2023 Sustainability Report
Community of sustainability learners and practitioners
Domain: Amplifying action through campus and communities
Aspiration to 2030: The University is a thriving community that shares, co-creates and practices sustainability knowledge and action.
Progress against targets
| Target | Target status | Progress in 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| The University’s faculties and portfolios support and learn from each other to embed sustainability in practice and in learning – formal, non-formal and informal. |  In progress |
|
| The University community shows increased uptake of positive sustainability skills, knowledge and behaviours through non-formal and informal learning. | In progress |
|
| The University offers a suite of student-centered, formal and non-formal applied sustainability learning opportunities, informed by inter and trans-disciplinary approaches. |  On track |
|
| Academic and professional staff have increased their participation in and contribution to formal and non-formal learning to develop their general and role-specific sustainability skills. |  Needs attention |
|
| The University has increased its engagement with alumni regarding sustainability. |
In progress |
|
Explore our progress
and our stories
Our stories
Supporting sustainable commuting with cycling programs and infrastructure
Encouraging sustainable commuting
The University has implemented a range of programs to encourage staff and students to commute to our campuses by bike. In 2023, the University community competed in the inaugural ‘Biketober’ competition, a month-long bike riding challenge. The program is run as a collaboration between RACV, the City of Melbourne and the Bicycle Network, and RACV offered prizes to University participants. To encourage participation among staff and students, the initiative was included as an activity under the University’s Green Impact program, with additional points towards a Green Impact award available for teams and individuals who took part. The Sustainability team, Campus Management held a Bike2Uni breakfast during the competition, rewarding riders with free bike locks from Campus Security to acknowledge their cycling efforts. A total of 143 riders took part in the program, making the University the top workplace for participation in Australia out of 254 workplaces.
In 2023, we established a new partnership with Brainwave Bikes, a social enterprise supporting the charity Brainwave Australia, to sell high-quality refurbished bikes on campus. Three stalls were held on the Parkville campus, selling 40 refurbished bikes, 19 locks and 20 helmets. Through these events, the University is reducing our emissions from students and staff commuting, fostering a clean transport culture.
Staff commuting patterns in 2023
Staff commuting patterns have rebounded post-pandemic, with distances travelled increasing significantly across several modes in 2023, and associated emissions increasing in fossil-fuel dependent modes. Commuting distances via private car (petrol, diesel and hybrid) trended upwards by 54 per cent on 2022 levels, contributing 5000 tCO2e to the University’s greenhouse gas emissions. Commuting via battery electric vehicles was measured for the first time in 2023, with staff travelling 885,000km via this mode and generating significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuel cars.
Staff are increasingly using active transport modes with no associated greenhouse gas emissions to reach the University. Commuting distances by bike and walking more than doubled between 2022 and 2023, surpassing previous records from 2019.
UoM staff commuting patterns, 2021-2023
Cross-Faculty Climate Talks podcast receives international recognition
The Climate Talks podcast is an award-winning, accessible and informative conversation between environmental and sustainability experts, exploring different aspects of climate negotiations and the climate crisis. Despite the grim realities of the climate crisis, the podcast maintains a focus on solutions and progress while being realistic about the complex challenges we face. In 2023, the podcast received a gold and silver medal at the international Signal podcast awards, highlighting its impact and relevance on a global scale.
Climate Talks is a cross-faculty initiative between Melbourne Climate Futures, Melbourne Law School and Melbourne Centre for Cities in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning. Hosts Associate Professor Cathy Oke, Professor Jackie Peel and PhD researcher Rebekah Markey-Towler, alongside their guests, delve into a range of topics, including climate science, mitigation, adaptation, finance, health and more. In its third year of production, the podcast's most popular episodes focused on greenwashing and forecasting outcomes from the United Nations climate conference, COP28.
The podcast is the result of excellent collaboration between academic and professional staff, drawing on the subject matter expertise of our researchers and the technical expertise of production staff, including Melbourne Law School’s Digital Content Producer Greta Robenstone.
