DTU has worked with sustainability for a long time – in research as well as in day-to-day operations. But this year, for the first time, DTU is publishing a report documenting climate accounts, consumption of resources and recycling, as well as the degree of socially sustainable surroundings and behavior.
The Sustainability Report 2022 is based on ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) data, i.e. data on environmental, social, and governance issues, which together provide a status on DTU's sustainability conditions and indicate the direction of DTU's ambitions. The report describes many of the initiatives DTU has taken and will continue to take to create a sustainable university.
"The World is changing – and so is our perception of sustainability. At DTU, we constantly want to develop in a more sustainable direction. Sustainability is an integral part of how DTU educates engineers as well as in our research and development of new technologies. The sustainable dimension is crucial," says DTU President Anders Bjarklev.
Good start but we need to go further
The report is based on a review of relevant data, policies, and focus areas with a focus on operational data in the green area, environment data as well as initiatives within good business conduct and integrity. The report is a snapshot of the situation in 2021, but also sets the direction for the coming years.
Research and development of world-class technology is resource-intensive, as the university relies on laboratories and research infrastructure that consume energy and raw materials. But this does not mean that the university does not have ambitions to reduce resource consumption and create socially sustainable surroundings and behavior.
"At DTU, we believe that openness and transparency are important. This is especially true in work with sustainability. Both students and staff are aware of their own habits and want to act sustainably. Therefore, we also try to create a physical environment that gives everyone on campus a possibility to minimize their own use of resources. It is a work we have started, but we can go much further," says Anders Bjarklev.
You can read DTU's sustainability report 2022 (in Danish)
