On this page you will find some of the initiatives AU has launched to help realise its climate strategy in four different areas:
Initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions
AU’s climate action plans contain a complete overview of the university’s CO2-reducing activities for each year. This page will give you an insight into some of these activities.
Many steps are being taken across the university to bring down energy consumption in AU’s buildings. For example, parts of campus are now closed at night, and sensor-controlled lighting in corridors and open-plan offices now turns off quicker than usual. AU now only heats its buildings to 19 degrees during the autumn and winter months, and ventilation systems no longer operate around the clock. Read more about energy reduction in AU’s buildings.
The Parks and Gardens Section at AU is combating weeds without using poisonous weed killer – for example, algae is removed using a heat treatment. Garden equipment that usually runs on diesel, including equipment for snow removal, sweeping and salting, is gradually being replaced by electric-powered equipment in so far as the technology allows. Also, selected areas at AU have been allocated to biodiversity, and there will be more of these areas in the years to come. The areas of biodiversity are part of the overall vision at AU for the sustainable development of campus. They can also be used for research, for teaching about ecosystems and plant and animal species, or as social meeting places. These areas will also contribute to increasing the local biodiversity
Since August 2022, vegetarian food has been the default option when ordering catering for meetings and conferences. It is still possible to order alternatives with meat, but you must actively choose to do so. The initiative only covers catering for meetings, conferences and similar events that are arranged and financed by AU. To reduce the large number of single-use plastic water bottles used at AU conferences, the university now offers reusable bottles to conference participants. It has also established central water fountains that provide water directly from an underground water line, which does not need to be cooled. In this way, the university reduces its consumption of both plastic and energy. Read more about sustainability and conferences.
A broadly representative working group has drafted a proposal for a revised travel policy for the university’s employees. The senior management team has provided input for the policy and subsequently approved it. The new policy explicitly encourages staff to think carefully about their travel plans, by only travelling if necessary, avoiding domestic flights, and taking the train instead of the plane for journeys less than 5 hours by train each way. Read more about AU’s travel policy.
AU’s diesel and petrol cars will be phased out and replaced by electric and hybrid vehicles, and their total number will be reduced. In addition, you can charge your electric or hybrid car at a charging station in several of the areas for employee parking. Learn where the charging stations are located and rules for charging.
Carpooling reduces the number of cars on the road. This is why AU has set up a carpooling club in the Danish app Ta’Med, which makes it easier to share lifts with other people to and from AU.
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AU supports a holistic approach to the procurement of goods and services in which environmental impact is equally as important as other factors such as cost and quality. The sustainability of a product must be considered in terms of its materials, waste products, durability, recycling/reuse and delivery.
Ultimo 2024/primo 2025 Aarhus University will introduce a new waste-sorting system with more fractions that will make it possible to recycle more of the universitys's waste in the university’s kitchenettes, study areas, canteens and outside the lecture theatres. The new bins will allow waste to be sorted into up to four fractions, depending on how much and what type of waste is produced in the different locations.