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Over the past decade, universities throughout Europe have come to view sustainability as a defining aspect of their strategic thinking, rather than an isolated agenda.
Among the institutions that responded to the European University Association’s 2025 sustainability and greening survey, 84% have a sustainability strategy in place. As such, this briefing describes how these institutions conceptualise and frame sustainability in their strategic documents, based on an AI-assisted analysis of approximately one hundred institutional strategies, roadmaps and action plans.
The report identifies three dimensions in which universities articulate their work on sustainability:
These dimensions are not static. They evolve as institutions refine their priorities, adapt to external pressures and explore new pathways to sustainability.
In addition, the briefing looks into whether university strategies account for the governance of sustainability activities, finding wide variation, reflecting the contrasting ways in which universities frame responsibility in this area, from aspirational commitments to formalised mechanisms and participatory models.
University engagement for sustainability and greening has intensified in the first half of this decade. ...
What does the European Union’s new paradigm of competitiveness mean for universities? ...
The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), introduced in 2022 as part of the European Green Deal, aims to increase corporate transparency by requiring companies to report on their s ...
Universities must take action to strengthen their financial resilience. ...
The wide-ranging ambitions of the European Green Deal provide a policy framework to integrate the scientific, educational, and institutional dimensions of universities’ contribution to the green tra ...
Today, more than ever before, universities are expected to fulfil multiple and increasingly challenging roles. Invariably, university leaders are walking a tightrope, caught between long-term strategy ...
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 bot ...
This report provides in-depth analysis of the results of the first-ever Europe-wide survey on universities and innovation. ...
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 polic ...
Given their education, research and societal missions, universities are important actors in the transition towards carbon neutrality, sustainable societies and economies. They are well placed to play ...
This EUA position outlines the preliminary findings of a major study on innovation at European universities. It captures the different levels of innovation capacity at universities, as well as how the ...
This publication focuses on geopolitical changes, digitalisation and artificial intelligence, as well as the course of democracy, and how they may impact Europe’s universities. It outlines possible ...
Higher education institutions are key actors in the transition towards carbon neutrality and sustainable societies, as well as in reaching the objectives of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and the E ...
The 2020 EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on “Environmental sustainability of learning and teaching” discussed how learning and teaching can embrace and promote sustainability, and ...
Tento kľúčový dokument je výsledkom rozsiahlych konzultácií a rokovaní s členmi a partnermi EUA počas šesťmesačného obdobia v roku 2020. Presadzuje víziu odolných a efektívnych univer ...
This seminal document is the result of extensive consultations and deliberations with EUA members and partners over a six-month period in 2020. It sets out a vision of resilient and effective universi ...
EUA Strategic Plan The need for strong universities has never been greater in addressing societal challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, resource scarcity, ageing populations, migration a ...
Sustainable development is crucial to the future of Europe and the entire planet. The framework of the Sustainable Development Goals ensures social cohesion, economic prosperity and protection of the ...
The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA), the EUA Energy and Environment Platform (EUA-EPUE) and EIT InnoEnergy urge the European Institutions to keep sustainable energy as a top priorit ...
The European University Association (EUA) and its Energy and Environment Platform (EUA-EPUE) are at the helm of an extensive Europe-wide effort to address the Energy Transition by focusing o ...
Energy Research, Innovation and Competitiveness is a Energy Union policy priority. As the European Commission explains, “Research and Innovation (R&I) must be at the very heart of the Energy ...
This document was presented on 1 December 2016 at the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) Conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. More than 300 university leaders contributed t ...
On 3 December, 22 experts from 19 countries selected for the European University Association’s task-and-finish group on sustainability gathered in Brussels and online. ...
On 8 April, a draft report on ‘A new vision for the European Universities alliances’ is up for consideration by the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT). ...
Starting in April 2025, the European University Association will bring together up to 20 senior university leaders for a pilot Leadership Development Programme that fosters exceptional leadership skil ...
EuroScience has opened the call for bids to host the EuroScience Open Forum edition in 2026. ...
The 33rd EAIE Conference and Exhibition will take place from 26–29 September, at Rotterdam Ahoy convention centre. This year’s conference theme is ‘Connecting currents’, celebrating the mariti ...
GRANteD is a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, investigating the existence and emergence of gender bias in the decision-making processes of resea ...
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is offering a new programme to help institutional leaders address the reputational, funding and strategic challenges facing universities tod ...
Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for 50 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellows (PFs) (two levels of experienced researchers) (25 positions available in Call 1) at CÚR ...
The Global University Network for innovation (GUNi) is launching a HE Leadership & Management Hub designed to become a permanent platform for reflection, dialogue and professional training among h ...
The European University Association (EUA) and the Latin American and Caribbean Space for Higher Education (ENLACES) have published a joint statement ahead of a summit between the two regions’ leader ...
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 S ...
EUA member Coventry University and the European Business & Innovation Network (EBN) are partnering up on a webinar series dedicated to the transformative power of innovation through Simulation, Im ...
After two consecutive years of virtual “What’s new in Brussels?” seminars, the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) is holding the event in Brussels on 2-3 February. EUA Deputy Director of Gov ...
