The structure of UvA's CO2 footprint

The UvA emits 47,718 tons of CO2 every year. We have mapped out the structure of these emissions in order to be able to choose effective measures. The infographic shows how the university's CO2 emissions are distributedExternal link.

Many measures are taken to achieve the sustainability goals, from reusable coffee cups to natural gas-free campusesExternal link. We focus on the measures that allow us to reduce the most emissions as quickly as possible. Our own emissions are therefore leading, but we also consider the society-wide impact of a category. This article mentions just a few of our objectives and measures. A complete overview can be found in the white paper on sustainabilityExternal link and the appendix with operational objectives.

Focus on Energy consumption

In the coming years, we will focus on reducing energy consumption for the buildings. Although this pollution is not the most visible, our current energy consumption accounts for almost 40% of the university's CO2 emissions. In order to reduce our emissions here, we are working on natural gas-free campuses, taking energy-saving measures and generating our own energy, among other things.

Foreign business trips

Visiting international conferences forms an important part of our researchers' work. However, these foreign business trips account for 6.2% of our total CO2 emissions. In order to reduce these emissions, we have agreedExternal link that researchers will take the train if the destination can be reached within six hours. In addition, the train is still the preferred option for journeys of up to eight hours. These are the first measures aimed at reducing emissions from business trips. With this we want to achieve that emissions from business trips will be at least 25% lower in 2026 than in 2019.

Food

Food is an interesting category, as although food production is an important global factor for climate change, it does account for only 1,2% of the UvA's total CO2 emissions. This is simply because the UvA offers lunch and dinner, but many students and staff take their own food to the campus. Because it is extremely important to make our food system more sustainable in a broader perspective, we will also increase sustainability in this area. In 2026, we want to reduce the CO2 emissions of the food sold in the canteen by 25% compared to 2019. In order to achieve this, we are offering more and more vegetarian and vegan options and only food that has been responsibly produced.

More information

• Read more about sustainability at the UvA on uva.nl/sustainabilityExternal link.
• Would you like to find out more about your own emissions? If so, take the test at mijnverborgenimpact.nlExternal link and chart your own environmental impact.