Environmental issues must impact our education programmes

Sustainable development in the university’s education programmes. This is one of the main issues facing Anna-Karin Unger, the new environmental strategist. Another topical issue for Unger is working out a policy for sustainable construction, in conjunction with other stakeholders.

Unger took over the position in September 2011 from Anders Carlsson, who was the face of environmental policy at LIU for many years. She says, her first days in the role consisted mainly of catching all the balls that were in the air.

Besides her studies in environmental science at LiU, Unger worked mostly with municipal environmental management. One of her positions was in Växjö, “the greenest town in Europe.”

She enjoys her job at LiU because it provides the perfect blend of control and freedom.
“A lot of environmental work is governed by laws and regulations that we have to adhere to, however this post offers a large degree of freedom to run things as I see fit.”

One such issue relates to the Vice-Chancellor’s editorial in December, about how sustainable development is integrated into the education programme at the university.

“I don’t believe we are conducting this work in a systematic way. There are good initiatives happening in every faculty, but I don’t see a general scheme.

“I mean, this is one of the main ways we as a university can make an impact on environment. If our students enter the workplace with a grasp of how they can work for sustainable development then, directly or indirectly, they can make a big difference!”

Just how to integrate sustainable development into the education programmes will be the subject of discussion during autumn 2012. There are many good examples from other universities that we can adopt.

“For example, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology and the University of Borås have made considerably more progress than us. Gothenburg University is also way ahead in its environmental work. We have a lot to learn.

And sustainability in education is not only an issue of content, it is also about how it is organised. For example it is still the case that “take home tests” cannot be submitted electronically, only in hard copy,” Unger says.

Sustainability in construction is another topical question. This is a hot topic, now that the planning for a new administrative building is in full flow.

“The academic property company Akademiska hus are thinking along the right lines here but they are not our only landlord, so LiU needs its own policy for sustainable construction.”

LiU currently has four environmental targets with a deadline in 2012. They are not quantified so it is difficult to say if they are achievable.
“For the next period I suggest we stay with the current targets, but quantify them and make them clearer. I also want to see a clearer connection between LiU’s key targets and those that are set up in the departments and divisions.”

Apart from dealing with overarching strategies, Unger’s time is taken up by a variety of environmental initiatives. She recently completed her work on the new version of the “Green Cup”, which is to be launched in September 2012. Green student societies and flight-offset funds are also things that will take time, as does “Walk the Talk”, an environmental walk that will begin on Campus Valla.

What can an individual employee at LiU do for the environment? Well, apart from the obvious things - saving paper and energy, travelling in an eco-friendly way - she highlights a couple of things to consider when planning meetings:

“Adapt meeting times to the campus bus timetable, for example, or if there are participants from several campuses, have trip-free meetings via programmes like Skype, Lync, or Adobe Connect. And order organic coffee!”

Text and photos: Anika Agebjörn

Related Links

• Environmental work at LiU 
• Vice-Chancellor Helen Dannetun’s editorial: A Sustainable Campus  
• Green Cup Initiative