The International Association of Universities (IAU) is organising a virtual launch event on Tuesday 31 January 2023 at 14.00 – 15.30 CET to present the third survey on Higher Education and Research ...
Today, 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 ...
On 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 c ...
EUA 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 ...
The 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 ...
RECOMS, Resourceful and Resilient Communities, organises an international conference and exhibition entitled “Spaces of Possibility: communities and places in times of social and environmental uncer ...
Sustainable learning and teaching was at the centre of the 2020 EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Groups, which have wrapped up their cycle of work. ...
EUA member in Ukraine Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, together with the NGO “Sustainable Development Landmarks”, organise the 1st Virtual International Conference on Sustain ...
The School of Human Rights in Turkey, an EU-funded project that started during the state of emergency in Turkey, organises the International Online Conference of Academic Freedom as a Human Right on 1 ...
EUA partner Scholars at Risk (SAR) organises “Free to Think 2020: Responding to Attacks on Higher Education” on 19 – 20 November 2020. ...
The nominations for the 2020 edition of the UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the use of Information and Communication Technologies in education are open until 18 December 2020 (midnight, ...
Doctoral candidates from EUA members are invited to contribute to one of the 17 volumes of the Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the largest editorial project on matters related to ...
The 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 s ...
The 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 Tala ...
Universities are places where ideas grow, where critical thinking is nurtured and where dialogue sparks. As such they contribute to open, democratic and pluralistic societies. Academic freedom and in ...
The University of Lorraine (UL) is organising this workshop to create a platform for European actors involved in social sciences and humanities (SSH) to partake in the repositioning, and in proac ...
Can universities lead on clean technologies? Technological advancements are often seen as the key to tackling the climate crisis and environmental degradation. With this in mind, many unive ...
Europe’s pursuit of sustainability has drawn on a holistic understanding of climate and environment which is deeply intertwined with society, culture and economy, and informed by the UN’s ...
17 June, 14:00-15:30 CEST Universities are important actors in the green transition, as providers and disseminators of knowledge and large-scale economic actors, and must therefore integrate sustai ...
12 June, 14:30 – 15:30 CEST What is the nature of collaboration between researchers, citizens and policy makers when advocating for science-based sustainability policies? And how can universities ...
13 June 2025, 09.30-12.00 CEST Application closed What is the role of universities within the new European policy paradigm of competitiveness, security and sustainable prosperity? And how can u ...
The wide-ranging implications of climate change, environmental degradation, and loss of biodiversity and natural resources make it imperative to achieve a green transition that is holistic, swift, and ...
As 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 to discuss the sector’s vision for the f ...
For Sargis Asatryants, a local, values-based approach to sustainability rooted in education, research and institutional identity is needed to train the next generation of innovators in sustainable tra ...
Supporting and developing our next generation of researchers is of fundamental importance if we want to guarantee Europe’s competitiveness in a global economy. We need to tackle job insecurity, impr ...
For Geneviève Le Fort, quality assurance has an important role to play to help universities better understand the relevance of their sustainability strategies and the impact of their actions, which c ...
As EUA shines a ‘Spotlight on Sustainability’, EUA’s Thomas Jørgensen looks back on a decade of engagement by universities to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and asks ...
What is the state of university finances in Europe, and what does the future hold? Enora Bennetot Pruvot previews EUA’s latest funding research in University World News. ...
For Karl Tombre, universities need broad innovation strategies to tackle the immense challenges of this century, but this means looking beyond the technology transfer office and moving past outdated c ...
In University World News, Thomas Estermann and Maria Blanco outline why EUA is launching a pioneering Leadership Development Programme to equip university leaders with the tools they need to thrive. ...
Commenting on the launch of EUA’s Green Deal roadmap for universities, EUA’s Sergiu-Matei Lucaci notes in Research Europe that driving sustainability means reshaping teaching, operations, strategy ...
For Anders Ahlbäck, universities must embrace inter- and transdisciplinary education to equip students with the skills to tackle sustainability challenges. Here, he presents an approach to achieving ...
With multi-fold increases in energy bills being felt across Europe, is this one crisis too many for universities? For University World News, EUA’s Enora Bennetot Pruvot and ACA’s Veronika Kupriyan ...
If we want universities to make a leap in transnational cooperation, policymakers must take their own leap in implementing reforms that work towards creating the necessary framework conditions. In Res ...
EUA’s Clare Phelan and Anna-Lena Claeys-Kulik take a closer look at the results of the third Erasmus+ call for European Universities and explain the importance of balance between the expansion and c ...
The culture of interdisciplinarity and co-creation is one of the strongest assets of research and innovation in the quest for sustainability. As honest brokers and exponents of this approach, universi ...
Global challenges call for “universities without walls”. Drawing from his experience in the Higher Education Reform Expert (HERE) teams, Chafic Mokbel discusses the future of the sector from a Leb ...
As geopolitical tensions grow, the work of universities comes under pressure. This piece looks at academic cooperation in a new world and what policy makers and university leaders can do to respond. I ...
