COPERNICUS Alliance

The University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) teamed up with an NGO to address the problem of marine litter. In joint activities involving the entire university community they collected waste and contributed to water pollution awareness and research.

With the ESD-chair of Prof. Heike Molitor, the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) sets impulses in research and practice of Education for Sustainable Development. The working group Sustainability at Brandenburg Universities, which is headed by Dr. Jennifer Krah under the professional direction of Prof. Dr. Heike Molitor, has released two publications to support the curricular integration of HESD and the capacity building of teaching staff and multipliers in this field.

To counteract the climate crisis, BOKU Vienna has set itself the goal of achieving net-zero-emissions by 2040! This means a 90 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and an offset only for the residual emissions (max. 10% from the base year). As a mid-term goal the university aims to reduce 2/3 of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, which is outlined in a roadmap. The baseline for the BOKU path to climate neutrality is the BOKU greenhouse gas balance of 2019 and it is in line with the science-based targets (SBTi).

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The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the Climateworks Centre, and Monash University have developed the Net Zero on Campus Initiative. It consists of a "how-to" guide and an accompanying online toolkit that will enable universities and colleges to accelerate the planning and implementation of net zero strategies, and act as living laboratories for testing solutions. The official presentation including the launch of a community of pactice will take place on 20 April alongside the Earth Day Celebrations. 

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United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR) have launched a free massive open online course (MOOC) on "Nature-based Solutions for Disaster and Climate Resilience" designed for everybody wanting to develop the theme of environment, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The course is available until August 2023 and can be completed with a certificate.

Urban Shift is an experimental, impact-based, and transdisciplinary education programme that focuses on creating lasting change by bringing together stakeholders from Higher Education Institutions, a Vocational Education Institution, urban experts, and business partners. Aspiring entrepreneurs will create green business solutions for tackling urban challenges.

For decades, scientists have been trying to draw attention to the threats of the climate and environmental crisis through classic science communication. Nevertheless, the long overdue transformation of society is a long time coming. Given the urgency of the situation and the slow pace of politics, it is time for scientists to step out of their ivory towers and engage in more direct forms of action to position themselves in the public discourse. Researchers at the BOKU Vienna took action.

The University of Graz aims to foster environmental measures at all levels. "Green Buddies" are departmental volunteers who promote activities related to energy, waste, procurement, resources and mobility in their departments and exchange with the environment and sustainability team of the university.

From 14-15 December 2022, the Ubuntu Committee of Peers for the Regional Centres of Expertise (RCEs) met in Tokyo. The CA was represented by CA Advisory Board member Jana Dlouhá. The RCE network is an important partner of the CA and some CA members also coordinate an RCE.

The University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) is a partner in the new Erasmus+ project ATTUNE (Activate the University for Climate Change). The project addresses climate change on the university campus and promotes and encourages action by all members of the university community. It includes an innovative learning programme that helps Higher Education Institutions become more sustainable.

A recent paper by the Climate Change Centre Austria (CCCA), a climate research-related alliance of Austrian Universities and other research institutions, provides a scientific basis for climate policies. It underpins the urgency of immediate systematic climate action measures and defines carbon budgets for Austria.

Higher education for sustainability urgently needs to convey soft skills. The project TRACCskills puts a focus on "people skills" and explores transformative practice-based teaching tools. During an online workshop on "Soft skills for hard decisons" on 25 January 2023, an international audience gained insights into the project and was able to test transformative methods live.

MERGED is a new joint programme developed and implemented by universities in Denmark, Italy, and Poland. All are partners in the 4EU+ Alliance. Students of the programme benefit from interdisciplinary knowledge, direct sector exposure, practical field experiences, specialized abilities to target sustainability problems, and thus high employability. MERGED is unique in educating graduates who can deal with interdisciplinary challenges at the nexus of renewable environmental resources and sustainable development. Application deadlines for interested students: Outside EU/EEA/Switzerland applicants: 15 January; EU/EEA/Switzerland applicants: 1 March.

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From 6-8 December 2022, the partners of the TRACCskills project facilitated a pilot course on "Transformative Decision Making: Teaching Cross Cutting Skills for the SDGs in Higher Education". 20 educators and trainers gathered at Leuphana University of Lüneburg to test various tools and facilitation methods by applying them to their individual decision-making cases – a truly transformative experience for both facilitators and participants!

Green Offices stand for institutionalizing sustainability in higher education by empowering students and staff as changemakers. From 21-22 October 2022, students and staff from Belgian Green Offices – including several CA members – gathered for a meet-up. The two-day meeting served for knowledge exchange between well-established Green Offices and newer ones as well as for joint workshops with partner organizations.

The COPERNICUS Alliance was invited by three other networks to represent our European network on higher education for sustainable development at their events: The international week of the Top Management Programme for senior higher education leaders organized by Advance HE, the Annual Meeting of PRME’s chapter France & Benelux, and the Summit for Future Generations of the Foundation for Future Generations. We provide a brief overview of the key messages given and taken during these three events.

From 10-11 November 2022, the SDG-iLevel project partners met in Rijeka, Croatia. Current activities involve interviews with decision makers at universities and a large survey among European academics. SDG-iLevel Maps will connect specific tasks performed by employees in major university staff groups and academic domains with specific individual contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals at macro, meso and micro (individual) level. 

For university lecturers in Austria, there is currently a lack of both adequate further training offers on sustainable development and suitable incentives to participate in them. How can sustainable development in its various forms be integrated into schools, if student teachers at universities have so far received too little insight into the topic? Against this background, the "Alliance of Sustainable Universities in Austria" developed the 2-semester further education program "ESD-Certificate" for university teachers.