Starting into the year 2026, the E³UDRES² European University Alliance has released a dedicated E³UDRES² Sustainability Guide, presenting a unified framework to support and strengthen sustainability and emission reduction efforts across the alliance. The publication, backed by a Sustainability Pledge signed by all full members of the E³UDRES² alliance, underscores E³UDRES²' commitment to developing “Smart and Sustainable Regions” and aligning its activities with the ambitions of the European Green Deal and beyond.
The Sustainability Guide, which was developed over the course of several months by a dedicated team of E³UDRES² members coming from five different institutions, looks at the current status of the climate crisis, possible scopes of action of E³UDRES² as an alliance, as well as practical recommendations for emission reduction in connection to the activities the alliance carries out. Main emission factors of E³UDRES² activities currently include aspects such as mobility, catering at alliance activities, as well as energy usage for locations, electronic devices, or promotional material, among other things. Simultaneously, the alliance already acts in a sustainable way when it comes to a mindful use of merchandising materials, including sustainability perspectives in most of its challenge-based events, and tackling food waste at on-site events.
A shared responsibility to act
"As higher education institutions commited to contributing to "Smart & Sustainable Regions", we have a special responsibility to align our actions with current scientific findings and recommendations", says Ramona Mauthner of USTP - University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten, initiator of the Sustainability Guide. "All our E³UDRES² regions had to face worsening natural disasters over the past years, with a E³UDRES² Intensive I Living Lab that even had to be cancelled last-minute due to extreme flooding in Austria in order to keep participants safe. This catastrophic trend will unfortunately continue and worsen over the years, and as an alliance we should do our best to not contribute to the problem."
A significant part of the Sustainability Guide is devoted to practical recommendations for advancing sustainability within the alliance. The suggestions include focusing on low-carbon travel options wherever possible, improving data collection to better understand where the alliance has room for improvement, offering more plant-based catering, reducing waste, and actively involving students and staff in shaping the transformation. The recommendations emphasize that effective sustainability work relies on shared responsibility as well as cross-country collaboration.
Over the course of the coming months, the recommendations of the guide will be tackled gradually to lower the overall emissions caused by alliance activities. By embedding sustainability into education, research, and everyday operations, the alliance reinforces its responsibility as a collective of educational institutions to align actions with current scientific evidence and societal needs.
Links
➝ E³UDRES² Sustainability Guide
Article created by: USTP
