Sustainability
Building a sustainable future
The University of Newcastle stands tall on the international, national and regional stage as an institution leading the way in climate action.
We know that environmental and social responsibility is extremely important to our staff, students and communities. We also recognise that prioritising environmental sustainability isn’t just a nice thing to do, it’s fundamental to our future.
Our Environmental Sustainability Plan 2019-2025 is guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and is our roadmap to contributing to the solutions, through our operations, research and education.
We've created Green Campus maps showing all of our sustainability initiatives. Click here for Callaghan and here for Ourimbah.
Initiatives
Green Impact
The Green Impact program raises awareness of sustainability by giving people a focused approach to tackling issues and supporting them in achieving these actions. The voluntary program is designed to be a fun, flexible and social way to support staff in undertaking targeted actions to make our University have a more sustainable campus.
Electric Vehicle Charging Project
The university is investing in sustainable transport though the installation of electric vehicle charging stations across Callaghan campus.
Simply cups
The University is collaborating with Simply Cups to recycle disposable coffee cups, diverting them from landfill. These recycled cups are then used to make reusable coffee cups – the rCup – a world first reusable coffee cup made from recycled coffee cups, as well as a range of other products.
Bags to Benches
Over the last several months the University trialled a program in partnership with Plastic Police to turn soft plastics into benches providing added outdoor seating across campus.
By being part of this program and recycling your soft plastics, you will assist the University in achieving its waste reduction goals and help the environment and the animals that live in it.
Composting On Campus
Here at the university we divert between 40 to 60% of our waste from landfill but as part of our Environmental Sustainability Plan targets, we have committed to driving this up to 70% of our general waste by 2021. This target will position the University as a sector leader in waste management practices.
Sustainability on campus
With more than 37,000 students and 2,600 staff across 14 campuses and affiliated centres, it is the University’s responsibility to lead by example and develop and maintain our operations as sustainable communities. Our Environmental Sustainability Plan (ESP) is led by the need for tangible environmental sustainability outcomes.
Priority Action Areas
Our impact
Here we look at recent initiatives and celebrate our environmental sustainability impacts as reported in the University’s 2018 Annual Report.
Achievements
