Ongoing sustainability work on campus

“Right now, the internal environmental audit is ongoing and interviews are held at different units. Particular focus will be placed on waste management in 2025. We are also looking for internal environmental auditors,” said Maria.

Solar panels

During the spring, Akademiska Hus has been working on installing solar panels in the courtyard in Balder. The installation is expected to be completed by the end of May and the solar cell plant will be operational from 2 June. 

“A total of 425 solar panels/modules are being installed on the roofs facing the courtyard and top roof. The plant is expected to produce approximately 160,000 kWh per year. The amount of carbon dioxide emissions avoided is estimated to be around 77,661 kg per year.”

Red zone in Sandgärdet during the summer weeks

“Last summer, a test was carried out to turn off cooling/heating, ventilation and lighting in Sandgärdet during the summer weeks to reduce energy use. The test went well and a decision was made during the spring to continue to shut down Sandgärdet annually during the summer weeks. Akademiska hus together with the Campus Facilities and Sustainability Office are now preparing for the shutdown in 2025,” Maria said.

The evaluation after last summer showed that the shutdown of cooling/heating, ventilation and lighting in Sandgärdet June-August 2024 resulted in an intended reduction in energy use compared to the same period in 2023.

Reuse on Sagagatan

Sagagatan has been renovated and rebuilt with a lot of recycled materials and equipment. Material from Erikshjälpen was used in the “practice apartments” for police training and the building material is also recycled material. Everything from the entire kitchen to furniture comes from Castellum’s recycling hub and from the Green Dining Room in Balder.   

Further examples of reuse on campus include replacing backrests and seats on classroom furniture.

“In May, we got about 70 new backrests and seats to refurbish and reuse furniture. Service technicians at the Campus Facilities and Sustainability Office will replace these parts in order to place the furniture in classrooms.”  

Safety and security review

“After a safety and security review on Sagagatan with the university’s researchers, the Campus Facilities and Sustainability Office together with Castellum during the spring term also had a briefing with a contractor engineer, lighting engineer and traffic engineer from the City of Borås. At that time, needs and wishes were expressed for measures such as curbs, pedestrian crossings and to improve the general traffic situation; for example, reduced speed and improved lighting,” Maria explained. 

Another “night walk” to find opportunities to reduce energy consumption was carried out during the spring by the Campus Facilities and Sustainability Office together with electricians and property owners.

Sustainability Week in March

“In March, the university’s Sustainability Days were arranged. Employees and students could participate in several activities during the day. Social sustainability issues were given extra focus during, for example, a Speaker’s Corner with lectures from different departments. And a carpool app was presented. The goal of the week was to highlight the work that is taking place on campus in the spirit of sustainable development and to create engagement in sustainable development issues.

Environmental Management Report to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency for 2024

The university regularly reports data on sustainability aspects to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. This is presented in Environmental Management in the State 2024, which is an account of agencies' work to reduce their environmental impact.  

“The report shows that authorities are focusing on reducing the environmental impact of work travel, increasing digital meetings and making premises more energy efficient. Regarding the university’s direct sustainability aspects, we can see positive developments, where energy consumption per square meter and per annual employee from 2023 to 2024 has decreased by as much as 11.2 percent through targeted efforts such as lowering the power of luminaires and switching to LED, reprogramming lighting and the times for basic ventilation,” Maria explained.

Purchasing and procurement

“Emissions from all work travel have decreased and emissions from aviation decreased by 13.4 percent during the same period and the distance technology use of Zoom and Teams increased by 6.4 percent. However, the proportion of procurements and call-offs where environmental requirements have been set decreased significantly during the same period and we would therefore like to remind you that support is available from our procurement officers at the Finance Office.”

The report to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency can be found in the archives maintained by the Registrar's Office, Reg. no. 118-25.    

For emissions from air travel, the beginning of 2025 will be marked by a further slightly reduced level of emissions. During the spring months of 2025, however, there is a clear increase in the climate impact of air travel compared to spring 2024.

Student Advisory Board with the Vice-Chancellor

During the autumn and spring, a student group was invited to a sustainable development dialogue with the Vice-Chancellor and sustainability strategist, in addition to the dialogue in the programmes.

“The students who signed up for the Advisory Board at ENTER 2024 have had the opportunity to be included in the university’s sustainability work on campus and sustainability week in connection with lunch dialogues. The last dialogue with this group will be held at the end of May, after which an evaluation of the Advisory Board will be carried out to assess how further work should be carried out.  

Deviations and suggestions for improvement

The Campus Facilities and Sustainability Office collects information about deviations and suggestions for improvement through the environmental management system. In 2024–2025, these have largely related to deficiencies in waste management and recycling. The deviations and suggestions that come in are noted and handled within the framework of the ongoing improvement work, such as the purchase of more recycling bins and dialogue with those concerned.

Coming in autumn 2025

Reuse: Dining room furniture at L3 will get new seats. 

External environmental audit 5–6 November: Last year, three minor anomalies were noted. These have been addressed and planning for the upcoming audit is now underway.

Biodiversity on campus: Land managers at Akademiska Hus are currently reviewing the possibility of building a smaller food park as a test bed in Balder’s courtyard – an initiative that could be a small but significant step towards increased biodiversity with several different types of herbs, which can also be used by the restaurant. The idea came up during a campus review.