Maintaining our commitment to a sustainable future

The University of Melbourne is on track to achieve its target of zero net emissions from electricity by 2021, and commitment to carbon neutrality before 2030 – both headline targets of the Sustainability Plan developed in 2017.

These achievements are noted in our recently released 2018 Sustainability Report.

The Report documents our progress and identifies challenges in delivering the University’s strong commitment to sustainability, and marks a significant point in time, being halfway through the Plan period of 2017 to 2020.

In addition, the University has been formally recognised via the International Sustainable Campus Network Award – Partnerships for Progress category, for its long-term agreements to purchase renewable energy from Victorian windfarms.

In alignment with this strategy and on the back of one of the most debated issues of the 2019 Federal Election campaign, two recent alumni events held in Perth and Brisbane focused on the issues of climate change and energy transition.   

The events were timed to coincide with World Climate Day and The Climate Reality Project’s Leadership Training program in Brisbane, led by former Vice-President of the United States, the Hon Al Gore. Both evenings brought together panels comprising researchers at the forefront of climate science in an exploration of truth and myth.

If you are interested in learning more about the University’s climate initiatives, you can read about the work coming out of the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, the Melbourne Energy Institute and the Climate and Energy College. You can also pre-order the new book ‘Superpower’ by Professor Garnaut, Professorial Research Fellow in Economics at the University of Melbourne, for an exclusive pre-order price (use codeword MU at the check-out; offer expires 1 August 2019).

Find out more about the University’s climate initiatives.