The higher education sector is well placed to address the environmental challenges facing the planet, to support the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the green transition as well as the European Union’s Green Deal initiative. Many higher education institutions in the EHEA are actively involved in a range of forward-thinking activities in the area of environmental sustainability, both to green their own footprint, and to contribute to their surrounding communities as responsible societal actors. Their experience in this field makes them key in the transition towards carbon neutrality and sustainable societies.
Environmental sustainability and the green transition are central goals of European societies and economies, a key aspect of the SDGs, and therefore an important call for Europe’s universities. EUA has reiterated its commitment to the 2030 Agenda in its Strategic Plan (Priority 1), and its 2030 vision “Universities without Walls”.
EUA engages in initiatives to promote the contribution of the European higher education sector towards carbon neutrality and towards more sustainable European societies and economies. It also works to foster collaboration and peer learning between members and partners in the development of sustainable higher education institutions, with a view to enhance the wider societal impact through education and research, and engagement with society, at local and global levels. Drawing on a university vision for the European Green Deal, EUA is pursuing these objectives with the support of a dedicated task-and-finish group of university experts.
EUA contributes to making the work of members more visible through data collection and events. It also contributes to European greening policy and instruments, for example by supporting the development of the MSCA Green Charter and by gathering and sharing information on institutions’ approaches and activities in the field of greening.
These efforts are linked to EUA’s work in promoting the role of universities in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Association’s role in shaping EU research and innovation programmes.
The European University Association welcomes the European Commission’s Communication on A New European Innovation Agenda, notably as an overarching innovation agenda is needed to tackle specific bottlenecks which stunt Europe’s innovation performance, and to achieve consistency and effective implementation of the various tools available for this purpose.
A European Green Deal that achieves its purpose must be science-driven, with suitable mechanisms for the provision of scientific advice and the boosting of scientific literacy among citizens and policy makers.
The European University Association (EUA) fully supports the environmental objectives outlined in the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy regulation. However, broadening the application of the Do No Significant Harm principle to all projects under European R&I framework programmes (i.e. Horizon...
view moreToday, the Council of the European Union adopted Conclusions on the New European Innovation Agenda. The European University Association (EUA) welcomes this decision and notes the emphasis on a broader range of innovation processes and stakeholders that should have been included in the Agenda from...
view moreToday, more than ever before, universities are expected to fulfil multiple and increasingly...
read moreThis report provides in-depth analysis of the results of the first-ever Europe-wide survey on...
read moreOn 13 January 2022, the European Commission published a Proposal for a Council recommendation on learning for environmental sustainability. EUA welcomes the initiative as it acknowledges the crucial contribution of education institutions in reaching the objectives of the United Nations' 2030...
view moreGiven their education, research and societal missions, universities are important actors in the...
read moreHigher education institutions are key actors in the transition towards carbon neutrality and...
read moreRUS, Rete delle Università per lo Sviluppo sostenible, in partnership with the Italian Pavilion at EXPO 2020 DUBAI and the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS), organise the Forum "Universities in action for the UN 2030 Agenda" on 18 January 2022. The Forum will be on hybrid...
view moreEUA has joined SDG Watch Europe to provide input into the upcoming European Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on education for environmental sustainability. The Recommendation will look at challenges for the integration of environmental approaches into education at all levels and...
view moreThe European Commission and the European Research Executive Agency (REA) organise the online event “European Green Deal Cluster Event” on 6 and 7 July 2021. Registrations are now open and free of charge. The event will bring together excellent projects and researchers funded under the Marie...
view moreEuroScience, the European Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology, organises the 1st EuroScience Policy Forum “Opening new pathways to knowledge and the future” on 29 and 30 June. Registrations are now open and free of charge to anyone interested. The EuroScience Policy Forum...
view moreEUA member in France, Aix-Marseille University, organises the online 2021 European Conference “Protect our oceans, the challenge of Europe’s global leadership” on 16 June 2021. The conference will be held in English and French, and registrations are open for free to anyone interested in the...
view moreRECOMS, Resourceful and Resilient Communities, organises an international conference and exhibition entitled “Spaces of Possibility: communities and places in times of social and environmental uncertainty” on 7 – 11 June in Brussels. Registrations are now open until 30 May. The “confex”...
view moreSustainable learning and teaching was at the centre of the 2020 EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Groups, which have wrapped up their cycle of work. Focusing specific issues under this broader topic, the groups have released their reports covering: Approaches in learning and teaching...
view moreThe 2020 EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on “Environmental sustainability of...
read moreIn a wider context marked by the Covid-19 crisis, the transition to a digital and green economy,...
read moreThe Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) organises the interactive workshop “Blue Engineering - Engineers with social and ecological responsibility” on 27 January from 14:00 to 15:30 CET. Participation is free of charge and registrations are open until 25 January by email. The course is a...
view moreThe European Commission has launched the Education Climate Coalition, an initiative of the European Education Area which aims to promote the green and digital transitions of education and training throughout the European Union. Education institutions of all levels are encouraged to make a...
