Sustainability Office

In very many places within UU, we collaborate on sustainability. We make our operational management and procurement policy more sustainable, work on awareness via all kinds of campaigns, do research and structurally integrate the theme of sustainability into our provided education. The Sustainability Office is THE central coordination point where all these activities and communication efforts on the theme of sustainability meet.

The Sustainability Office ensures that we as Utrecht University all convey the same clear and achievable sustainability strategy. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the connecting thread. These inspire us and provide direction.

What does the Sustainability Office do?

The Sustainability Office:

  • takes the lead in providing direction and substance to the sustainability strategy and goals of UU;
  • facilitates, connects and mobilises all sustainability activities;
  • provides an open and transparent monitoring and reporting of progress;
  • provides an open platform for students and staff members to launch their new plans and projects for a more sustainable university via the Green Office;
  • creates innovative and groundbreaking test gardens (UULabs) for sustainable development in our buildings and on our grounds.

This way, we are working on an organisation in which we think and act together in order to make the university more sustainable.

  • Sustainable Development Goals

    In 2015, the United Nations identified 17 sustainable social, economic and environmental development goals: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Issues such as biodiversity, access to clean drinking water, education and gender equality are major international challenges to be addressed by the year 2030. As UU, together with our students and staff, we want to actively help find solutions to these major world issues.

  • Our contribution to the SDGs

    In UU's strategic plan (2020-2025), sustainable development is one of the five key principles. The SDGs are therefore an integral part of our education, research and operations. They provide direction and serve as a source of inspiration. As a university, we aim to contribute to improved knowledge on all 17 SDGs through our teaching and research. The SDG perspective fits perfectly with our multidisciplinary teaching and research, and with cooperation across borders. In the coming years, we will use these sustainable development goals as a tool for naming challenges and finding solutions.

Our mission is to mobilise, challenge and facilitate students, staff and stakeholders to collectively transform Utrecht University into an example for other organisations when it comes to sustainability.