UGAF, UNICA Green Academic Footprint, is an initiative of UNICA, the Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe

UNICAgreen ACAdemICfootprINt

University of Oslo Université libre de Bruxelles Tallinn University Universidade de Lisboa Université de Lausanne Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata

UGAF Core Group

UGAF Green Pledge - - - - - - - - 2

Vision - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3

Our Mission - - - - - - - - - - - - 4

Goals - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5

Green Practice Sharing - - - - - - 6

You’ve got UGAF Mail - - - - - - - 7

Green Research - - - - - - - - - - 8

Green Ambassadors project - - - - 9

What Is ‘Green School’? - - - - 10

UGAF Green Event Check List - 11

UGAF at the 3rd Congress of Resilient Cities, Bonn - - - - - - 13

Green Practice - - - - - - - - - - - 14

UGAF Trainees - - - - - - - - - - - 18

UGAF Student Photo Contest - - - 19

Network of Universitiesfrom the Capitals of Europe

UGAF Green Pledge

Why Green Events?

To meet the global environmental challenges we commit to:

• promoting environmental sustainability in every aspect of our work at universities;

• set environmental sustainability on top of our priorities;

• work closely with policy makers, municipalities & communities, industry & business and other universities;

• share examples of our green practice, evaluate and report on our status, plans and progress to all stakeholders.

We are the Universities from the Capitals of Europe. We pledge to become greener.

We acknowledge that Environmental Sustainability is at our core mission and as universities, we have a unique:

• potential and capacity to enhance knowledge and understanding, and provide necessary skills and innovation;

• responsibility and duty towards raising awareness and enhancing sustainability literacy of students, staff and communities;

• position and reason to develop our campuses as living laboratories of environmental sustainability in practice.

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Vision

UNICA Green Academic Footprint (UGAF) is a network-based initiative to support member Universities in environmental sustainability initiatives.

The vision of the UNICA Green Academic Footprint is to fulfill our responsibility towards raising awareness and enhancing sustainability literacy of students, staff and communities.

e-eduction.psu.edu

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Economic

Social

Bearable

Viable

Equitable

Environment

Our Mission

Sustainability is not just another issue to be added to an overcrowded curriculum, but it is a gateway to a different view of pedagogy, of organizational change, of policy and particularly of ethos.

Stephen Sterling

“”

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UNICA green academic footprint

The mission of the UNICA Green Academic Footprint is to promote, implement and enhance capabilities with regard to environmental sustainability in every aspect of work at universities comprehensively.

We do this by collaborating closely with the UNICA Universities as well as policy makers, municipalities & communities, and other universities and networks to join forces in sustainability projects.

UGAF is building a platform for enhancing knowledge, necessary skills and innovation, as well as providing a supportive framework for sharing examples of our green practice, eco-audit and report our status and progress.

Why Green Events?

Goals

UNICA green academic footprint

1. Involve students in the development of green campuses by providing training courses, and supporting their green projects.

2. Develop and facilitate sustainability literacy courses and training programs to enhance awareness, knowledge and skills for making the campus a living laboratory.

3. Set up a collaborative platform for joint research projects, facilitating the search for funding and grant application.

4. Support universities in their sustainability efforts through a web-based platform for exchanging best green practices.

5. Build links between universities and municipalities to collaborate on sustainability issues on the campus and in the city.

6. Foster collaboration with business, industry and other networks and organizations to promote environmental sustainability.

The most effective way to lead a society is by providing positive examples.

Stavros A. Zenios, UNICA President

“”

The Initiative: UNICA Student Conference 2010 in RomeThe Insistence: 1st UGAF Workshop in Oslo, May 2011The Furtherance: 2nd UGAF Workshop, Lausanne, February 2012

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Green Practice Sharing

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On the UGAF website (www.ugaf.eu)you can find a directory of best practices from different UNICA Universities. You are welcome to share your practices or contact other universities to learn more about their experience.

The practices include a range of universities’ operational matters, such as: campus management, mobility, education, research, and student involvement.

www.ugaf.eu

On the UGAF Website (www.ugaf.eu) you can find a page with best practices from different UNICA universities. You are welcome to share your practices or contact other universities to learn more about their experience.

The practices include a range of universities’ operational matters such as: campus management, mobility, education, research, and student in-volvement.

Why Green Events?