view moreThe Energy Policy and Development Centre (KEPA) of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece organises the 13th International Conference on Energy and Climate Change on 7-9 October 2020, with the 7th Green Energy Investments Forum taking place on the first day. Last year, the...
view moreThe Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree DENSYS invites DENSYS consortium partners, academic associated partners and industrial partners to propose topics for the challenge-based module before 15 May 2020. The challenge-based module is one of the highlights of the pedagogic programme of DENSYS,...
view moreThe Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree DENSYS is a collaborative two-year (120 ECTs) joint master degree programme with the goal to provide training in the inter-disciplinary fields of Decentralised smart ENergy SYStems. Decentralised smart energy systems play an increasing role in the...
view moreTeRRIFICA is holding its 2nd Online Conference “Connecting case studies with future climate action" on 19 September 2019 from 10.00 to 14.00 CEST. Four months after their 1st successful edition, the TeRRIFICA (Territorial Responsible Research and Innovation Fostering Innovative...
view moreThe University of Alcalá (UAH) and the University Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) are pleased to announce that up to twenty one (21) fellowships are available as part of GOT ENERGY TALENT – COFUND Postdoctoral Fellowship programme (GET-COFUND). Out the 21 fellowships available, UAH will...
view moreThe EUA Energy & Environment Platform (EUA-EPUE) welcomes a new Chair. The EUA Council has...
view moreThe 24th United Nations climate change conference (COP24) took place from 3 to 14 December in Katowice, Poland. It focused on the implementation of the Paris Agreement (2016) and on advancing the Talanoa dialogue, initiated by the Fijian presidency of COP23 in 2017. The urgent need to act at a...
view moreOn 28 November 2018, EUA will moderate the Tech Session 6B ‘Education and training in smart...
view moreThe EUA Energy & Environment Platform participated in an Energy Talk on "Interdisciplinary Education, Training and Research at European Universities” during the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) on 7 June 2018 in Brussels. The Energy Talk was delivered by Dr Douglas Halliday, Durham...
view moreThe European University Association (EUA) and its Energy and Environment Platform (EUA-EPUE)...
read moreEnergy Research, Innovation and Competitiveness is a Energy Union policy priority. As the European...
read moreWith multi-fold increases in energy bills being felt across Europe, is this one crisis too many...
read moreThe culture of interdisciplinarity and co-creation is one of the strongest assets of research and...
read morePromoting and supporting entrepreneurship has become an important issue for universities in recent...
read moreUniversities support Europe’s agenda for digital leadership in their role as digital technology...
read moreHigher education institutions in Europe are highly engaged in addressing environmental challenges...
read moreThe European Commission aims at developing a “European strategy for universities” to strengthen...
read moreA new EUA study reveals that higher education institutions in Europe are highly engaged in...
read moreSustainability is an important issue for universities. At Trinity College Dublin, the current...
read moreThe messages from science are clear: The coming decade will be crucial in combating the climate...
read moreThe radical digitalisation of higher education due to the Covid-19 crisis offers an opportunity to...
read moreAs reflected by the European Green Deal, the environmental revolution is likely the main challenge...
read moreUniversities are uniquely positioned to work with policymakers and industry to shape a sustainable...
read moreIn the context of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), taking place in November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, research & innovation...
Read moreAs universities across Europe reflect on their role in the green transition, as well as its impact on their various missions, EUA organised this online event...
Read moreFriday 4 June 2021, 14.00 to 15.00 CEST Higher education institutions are important actors in the transition towards carbon neutrality and sustainable...
Read more3 June 2021, 14.00 to 15.00 CEST Education is key to achieving an environmentally sustainable society, as it builds awareness and the ability to develop...
Read moreHigher education institutions are highly internationalised, their staff and students frequently mobile across the EHEA and beyond. Preliminary data from EUA’s...
Read moreThe first “Energy & Environment Clustering Event”, hosted by Durham Energy Institute at Durham University and facilitated by the EUA Energy &...
Read moreThe EUA Energy and Environment Platform (EUA-EPUE), in collaboration with EIT InnoEnergy, organised a two-day conference on the topic "European...
Read moreThe High-Level Conference “European Universities in the Energy Transition: Towards a Clean Energy Future” was the sixth of a series of “Energy...
Read moreThe 5th UNI-SET Energy Clustering Event explored how European universities can learn from and further cooperate in research, collaboration and education...
Read moreThe 4th UNI-SET Energy Clustering Event explored how European universities can further cooperate in research and education activities in the fields of...
Read moreThe 3rd UNI-SET Energy Clustering Event explored how European universities can further cooperate in research and education activities in the fields of energy...
Read moreThe 2nd UNI-SET Energy Clustering Event explored how European universities can further cooperate in research and education activities in the fields of energy...
Read moreThe 1st UNI-SET Energy Clustering Event explored how European universities can cooperate more with each other and work together to address the challenge of...
Read more