Academia’s green makeover stops short at research and innovation, report says

Universities are increasingly implementing sustainability and greening initiatives, but tend to stop short at their research and innovation activities, according to a survey from the European University Association (EUA). 

While most respondents said they have sustainability and greening strategies in place, only 21% have dedicated policies to reduce the environmental footprint of laboratory research, and 20% to promote the green use of research infrastructures. Meanwhile, research collaborations with carbon-intensive industries are subject to audits in just a third of institutions.

This is despite the proliferation of institutions studying sustainability. Forty per cent of the survey respondents said they now had dedicated institutes or departments for interdisciplinary research and innovation on sustainability or the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Nevertheless, three quarters of respondents claimed that they “actively engaged” in efforts to make research and innovation more sustainable, even if these efforts are less likely to be covered by tangible policies.

“It may be easier for universities to design and implement sustainability measures in areas like learning and teaching, campus management etc.,” Michael Gaebel, director of higher education policy at the EUA and one of the report’s authors, told Science|Business.

Another issue is a lack of funding. The EUA notes that most institutions rely on EU initiatives or apply to EU project calls in order to establish greening solutions. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Green Charter, which sets out non-binding principles to promote environmental practices in research training projects funded by the initiative, is “a notable example in the area of research practices,” Gaebel said. “We hope that initiatives like this, while voluntary, will foster further progress.”

University engagement

The survey received 400 responses from institutions in 43 out of 49 countries of the European Higher Education Area. Eighty-four per cent reported having dedicated sustainability and greening strategies in place, against 61% in 2021.

For nearly all the surveyed institutions, student and staff engagement is a substantial driver for implementing these strategies. This is why all are running awareness-raising and communication initiatives on sustainability and greening, the EUA report says, while 95% offer sustainability training and capacity-building for staff, up from 78% in 2021. However, staff engagement is not as established as that for students, who can obtain course credits and awards in 79% of institutions.

“Roughly every second institution wants to enhance the commitment of staff and students,” the EUA says, citing limited engagement as one of the most frequently mentioned barriers to setting up sustainability and greening initiatives.

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But to drive engagement, the majority of institutions need funding incentives, guidelines and policy targets.

For 59%, the main obstacle to carrying out sustainability and greening activities is underfunding. While European funding is most sought, universities also call on national funding, internal funds and funding through partnerships.

“Over 40% of institutions recognise the importance of integrating sustainability indicators in block grant funding or performance contracts,” the EUA says in its report. “But about a fifth state that these are not available to them, showing that there is greater potential to mainstream funding for sustainability.”

Policy drivers

Policy drivers for the greening of academia include Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, the Green Deal and the MSCA Green Charter.

Under the Green Deal, launched in 2019, the EU aims to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. Both targets have been rendered legally binding by the EU Climate Law. The European Commission has also agreed a 90% emissions reduction goal by 2040.

“The findings on drivers of engagement show that, while EU funding and policy objectives are important, they are not the top drivers,” Henriette Stoeber, EUA senior policy analyst and the other author of the report, told Science|Business. The Erasmus+ higher education exchange programme, which has environmental sustainability as one of the overarching priorities, plays an important role, she went on, especially when it comes to collaboration.

“It is therefore worrying that the draft proposal for the next Erasmus+ does no longer includes environment as a priority,” she said.