Important That People Feel Good Too

Lisa Redin is one of the members of the host constellation of the Universities Climate Network. When we meet over Zoom for the interview, she is in the process of tallying up the air travel statistics for 2023 and realises that although air travel has decreased compared to before the pandemic, there is still more to do.

Lisa's interest in environmental issues started in the 1990s when she was studying to become an environmental inspector. This was at the same time as the environmental conference in Rio de Janeiro, where Agenda 21 was developed.
- ‘In my work today, I focus on sustainability issues in a broader perspective. It's not just about technical solutions and efficiency improvements, it's important that people feel good too.

At Umeå University, Lisa works as an environmental and sustainability strategist, which means that she both supports units and departments in their sustainability work and provides management support, for example when new guidelines and policies are to be developed.
- ‘We also work a lot with various collaborative projects, both locally and nationally, where the Climate Network is one of them.

Sustainable use of premises
In spring 2023, the Swedish Association of Universities and University Colleges, SUHF, presented the report Premises Climate Impact. The new focus group will base its work on that report.
- ‘We want to achieve sustainable use of premises and reduce the climate impact of premises. This involves building materials, operations and energy consumption, but also how we use the premises,’ says Lisa.

A few years ago, Umeå University participated in an EU project where the university served as a test bed for various climate adaptation measures. In connection with this, presence sensors were set up in one of the buildings on campus and by combining data from these together with room booking data and sensor data from smart ventilation devices, we got a good picture of the use of the building's premises. So good that the solution was scaled up by the property owner Akademiska hus, to include the entire Umeå campus but also other universities.

Akademiska hus, one of the country's largest property companies, is part of the focus group.
- In addition, we have representatives from Mälardalen University, KTH, Dalarna University and Umeå University. We are happy to receive more interested parties and, given the section on obstacles that I read in the SUHF report, it would be good if we could include a lawyer as well.

Learning from each other's experiences
In addition to working on important issues, Lisa emphasises that the added value of being involved in the work is to learn from the experiences of different universities.
- ‘And to develop our knowledge in the field - I can see that just by reading the report.

The aim of the focus group's work is to develop a guideline for how higher education institutions can work to reduce the climate impact of the use of premises without impairing the working environment of students and employees. The kick-off meeting will take place in February.

Anna-Karin Johnson