UQ celebrates sustainability milestones

The University of Queensland (UQ) produced enough solar energy to power 1592 average homes last year, according to the university’s 2016 Sustainability Report Card, which outlines UQ’s achievements across a range of areas including energy, water, waste, biodiversity and transport.

The report card finds that UQ has decreased its power consumption by 10% since 2013, or almost 16,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. According to the chief operating officer, Greg Pringle, this translates to “more than $2 million in cost savings in 2016 alone that can be reinvested in other areas”.

UQ currently ranks as the leading Australian university for photovoltaic solar energy capacity, according to the report, having last year produced more than 8.8 million kWh of clean energy from more than 47,000 individual solar panels. The university is also diverting about 47% of waste away from landfill through a variety of schemes, with an emphasis on re-use and recycling.

As part of its commitment to providing sustainable transport, the university now has more than 2500 bike racks across all sites. The scheme appears to be successful, with the report finding that 70% of St Lucia commuters either cycle, walk or catch public transport to campus.

2016 was a particularly significant year for electric vehicles (EVs), with UQ installing Queensland’s first publicly accessible electric vehicle fast chargers — and subsequently winning the Facilities & Services category in the 2016 Green Gown Awards Australasia. The EV chargers delivered over 28,000 km of battery power to drivers last year — enough to drive around mainland Australia twice. The university also introduced the first fully electric vehicle into its corporate fleet.

Finally, as part of efforts to improve biodiversity on campus, more than 3600 trees have been planted and 50 new bird boxes installed over the past year. UQ has partnered with the state government and local NRM groups to plant native seedlings at the St Lucia campus, thus restoring habitat for threatened species (particularly birds) by creating wildlife corridors that offer food and shelter. This saw the university win the Community Engagement category at the Green Gown Awards.

“As one of Queensland’s biggest employers and home to the largest university population in the state, sustainability is a challenge we feel we are making significant inroads towards,” said Pringle.

“What’s more is that we’ve found it is possible to make significant savings, while being conscionable about our campuses’ consumption of resources.”