Which Universities are Tackling Climate Change?

Not only is it the first zero-emission campus in China, but Shandong Normal University – Lishan College is also the highest ranked Asian entrant in the GreenMetric ranking, at 17^th overall. Like the University of Nottingham, Shandong Normal University has made great strides in creating a greener and more energy efficient campus, with initiatives such as double-sided printing (with no printing unless necessary), no plastic bags, and no disposable cups. The university is also working to reduce its carbon footprint with the use of solar panels, motion-sensored lighting, and recycling, including the recycling of students and staff’s old clothes and second-hand books.

As mentioned earlier, one of the most pressing issues affecting us today is the sheer scale of plastic waste we produce, and University College Cork (UCC) is working to alleviate this by opening Ireland’s first plastic-free café, which stopped more than 20,000 disposable items going to waste in just three months between September and December 2018. Featured at ninth in the UI Greenmetric ranking, UCC was also the first university in Europe to be awarded a Gold Star from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, having made significant strides in cutting down plastic waste, carbon emissions and student printing.

Also included in our list of the greenest universities in the US, Colorado State University has a serious and impressive commitment to sustainability, earning it Platinum in The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS, not to be confused with QS Stars!), a voluntary framework for universities to measure their sustainability performance. It’s also been named the number one greenest college in the US by BestColleges.com, with campus-wide single stream recycling, 26 LEED-certified buildings, electric car charging points and more. One of the few high-altitude mountain campuses in the US, sustainability also plays a part in academics at Colorado State University, with 962 of 2,633 courses sustainability-related.

Placed 22^nd in the UI Greenmetric ranking, the French-speaking Université de Sherbrooke is the greenest university in Canada, setting an example for both Quebec and the country as a whole with a reputation of over 40 years of sustainable development, and a current plan to continue and expand on their success with the 2018-2022 Sustainable Development Plan. The Université de Sherbrooke gained its best score in the Greenmetric ranking for its energy and climate change management, which is likely to continue, as it recently announced its intention a new solar park, which will be the largest dedicated to applied research in Canada. On campus, the university has shown a commitment to making on-campus events eco-friendly, and has encouraged the use of sustainable transport options with electric car charging points and discounts for staff and students on public transport.

And finally, heading across to Latin America, Brazil’s Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP) is currently placed 23^rd in the UI Greenmetric university ranking, making it the greenest university in the region. It achieved a particularly high score for the ‘location and infrastructure’ indicator of the ranking, which measures the green open spaces and vegetation a university has, showing that there’s no shortage of these on campus at USP. The university created an Environmental Management Superintendent position in 2012, who works to define and launch various sustainability initiatives, such as USP Recicla, which seeks to transform the university into a good example of responsible consumption and proper waste disposal.

• Make using reusable plastic bottles and coffee cups a habit – single-use coffee cups are very difficult to recycle, and we all need to try and cut down our plastic consumption, so make grabbing your reusable bottle as normal as grabbing your keys before you leave home each morning.
• Make your commute to uni greener by making use of public transport, or riding a bike
• Unplug your devices when you’re not using them
• Eat less meat, buy organic and local food when you can, and try not to waste food
• Simply try to consume less – as much as we love a good shopping splurge, fast fashion is having a huge negative impact on the environment. Consider shopping at charity shops instead, and recycle old clothes rather than throwing them in the bin.
• Reuse and recycle wherever possible – use strong, durable shopping bags instead of plastic bags

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