You’ve got UGAF Mail

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10 Recom-mendations for Green Events

Green is the colour of mature decisions

UGAF Photo Competition

UGAF Photo Competition

You’ve got mailYou’ve got ugaf mail [ 1 ] JanuarY 2013

10 Recommendations for Green Events

are ready to use and can be found on our webpage. Get new ideas for organizing conferences and other events at your university!

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meet UGAF’s first trainee

Liisi Lees (Tallinn U. of Technology)! Liisi works in the UNICA office since September 2012. Read about the next traineeship calls.

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You’ve got UGAF mail

UGAF is an initiative by UNICA helping its member universities become sustainable by implementing green practices & know-how. Contact us for more information and collaboration! moRE    

Sustainable Barbecue & Speed-friending at VUB

Local and international students made friends while drinking Fairtrade cocktails and enjoying sustainable food.

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Eco-certified UNICA Student Conference at U. of oslo!

Read about certification criteria, innovative notepads, improved gift bag, Sustainability Day and ...

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UNICA President Stavros A. Zenios

“The most effective way to lead a society is by providing positive examples.” Our member universities are taking an action to be ones!  

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Jorulf B. Silde, U. of oslo, Chair of UGAF Group

We make choices: what case study to include in a course, what to purchase, how to plan an event. Go for the greener choice.

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Green week at Tallinn U.!

Among the highlights: university green logo competition, environmental movie night, bike tours, pot flowers exchange campaign, and...

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UGAF Photo Competition within the 43rd Earth Day, 22 April. Interested?

Follow the news our website. Perfect time to get out & educate people about environmental issues.

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Students 2 Students

World Student Environmental Summit “Let’s Change!”, U. of Lausanne. Delegates from all continents discussed environmental issues. See the outcomes.

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Congratulations Roma Tre University!

Super-Efficient MED The Sustainable Mediterranean House at third place on the podium of the general ranking of the bioarchitecture Olympics: the 2012 Solar Decathlon Europe!

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3rd UGAF workshop in Lisbon

We are happy to announce that 3rd UGAF workshop will be held in Portugal at U. of Lisbon in June 2013.

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In January 2013, UGAF launched its first UGAF Newsletter: You’ve got UGAF Mail, which presents recent news from UNICA Universities, green practices as well as current UGAF activities.

Why Green Events?

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Why Green Events?

As a Research Hub:• Providing a platform for joint research projects,

• Supporting grant applications,

• Assisting in writing project proposals.

Some Current Examples:

> Students Involvement, case study: To review the students’ involvement in various universities and networks within environmental matters, conducted at the universities (ULB).

> Attractiveness of Green Universities among Students: Does Greenness of university influence students’ choice? (UiO)

UGAF Research Project:• UGAF members initiate research projects based on their university needs as well as the UGAF’s group agenda.

• They support each other’s projects through data collection, sharing literature and peer review evaluation.

We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

Albert Einstein

“”

Green Research

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Green Ambassadors project

Students who take part in eco-literacy training courses or trainee programs can become Green Ambassadors.

Green Ambassadors can play a substantial role in greening of the campuses by sharing their knowledge and skills with other students and helping out schools and communities in their green practices.

UGAF project: • Students take some online courses designed and delivered by UGAF.

• They write a proposal for a green project to be implemented on the campus, which after approval will be supported by UGAF universities.

Be the change yu wish to see in the world.

Gandhi

“ ”Be the change yu wish to see in the world.

Gandhi

What Is ‘Green School’?

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As a Research Hub:• Green school is primarily aiming at providing practical eco-literacy training for the university staff.

• The programme can be diverse and flexible in method and length. Some examples include Energy Efficiency, Green IT, Waste Management, Green Event Organisation.

• The Green School project can be coupled with some of the available funding opportunities such as Lifelong Learning scheme and staff Erasmus Staff Mobility Weeks.

Example: Green IT School Green IT refers to the study and practice of using computers and IT resources in a more efficient and environmentally responsible way.

It is a 2-folded case: > Minimizing the negative impact of information technology use on the environment, > Using information technology to help solve environmental issues.

Why Green Events?

UGAF Green event Check List

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1. Transporation: Think your route through: Use the optimal means of transportation.• Encourage use of sustainable transportation. Provide the participants with the info on the most environmentally friendly means of transportation, encourage them to walk, use a bike or public transportation.

2. Accommodation: Close to the venue, eco-labelled.

• Try to find environmentally friendly accommodation, prefer eco-labelled hotels (e.g. EU Ecolabel). Ask if the hotel reuses linen, uses non-toxic cleaning agents, if they have a recycling programme (paper, waste, greywater, etc.).

