoral researcher of EUR 2’740. The remaining part of the salary as well as associated costs are covered by the EPFL hosting laboratory.

Where: research funded by the EPFLeaders4impact programme must be conducted at one of the EPFL campuses in Lausanne, Geneva, Neuchâtel, Valais, or Fribourg.
Eligibility:      

• Applicants must be Experienced Researchers (ER); they must hold a doctoral degree or have at least 4 years of full-time equivalent research experience by at the latest the date of recruitment.
• Applicants must fulfil the MSCA transnational mobility rules and must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Switzerland for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the call deadline.
• Applicants must be able to carry out full-time research during the fellowship period. Parental leave, sick leave, care leave, and military leave are nevertheless permitted.

Application deadline: 1 March 2023 (17:00 CEST)

Start of the fellowship: at the earliest: 1 July 2023, at the latest: 1 November 2023

Current fellows and their projects: here

More details: please, visit the EPFLeaders4impact website

Contact: [email protected]

by Jen Crothers

2nd Malaysia Sustainable University Network National Conference

The MYSUN project and network are happy to announce the 2nd Malaysia Sustainable University Network National Conference (#mysun2022) and accompanying workshop, on 6^th – 7^th December, 2022. The conference and workshop are hosted by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), together with other MySUN Partners in Malaysia and EU.

This conference aims to attract researchers, scholars, engineers, technologists, and students from universities and industries throughout the world, especially in any related to engineering, social sciences, climate and disaster resilience related to sustainability pillars. The conference would provide opportunities for delegates to exchange ideas and research experiences and to establish research collaborations with global partners.

This Conference and Workshop is FREE of CHARGE (FoC) for all categories, thus allow early registration throughout the opportunity networking among MySUN partners and other stakeholders in Malaysia.

All abstract submissions will be blind reviewed by the Technical Review Committee based on technical quality, relevance to conference topics of interest, originality, significance and clarity. The accepted abstract will be published in Conference Proceedings with the e-ISSN registration.

Topics of interest for abstract submission include, but are not limited to:

•       Net-Zero
•       Energy Management
•       Waste Management
•       Cooling Technology
•       Alternative Energy
•       Energy Communities
•       Transportation
•       Environmental Monitoring
•       Campus Management and Community Engagement
•       Campus Governance
•       Education For Sustainability

For more information, including important dates and contact details:

https://www.mysuncampus.eu/en/conferences/2nd-malaysia-sustainable-university-network-national-conference

by Jen Crothers

Freie Universität Berlin publish Sustainability Report 2022

The third Sustainability Report summarizes the status of achievements in the area of sustainability and climate protection at Freie Universität Berlin. The university is presenting the report for the third time since 2018. The publication focuses in particular on the years 2020 and 2021 and reviews activities in the fields of governance, teaching and research, campus, dialogue, and networks. In addition, the report provides an outlook on the university's future sustainability priorities.

In 2020 and 2021, Freie Universität reached important milestones: in September 2021, it was validated by an external environmental auditor according to the European environmental management system EMAS. EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) is the European Union's environmental management certification and is one of the most demanding management standards worldwide. Freie Universität is one of a small group of currently 24 EMAS-validated universities in Germany. It thus has an essential prerequisite for developing its environmental management transparently and continuously. The validation was only possible through the intensive participation of large parts of the university.

Another milestone in the past two years was the launch of a new ideas and innovation management program aimed at implementing the commitments defined in the 2019 Climate Emergency Declaration. It had a promising start with the first call for proposals - FUturist - in November 2021 and 28 proposals submitted.

"We now have the opportunity here for new initiatives, narratives and communities to emerge, which in the best case will inspire each other and spark ideas for new living labs," says Andreas Wanke, head of the Sustainability and Energy Unit.

A sustainability-oriented business travel policy with CO2 pricing and a dedicated climate protection budget was also launched. The 2020 and 2021 mission statement for studying and teaching highlights sustainability as one of eight guiding dimensions. The Blooming Campus initiative has brought about changes in the university's green space management. Meadows and green spaces on campus have been mowed significantly less since 2020. Mowing has ceased during the early bloom phase in April. Species diversity on campus has increased significantly since then.

Freie Universität began systematically implementing climate protection more than 20 years ago. With a bundle of different measures and incentives, the university has succeeded in reducing campus-related electricity and heat consumption by a total of almost 27 percent between 2001 and 2019. Adjusted for the increase in space, the reduction is as much as 29 percent. In the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, energy use decreased by another 4.7 percent (2021), for an overall decrease of 30 percent since 2001. Adjusted for area, it is even a reduction of 34 percent.

Andreas Wanke notes: "The decline in energy consumption and emissions due to the increased use of home offices during the pandemic years fell short of expectations. This was due in particular to the fact that many heating systems, ventilation systems and devices had to remain in operation despite largely virtual semester operation. In addition, the increased need for ventilation during the pandemic also resulted in increased energy consumption."

In 2019, Freie Universität became the first German university to declare a climate emergency, with a commitment to consider climate impacts in all decisions and planning and to become climate neutral by 2025. For the next few years, the focus will be on measures to implement the climate emergency declaration. These include, for example, the addition of photovoltaic systems and the further reduction of energy consumption through energy efficiency measures. These processes will decisively shape sustainability management at Freie Universität over the next three years.

by Jen Crothers