Under the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, aiming for 1.5°C, rapid and deep emissions reductions are required. Post-Paris, governments, businesses and institutions are setting emissions reduction targets and policies that align with this agreement.
Universities are important ‘anchor institutions’—well-established, public-benefit institutions deeply embedded within geographic, innovation and thought leadership communities. As such they are uniquely positioned to lead the development of net zero strategies.
While UTS develops its plan to reach net zero emissions, ISF has secured funding from the RACE for 2030 Cooperative Research Centre to work in parallel with researchers from Curtin and Monash Universities to identify how net zero strategies can best be delivered. The goal is to establish a path for institutions to build a net zero plan that:
- engages with their surrounding precinct and industry, such as using local supply chains;
- delivers complementary social and economic value, through community wealth building; and
- smooths the approval process for decision makers, by aligning net zero strategies with the institution’s existing organisational character, and creating other forms of value, such as improving employability of graduates in a future net zero economy.
The project is expected to produce a roadmap for developing inclusive business cases that more deeply intersect with organisational objectives and strengthen economic participation, stimulating a ‘Green Wave’ to deliver complementary social and environmental value beyond each organisation’s boundaries.
RESEARCH OUTPUTS
The Green Wave: Adding value through net-zero energy strategies (2022) (Report)Years
- 2020-ongoing