Student-led knowledge sharing on the global energy transition
A Guide to the Energy Transition: Moving towards renewable energy resources for a greener future 2022-23 was written for students, by students, as an accessible overview of Australia’s transition to a clean energy system. Members of two student clubs affiliated with the Faculty of Business and Economics (Marketing Intelligence and the Melbourne Microfinance Initiative) developed the guide when they realised that students were overwhelmed with the volume of information available about the energy transition and not sure where to start.
The guide covers topics from electric vehicles and batteries to solar panels and sustainable financing. Students developing the whitepaper built their sustainability knowledge and leadership skills, while those accessing the information can learn about the foundations of the energy sector and its role in combating climate change in an easily digestible and actionable format.
The University’s first annual Sustainability Week
In September 2023, the University held our inaugural Sustainability Week, which included 14 sustainability themed events and activations aligned to SP2030 and the University’s commitment to health and wellbeing, a fair and circular economy, healthy ecosystems and climate leadership. Over the week, 471 attendees engaged in various activities to embed sustainable practices in their daily lives. Wellbeing was the focus of seven workshops, including an Indigenous planting day at Werribee campus, art and cooking classes, and a greenspace mindfulness tour. Enhancing sustainability in the University’s research and teaching laboratories was another key focus, with a Sustainable Labs Expo at the Parkville campus.
All events fostered collaboration between University faculties and portfolios, student organisations and external stakeholders, helping to raise awareness of environmental and social issues and uplifting sustainable practices across our campuses and communities. Sustainability Week was organised by our Sustainability team, Campus Management, which has been working to integrate sustainable practices in the University’s culture and community for over 27 years.
Enhancing student participation in Sustainability Advocacy through Melbourne Plus
I'm looking forward to using my capability in Sustainability Advocacy to champion eco-friendly projects and drive positive change in the world. Kexin
Melbourne Plus is the University’s co-curricular recognition program, offering students digital credentials for capabilities they develop outside the classroom. Through undertaking a diverse range of activities, students have reported learning about the UN Sustainability Development goals while also developing their broader communication and interpersonal skills. In 2023, there was significant growth in engagement with the Sustainability Advocacy capability:
- 231 students earned the Sustainability Advocacy digital credential, up from 29 in 2022, showing strong interest among students.
- The range of activity providers grew to include residential colleges and student groups in addition to SASS, faculties and Business Services. Among the new activities were the Engineering and IT Hackathon Festival provided by the Student Enrichment team at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology and UniBioQuest provided by the Sustainability Team – Campus Management.
- Opportunities for students to get involved also moved beyond environmental initiatives to include more educational and social activities, such as the Reach Alliance projects provided by SASS.
For program enquiries, please contact melbourne-plus@unimelb.edu.au
Fostering sustainable communities in University-managed accommodation
The University manages several accommodation venues for our students, including residential colleges and apartment style accommodation. Staff at each of these venues are working to embed sustainability in operations and student experience, addressing several areas of SP2030 including biodiversity, waste and community engagement. Waste prevention and recycling are key areas of focus for several venues:
- Lisa Bellear House, Little Hall and The Lofts run a swap shop for departing students to leave unwanted items, small furniture or appliances for use by students moving in.
- International House have introduced a range of recycling and waste reduction programs, including providing 300 reusable mugs and glasses to reduce the use of disposables, holding garage sales to recirculate unwanted items and donating leftover food from events to food banks. Students at International House have provided positive feedback about initiatives in their college and the opportunities this brings to contribute to sustainability and connect with their peers.
- Medley Hall reduces food waste in the kitchen by donating food scraps to feed farm animals and for composting, sourcing seasonal and local produce wherever possible and turning leftovers into new meals.
Through these sustainability efforts, our University-managed accommodation venues are advancing their commitments to environmental stewardship and fostering a culture of sustainability among staff and students.
Our sustainability strategy
At the University of Melbourne, our efforts in sustainability are guided by Sustainability Plan 2030 - a roadmap for sustainable delivery of our institutional strategy Advancing Melbourne.
Read more about how we are advancing sustainability at the University:
