Taking Action

Many institutions have sustainability programs and even Net Zero targets, as well as excellent teaching and research in climate science but they often miss other opportunities to reduce their ecological footprint. There are a number of practical ways for institutions and individuals to make a difference, such as by reducing the number of flights taken and making sustainable choices around which routes and airlines to use, and offsetting when they do fly. They can also factor climate issues into procurement choices and use their reach to educate about basic climate action literacy.

Specific ideas for action

• Make basic climate action literacy a graduate attribute and utilise free resources such as UNCC-Learn and SDG-Learn.
• Invest in climate action training and awareness raising for staff and the local community.
• Include climate action in orientations for new students and in global mobility programs.
• Invest in technology and shape policy to reduce the need to fly, e.g. increase use of video conferencing, contract a higher proportion of locally engaged staff for transnational programs, and consider flight emissions in recruitment strategy.
• Select the most energy efficient airline on a particular route using the Atmosfair Airline Index or Skyscanner's new environment section.
• Introduce a levy on flights and use the funds to support staff and students to come up with ways to make operations more sustainable (a good example is the University of Gothenburg Climate Fund).
• Make offsetting flights policy (the best offsetting programs meet Verified Carbon Standard or Clean Development Mechanism standards. NB a good rule of thumb is that generally 1 tree needs planted for every hour in the air, in other words you would have to plant 10 trees to counteract the emissions from 10 hours of flying.
• Encourage your institution to commit to net zero carbon targets (Monash University Net Zero Initiative is a good example.
• Make ethical purchasing and procurement choices: e.g. don’t bank with or allow branches on campus of banks that fund mining companies. In many countries there are web sites which rate banks on their ethical investments.
• Increase the proportion of plant-based foods campus-based cafes or catering firms provide.
• Invest in infrastructure to support use of public transport and cycling.
• Offer students opportunities to take part in climate action projects and workshops.
• Offer alumni professional development around how to take effective climate action.

Climate change as an opportunity
The climate challenge is not just a problem to be solved; it presents an incredible vehicle to deliver experiential learning and to involve students in meaningful ways which develop core employability skills and facilitate social networks.