Health ramps up the climate effort
The faculty management now presents a series of new local climate initiatives that will be implemented in the coming period. The new initiatives support the university's overall climate strategy towards 2025.
Aarhus University's climate strategy
The background for the new initiatives is Aarhus University's climate strategy, which came into effect in the spring of 2020. The strategy, which runs from 2020-2025, aims to reduce the university's CO2 emissions by 35% compared to 2018.
At a meeting on November 21, 2023, the faculty management will discuss how the climate effort is anchored in the departments.
You can read more about Aarhus University's work with the climate strategy on the university's website.
As part of the work with the green transition at Aarhus University, the faculty management at Health is now coming up with several new local initiatives, covering a wide range of areas, including transport optimizations, building energy savings, procurement strategies, and awareness-raising campaigns.
Transport is a top priority, and the plan is to introduce a shared fleet at Health. The fleet is managed by Technical Director Conor Leerhøy, who will continuously replace the faculty's current gasoline and diesel cars with electric cars. In this way, the faculty supports the university's overarching goal to phase out gasoline and diesel cars by 2025.
Furthermore, in the coming time, Health will lead the way by primarily offering vegetarian catering for all meetings and conferences. Four-legged animals will be entirely excluded from meeting and conference catering, but special social events, such as Christmas lunches, will not be subject to this rule.
To raise awareness about the staff's CO2 emissions, Health is also launching a communication campaign that will, for example, make it easy to compare CO2 prices on various activities, such as the difference between flying to Berlin compared to taking the train.
The faculty management also encourages the departments to prioritize applications that focus on climate-friendly transport when allocating travel funds.
The new initiatives are just the beginning
Dean Anne-Mette Hvas makes it clear that the new initiatives are just the beginning of a more significant effort, and that there will be more local initiatives than those announced initially.
"The new initiatives are a crucial step in our mission to create a more sustainable faculty. We are committed to continuing our green journey and implementing even more climate-friendly solutions in the coming years. It's about preparing ourselves and our students for a world where sustainability is an element in everything we do,” she says.
Contact
Dean Anne-Mette Hvas
Aarhus University, Health
Phone: 87 15 20 07
Email: dean.health@au.dk