EUA recently conducted an internal study mapping the impact of its learning and teaching activities. This article offers insights into the findings and how they might be useful to institutional, natio ...
All universities need more autonomy to be innovative, not only those engaged in the European Universities Initiative. EUA expert Anna-Lena Claeys-Kulik writes that limiting flexible collaboration opti ...
On the occasion of EUA’s 20th anniversary, Cardiff University President and Vice-Chancellor Colin Riordan analyses the role of the Association in a changing world. The piece highlights that while so ...
As we look forward towards a future of “Universities without walls”, this article by EUA President Michael Murphy points out that universities need better and coordinated communication of their wo ...
Promoting and supporting entrepreneurship has become an important issue for universities in recent years. At the University of Siegen, a Master’s programme addresses this topic through support struc ...
Universities support Europe’s agenda for digital leadership in their role as digital technology makers. At the same time, they must adapt to the growing digitalisation of research practice, but thei ...
Higher education institutions in Europe are highly engaged in addressing environmental challenges through education, research and their own greening initiatives. However, sustainable procurement may b ...
The European Commission aims at developing a “European strategy for universities” to strengthen synergies between teaching, research, innovation and service to society by better linking related Eu ...
A new EUA study reveals that higher education institutions in Europe are highly engaged in activities that address environmental challenges and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ...
Sustainability is an important issue for universities. At Trinity College Dublin, the current strategic plan articulates sustainability as a priority supported by two goals: alignment to the UN Sustai ...
The messages from science are clear: The coming decade will be crucial in combating the climate crisis. Clearly, universities have a key role to play in addressing the challenges. Göran Finnveden and ...
The radical digitalisation of higher education due to the Covid-19 crisis offers an opportunity to engage in deeper institutional change addressing the digital and green transitions. As Natalia Timus ...
As reflected by the European Green Deal, the environmental revolution is likely the main challenge of the 21st century. And it is a great opportunity for Europe to take the lead. But, according to Kar ...
The idea of a European degree is fascinating and attractive, but it also raises many conceptual and practical questions. What does a European degree mean? How would it differ from the current degrees ...
With a disorderly Brexit now a real and fast-approaching threat, detailed technical guidance from the European Commission is crucial for those participating with UK partners in EU programmes like Eras ...
The continuous development of teaching competences needs commitment at all levels. It is a systematic process that requires a framework for teaching performance, a professionalisation body, preferably ...
Research and education should be among the easier elements of the Brexit negotiations, argue Paul Boyle and Rolf TarrachCountries from outside the EU can participate in EU programmes and both sides ha ...
Universities are uniquely positioned to work with policymakers and industry to shape a sustainable energy future, writes Torbjørn Digernes.This article was first published on The Parliament Magazine ...
With the headline terms of the future UK-EU relationship to be agreed by October 2018, it is vitally important that future research and education co-operation is prioritised in the final agreement ( ...
Since the beginning of time scientific research has been based on exchanges between peers: personal letters, books, articles in specialised journals. But the last 70 years have seen a burst in this se ...
With nearly 40 per cent of Europeans aged 30-34 now holding tertiary qualifications, universities have their work cut out delivering good learner-paced education to increasingly large and diverse popu ...
EUA President Rolf Tarrach outlines what the future of Europe could look like from the Universities perspective.Europe’s universities want to do much more together. This is the essence of a discussi ...
The South African government has expressed its ambition to substantially increase the number of doctoral graduates by 2030. Graduates will be prepared for a world that is more connected in both cultur ...
EUA is currently piloting a Leadership Development Programme for senior leaders in European higher education institutions. ...
An inventory of higher education supporting refugees. ...
The UNI-SET (UNIversities in the SET-Plan) project aims to mobilise European universities to contribute to the ambitious European energy goals spelled out in the European Strategic Energy Technol ...
European universities advance sustainability in numerous ways, and have done so for many decades. The European University Association’s vision for 2030 – Universities without walls – states tha ...
The European Universities Initiative aims to strengthen strategic and in-depth transnational collaboration through the development of alliances involving universities from several European countries. ...
Leading a university has never been more demanding. University leaders must juggle multiple roles, balancing the needs and expectations of a diverse array of stakeholders. They are accountable for a w ...
Investing in research and innovation is an investment in Europe’s prosperity and competitiveness. The EU has ambitious plans to enhance its competitiveness and secure lasting prosperity. At the hea ...
Innovation is a key strategic priority for universities. It draws on their research and education missions as well as their role as an honest broker at the nexus of different sectors and communities. ...
Universities must drive developments in learning and teaching. This requires close collaboration with all major stakeholder groups, including national and European policy makers. In recent decades, n ...
A call for applications for a European University Association task-and-finish group on sustainability is closed. ...
Please note that the call is now closed. ...
The call for participation in the European University Association’s pilot Leadership Development Programme is now closed. Applicants will be informed about the results by December 2024 at the latest ...
As EUA launches the call for participation for its pilot Leadership Development Programme, President Josep M. Garrell presents the initiative and encourages leaders from EUA member universities to app ...
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 wel ...