3. Food: Local, organic, limit waste (order the right quantity of food).

• Offer vegetarian options, together with fresh local organic products and, if possible, in-season to support the farmers and the local economy.

4. Paper: Less paper, more information offered electronically.

• Minimise the use! It is easy to update the agenda online when needed and you can provide much more information as you are not constrained to printing needs. Use USB sticks to put the necessary materials on it and distribute them to the participants.

How can we plan an event to have as small ecological footprint as possible? In many cases that means, before buying or using anything, asking yourself: Can we solve it with a lighter use of resources? Here is a list of ideas for organizing a more sustainable event.”

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UGAF Green event Check List

> continuation

5. Energy efficiency: Reduce energy use.

• Heating: Do not overheat! Consider using natural light (conferences at day time) and energy efficient lighting wherever possible. Make sure that all equipment is energy efficient and that it is turned off when not used.

7. Give-aways: Give a smile!

• Offer reusable bags and try to give local sustainably made and practical gifts.

8. Presentations: Less on paper, more online.

• Encourage speakers to use electronic means of presentation. No need to print all the slides out, just upload them on your website later.

9. 3R: reduce, reuse, recycle:

• Choose a venue with an in-house recycling programme and encourage recycling. Make sure there are enough recycling bins and that they are clearly marked.

• Surprise the participants with an environmentally friendly idea, i.e. like at the UNICA Student Conference 2012 at the University of Oslo, where recycled notepads were offered to the participants.

10. Think globally, act locally:• Local Minds: Bring in local speakers and performers whenever possible.Support community leaders.

• Use teleconferencing when possible.

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UGAF at the 3rd Congress of Resilient Cities, Bonn, May 2012

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Green Practice

Transportation habit is contributing substantially to the CO2-footprint of UiO. In addition to including environmental concern in the general mobility policy and advocating the use of public transport, UiO is promoting the use of electric cars.

Private use: priority, reserved and free parking at several locations and charging at no cost. General policy: if you need a parking place, it will be arranged.

Public Pool of electric cars: UiO provides a park of 5 electric cars for all students and employees through

collaboration with a private service provider. Reservations are arranged via a user-friendly booking system. Job-related use charges the employer’s account directly and automatically. Private use is possible and is charged by the hour or day directly.

Electric vehicles are in use within the park department. Test trials of electric lawn-mower robots is an ongoing project.

Currently, Green UiO supervises a student-run survey to analyse transportation habits among staff and students.

The Rector and Director of University of Oslo promoting use of electric cars.

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Green Practice

Increasing the Awareness:Project «Crediti formativi nelle Università del Lazio»: A web-based information course at different level of complexity (Base, Intermediate and Advanced) aiming to increase the general awareness of the campus population on the general theme of sustainability

An e-learning platform dedicated to the whole campus population and also open to general public.

Next steps towards an Active Energy EfficiencyBesides increasing the general level of awareness a more direct involvement of final user is instrumental to achieve significant results.

The e-learning platform will be used as a basis for an experimental application of the so called Innovation Jam which is used in industrial process to foster innovative solution. This is a guided and interactive blog discussion where all participants show their attitude to support actions in the field of sustainability but at the same time have the opportunity of suggesting new ideas and new concepts.

Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata

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Waste management We produced about 750 tons of waste (2011). As shown in the table, the total waste is increasing proportionally to the number of students, but we managed to keep the incinerated material stable and increase the recycled part.

Sustainable campaign

It is very important for us that students get involved in actions for sustainability. For example, they are promoting the consumption of the local food by organizing a special market every Tuesday morning. All kinds of incentives are used… including small ones

to encourage all sustainable actions: we try to stimulate people to turn off the lights and we promote bicycles, including setting up a mechanic shop that repairs bikes almost for free, i.e. the price of the spare parts. We aim to

• Strengthen the culture of sustainability in the UNIL community.

• Affirm the UNIL as a center of reflection on sustainability.

• Make sustainability a part of the UNIL’s quality culture.

Green Practice

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Green Week: Tallinn University held a Green Week between 24 and 28 September. It started with a student competition for a University’s green logo.

Tallinn University planned several events for the Green Week. Monday saw a plant donation campaign: students could bring plants from home or donate money which the University would double in order to buy plants to put around the campus.

Everyone was able to measure their ecological footprint and get recommendations on how to decrease it. During the official opening, the Estonian Minister of Environment gave a speech followed by a discussion. It was a car-free day at the University!

