The AU Board has approved a draft of Aarhus University’s first climate strategy. The strategy will be submitted for consultation at the university and is expected to get its final approval in April 2020. The strategy includes a goal to reduce AU’s CO2 emissions until 2025 and highlights a number of focus areas.

2019.12.18 | Signe Opstrup

Photo: Colourbox

AU’s upcoming climate strategy is focused on how the university can reduce CO₂ emissions in its daily operations. With this strategy, the university will contribute to the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius and the Danish government’s goal of a 70 % reduction in our emissions. AU will achieve this by reducing emissions in areas such as buildings, transport, waste, procurement and agricultural activities. In addition to the strategy, the climate accounts for 2018 have been calculated, and these will serve as a baseline, and will be calculated every year. 

The board has now approved a draft of the strategy, which will then be submitted for consultation in January/February 2020 with faculty management teams, departments and school, academic councils, student organisations, the Main Liaison Committee, the faculties’ and the administration’s liaison committees, the Main Occupational Health and Safety Committee, the management team in the administration and with AU’s sustainability network. 

The strategy is expected to be approved by April 2020. In connection with the climate strategy, action plans will be developed, and there will be an annual follow-up on the specific goals and initiatives. 

Background
In December 2018, it was decided that Aarhus University should have a sustainability strategy. At the request of the Board, the primary focus of the strategy was shifted to the climate, and it has therefore been renamed a climate strategy. 

Facts about AU’s climate strategy:

• Will set the direction for the work to make the university’s operations more sustainable, with a focus on the climate.
• Is an addition to AU’s overall strategy for 2020-2025.
• A draft has been approved by the AU Board. 
• Will be submitted for consultation at the university in January/February 2020.
• Is expected to be approved by April 2020.

Additional information

• The website for AU’s work on sustainability: au.dk/sustainability
• News article: AU publishes its first climate accounts