Our Affiliated Groups
Collaboration and wide engagement will be key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
UCD Sustainability works with a series of affiliated groups to further the sustainability agenda, including Green Campus, Smarter Travel, Sustainable Research Initiative, Sustainable Energy Community and Healthy UCD.
Green Campus
The (opens in a new window)UCD Green Campus initiative has been the integrating banner for improvements in biodiversity, waste reduction and recycling, water conservation, energy efficiency and sustainable commuting. Through a range of workshops, communications to students and staff and engagement with champions and the wider community, they have raised awareness of what UCD is doing as an organisation and the actions that each of us can take to promote greater sustainability at UCD. The Green Campus initiative aims to encourage students and staff to work together to implement projects and initiatives and is focused on delivering projects where students can become actively involved.
Smarter Travel Group
The UCD Smarter Travel Group liaises with the National Transport Authority (NTA) to improve sustainability of transport to and from UCD as part of the NTA's (opens in a new window)Smarter Travel for Campuses programme.
Sustainable Research Initiative
The Sustainable Research Initiative is a grassroots group led by chief technical officers and committed to improving sustainability in the practice of research at UCD.
Hear more about the programme in a 2024 UCD Earth Institute coffee morning research talk on the UCD Sustainable Research Initiative: Working together to carry out research in a more sustainable way by Gwyneth MacMaster and Bryan Dalton (UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science).
(opens in a new window)My Green Lab is an international program that helps organisations achieve their sustainability goals. It offers methods rooted in science to reduce the environmental impact of research laboratories.
Recognised by the United Nations Race to Zero campaign, My Green Lab Certification is considered a gold standard for laboratory sustainability best practice. Several UCD laboratories have received My Green Lab Certification, including the Microbiology & Parasitology Research Group in the School of Veterinary Medicine, which received (opens in a new window)Gold Certification and Systems Biology Ireland which received a ‘Green’ distinction, the highest level awarded.
Sustainable Energy Community
The UCD Sustainable Energy Community is a group of professionals, students and staff members. Its goal is to engage and educate the UCD community on sustainable energy practices and research, with a view to reducing carbon emissions by targeting the following objectives:
- Develop skills and capacity in energy efficiency at a UCD community level
- Promote the adoption of lower carbon options for transport and heating
- Promote investment, research and education in smart and renewable energy technologies in UCD
- Create opportunities for successful collaborations in sustainable energy community initiatives
Healthy UCD
The Healthy UCD initiative takes its lead from the Healthy Campus Framework and Charter for third-level institutions. This framework, developed in partnership with the higher education institutions, the (opens in a new window)HSE and (opens in a new window)Healthy Ireland, promotes health and wellbeing across the whole campus, including teaching and learning, student supports and services, staff development and policies. It also identifies opportunities for fostering an ethos of care, compassion and inclusion.