SUSTAINABILITY
An increasingly sustainable university
The students from the Leiden University Green Office (LUGO)
Leiden University is at the heart of the local community, and with our teaching, research and business operations we are keen to promote sustainability.
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he University takes its responsibility to society seriously and is working hard to become more sustainable with regard to accommodation, energy, water, mobility, waste, procurement and investment. We have spent the past five years working on our environmental goals, which can be found in our Environmental Policy Plan. Our annual sustainability report details the precise results of this work. A new vision on sustainability will be drawn up with our students and staff in 2021. A sustainable university of the future is the goal. Renewable alternatives (or renewable energy) include solar and wind energy. The University has solar panels on its roofs and invests in wind energy in the Netherlands.
CLIMATE CONCERNS
Many people are increasingly worried about climate change. One of our ambitions is to drastically decrease the University’s CO2 footprint and use of resources. We can achieve this by reducing our use of fossil fuels, investing in 24
LEIDEN UNIVERSITY CORPORATE MAGAZINE 2021
renewable alternatives such as solar energy (solar panels) and wind energy, and by compensating (purchasing green certificates) for our CO2 emissions. Our CO2 footprint has decreased by more than 50 percent since 2016. The transition to a sustainable world requires graduates who understand climate issues and can help find solutions. In our degree programmes and courses we train our students to able to function in a circular economy.
ACTIVE STUDENTS
Our students are actively involved in our sustainability activities. Some of them work together with the University at the Leiden University Green Office (LUGO). They devise, collect and realise green plans and initiatives, and are in close contact with the University community. LUGO has a presence in The Hague and Leiden.