Wednesday was a smart-orientation day: teams could test themselves by solving environmental tasks at several checkpoints around the University. On Thursday, 3 environmental

movies were shown: Bikpela Bagarap (Big Damage) about logging in Papua New Guinea, E-Wasteland about electronic waste, and The 11th Hour. The director of the first two movies, Australian David Fedele, was also attending the event. This event had an exceptionally good turnout. The last day of the Green Week featured a quiz, where teams from outside the University were also welcomed!

Each one of us has an influence on the environment through the way we consume products and services based on natural resources. Our modern society consumes more of these resources than the Earth can provide & as a result, we must pursue the principles of sustainable development.

CRS Green University Tallinn

Green Practice

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UGAF Trainees

UNICA Secretariat provides traineeship opportunities for students interested in environmental sustainability issues. Interested in the UGAF traineeship? Write to office@unica-network.eu!

UGAF trainees 2012-2013:

• Attend and report on the Brussels-based meetings, seminars and conferences related to the environmental field.

UGAF trainees: • Support the UGAF Core Group in the development of the UNICA Green Academic Footprint initiative,

• Conduct web-based research & collect information on EC programmes & initiatives relevant for the UGAF initiative,

Kasia Janusz (student of Erasmus Mundus Programme in Sustainable Territorial Development) joined the UNICA Brussels-based office in March 2013 for 3 months. She took care of the follow-up of the UGAF Photo Contest and participated actively in the preparation of the 3rd UGAF Workshop in Lisbonne.

Liisi Lees (Tallinn University of Technology) was the first UNICA trainee and worked in the UNICA Brussels-based office from September 2012 to February 2013. She was responsible the first UGAF Newsletter, UGAF Checklist for Green Events, and the first UGAF Student Photo Contest organized on the occasion of the 43rd Earth Day.

UNICA (…) definitely gave me valuable working experience which employers appreciate. Thanks to my in UNICA I am more confident in the job market. Liisi“

”

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UGAF Student Photo Contest

UNICA (…) definitely gave me valuable working experience which employers appreciate. Thanks to my in UNICA I am more confident in the job market. Liisi

”

The theme of the contest, organised on the occasion of the 43rd Earth Day, was the Climate Change and its impact on the environment and human life. In the face of unprecedented occurrences of extreme weather, loss of species, and pollution, it is more important than ever to reflect on how we can protect the planet and prevent from the irreversible changes in environment.

The participants of the UGAF Student Photo contest were asked to submit photos which depict the changes they see in the environment and evoke a reflection on how our behaviour influences the state of our planet.

Twenty three pictures taken by the students of UNICA member universities were submitted for contest. The Jury composed of Members of the UGAF

Core Group decided to award Niccolò Arra (Student of the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”) for the picture which presents the drainage pipe located in the middle of the wood, far away from the civilization. This trace of human activity surrounded by the pristine and untouched forest shows the senselessness of interventions in the nature which only interfere with pure beauty and wilderness.

The grand prize of the contest was the InterRail Global Pass, offering “5 days within 10 days” of travelling by train across Europe.

The Organizers of the UGAF Photo Contest would like to thank all the participants for their excellent photos, the participating Universities, and the UGAF Core Group for their ongoing support.

See the gallery of all the pictures submitted to the Contest:http://www.flickr.com/photos/92948337@ N07/with/8489598650/#photo_8489598650

An initiative by UNICA, instituional network

of 44 universities from 33 capitals of Europe.

One of the greatest challenges of Higher Education is to meet the responsibil-ity to provide knowledge and educated citizens that will lead to a sustainably thriving civil society. Sustainability is becoming an integral part of universities’ life. This global trend among universities demonstrates that they are revising their missions and strategies by embodying sustainability on their agenda.

Join UGAF to exchange experience with other UNICA universities and to take active part in the discussion on the role of universities as change agents in environmental sustainability !

Network of Universitiesfrom the Capitals of Europe

UNICAgreen ACAdemICfootprINt

The content of the brochure was prepared by the members of the UGAF Core Group with a special contribution by Maryam FAGHIHIMANI (U. of Oslo). - Language Editor: Marta WASOWSKA (UNICA Secretariat) - Graphics: www.ligne33.be

COnTACT: UNICA Secretariat c/o University Foundation - Rue d’Egmont 11, 1000 Brussels Phone: +32/(0)2/514.78.00 - E-mail: office@unica-network.eu - http://www.unica-network.eu