All universities and university colleges that are members of the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF) are part of a recently launched climate network. The network will be coordinated by SLU.
A cohort, coordinated by SLU, will be promoting and developing activities within the network. In addition to SLU, the cohort members are Karolinska Institutet, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, Umeå University and Örebro University. This spring, the group will be applying for grants from Vinnova and Formas to develop activities within the network.
“We’re happy that SLU, through our Environment Unit, has agreed to coordinate the network”, says Ylva Hillbur, SLU pro vice-chancellor and member of the SUHF expert group for collaboration. “It shows that we want to make a difference and are prepared to take the initiative; it also puts additional, positive pressure on our own transition efforts.”
The expectations are great. The entire sector needs to be involved in the transition, and the aim is to create more tools, together, that help us fulfil the commitments of the Paris Agreement. We will do this by increasing the contribution of education and research, but also by reducing the climate footprint of the higher education institutions themselves. All higher education institutions should be able to benefit from the network, which was set up with the realisation that we can support each other and that we can be more efficient if we work together.
SLU: Johanna Sennmark, project manager, SUHF climate network
KI: Karin Dahlman Wright, professor and vice chair of the Council for Environment and Sustainable Development
KTH: Kristina von Oelreich, sustainability manager
SU: Magnus Breitholtz, chair of the SU Environment Council
ORU: Frans Prenkert, professor and chair of the Örebro University platform for a sustainable future
UMU: Lisa Redin, environment and sustainability strategist
Swedish National Union of Students: Mathilda Fredriksson
At the meeting of the Association of Swedish Higher Education (SUHF) in March 2019, the Chalmers University of Technology and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology put forward a joint proposal for a climate commitment framework for higher education institutions. The purpose of the climate framework is to mobilise higher education institutions in Sweden, speed up their work and make them act as driving forces of climate transition.
Environment Unit:
miljo@slu.se