University College Dublin has unveiled the UCD Sustainability Plan to 2030, under which the college will align itself with six objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
These include enhancing climate action, improving resilience, and positioning UCD as a leader and ‘living lab’ for sustainability, it said in a statement.
More than coffee cups
“Sustainability is not just about coffee cups and electric vehicles,” commented UCD vice-president for sustainability, Prof Tasman Crowe.
“The UN Sustainable Development Goals encompass a wide range of environmental, societal, cultural, economic and governance dimensions. […] We are committed to working in partnership to help solve the wicked interlinked challenges captured in the goals at local, national and global levels.”
The new plan builds on the strategic goals of the previous UCD Strategy to 2030 – Breaking Boundaries initiative, seeking to translate these into clear, actionable commitments.
Commenting at the launch of the plan, UCD President Prof Orla Feely described it as being“very action-oriented”.
“UCD is currently ranked number 49 in the world for sustainability in the QS Rankings,” she said. “That’s based on an assessment against the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which is very telling about where we are as an institution.
“We have so many people who are very committed to making sure that we advance this journey now to get ourselves to a place where we can be a model for universities, for communities and, indeed, for the world.”
Consultative process
Developed following a consultative process involving students, staff, external stakeholders, and UCD’s core sustainability working groups, the Irish university’s plan is structured to be flexible and evolve over time. It also includes mechanisms for annual reporting and prioritisation to ensure accountability and continued progress.
“[This plan] is the product of a very extensive process of consultation and engagement,” Crowe added. “It includes ideas from a process started three years ago in relation to UCD’s last strategy, plus new thinking from our core working groups and the consultation for the new Breaking Boundaries strategy, which included some great input from external stakeholders and UCD students and staff from all parts of the university.” Read more here.
