Shaping our sustainable future

We consulted our community of students, staff, academics and alumni in the development of the Sustainability Plan 2030.

The Sustainability Plan 2030 was developed over an 18-month period, starting in late 2020. There were three main phases of development.

Phase 1

A 14-week period of broad consultation open to the whole University community, including students, staff, and alumni. The purpose of this phase was to understand the sustainability priorities and issues that students, staff, and alumni wished to see reflected in the new Plan, and to capture their insights on opportunities and barriers to advancing the University’s sustainability agenda. The outcomes of this phase are summarised in the Sustainability Community Consultation Report 2020.

Read the Community Consultation Report

Phase 2

A 10-month period of drafting and consultation with relevant professional staff and academics, organised primarily around the key activity areas of education, discovery, operations, engagement and partnerships, and Indigenous strategy. This phase focused on potential structures for the Plan, aspirations, targets, indicators, and actions. This work was informed by the outcomes from the community consultation process, findings from the 2020 Student and Staff Sustainability Survey, lessons learnt from Sustainability Plan 2017–2020, benchmarking and the expertise of those involved.

Phase 3

A 7-month phase of synthesising work relating to each activity area, seeking feedback on the synthesised drafts, moving towards support and endorsement from relevant University executives and other influential stakeholders ahead of formal endorsement by the University Executive in March 2022. A Sustainability Plan Advisory Group was convened to help the Plan development team navigate this process and provide expert advice.

The University of Melbourne’s Sustainability Plan 2030 was approved by University Council in May 2022.

Download the Plan

Three indigenous students smiling in embrace

Our commitment to sustainability

As a member of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and signatory to the ‘University commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the University has an important role to play in the shaping a more sustainable, equitable and resilient world.

The development of our new Sustainability Plan is guided by the five intersecting themes of the University’s institutional strategy to 2030, Advancing Melbourne.

Learn more about the Plan

Consultation with the wider University community was the first step in the development of the University's Sustainability Plan 2030. This involved over 400 students, staff and alumni who gave their time and shared their views on the priorities they’d like to see reflected in the Plan.

Zoom screenshot of 30 people attending a Sustainability Plan consultation event online — Over 270 people participated in online consultation sessions in late 2020.

Community consultation took place over a 14-week period in late 2020. Students, staff and alumni were invited to participate in one of 12 interactive feedback sessions and to provide feedback anonymously via an online form. The feedback received, together with findings from the University’s 2020 Sustainability Survey, informed phase 2 and 3 of the Plan's development.

You’ll find a summary of community feedback below and the full Sustainability Community Consultation Report 2020 is available for download.

Download the full Community Consultation Report

Our role in society's transition to sustainability

Participants were asked “what role do you think the University can and should play in society’s transition to a sustainable future?”

Governance and leadership
Demonstrate leadership and drive momentum for change:
- set aspirational targets: be the benchmark to which others aspire
- prioritise investment in sustainability and climate change innovation
- shape new sustainability norms and practices in our communities
- influence others by leveraging our purchasing and investment power
- act as a ‘voice for change’ in public policy debate
Place and community
Demonstrate and inspire action on emissions and waste reduction:
- set and achieve ambitious waste and energy targets
- drive the translation of our energy and materials research into real-world solutions
- challenge cultural norms around consumption in our operations. Educate our community to do the same.
Re-imagine our approach to campus planning:
- Innovate green space use.
- Co-create with community.
- Incentivise active and public transport use.
Equip our students and staff to act as agents for change:
- increase knowledge and shape norms through practical programs & workshops
- increase students’ applied learning, volunteering and networking opportunities
- empower our passionate advocates to lead and/or develop sustainability initiatives
Increase our impact and support the communities we serve:
understand and promote the expertise we can offer
public education initiatives that equip people to live and work sustainably
leverage alumni networks to expand reach and impact
plan ahead: how will UoM and its campuses support community resilience?
Education
Shape the individuals and broader societal factors that can influence change through:
- the students we graduate
- education and career pathways that advance sustainability in the public and private sectors
- developing discipline-specific sustainability knowledge
Discovery
Drive the translation of our sustainability research into practice, policy and products:
- champion research that integrates into practice and aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals
- support experimental research. Transform our campuses into testing grounds for sustainable technologies.
- enable and incentivise researchers to partner with ‘gold standard’ sustainability partners.

Looking back

Community review of our Sustainability Plan 2017-2020.

Governance and leadership

The Plan’s successes and strengths?	Creating a framework for action that signalled an institutional commitment and “got the journey started”.
The Plan’s gaps and weaknesses?	Public statements of support from senior leadership that raise the profile of sustainability within the University community. Communicating the institutional importance of sustainability through leaders who visibly participate in sustainable practices and initiatives.
How do we build on these foundations in the next Plan?	Ensure that the post-COVID financial climate does not sideline sustainability at the University.

Investment

The Plan’s successes and strengths?	The Sustainable Investment Framework.
The Plan’s gaps and weaknesses?	A significantly stronger position on fossil fuel divestment.
How do we build on these foundations in the next Plan?	Ensure sustainability is a funding and investment priority.

People and culture

The Plan’s successes and strengths?	Embedding action on sustainability into staff culture.
The Plan’s gaps and weaknesses?	-
How do we build on these foundations in the next Plan?	Leverage the opportunity to re-frame norms around ‘necessary’ travel in the post-COVID environment

Place and community

The Plan’s successes and strengths?	Action on emissions reductions, renewable energy and green infrastructure, in particular: progress towards net zero; wide-spread solar panel installations and wind-generated PPAs; Green Star accreditation for new infrastructure projects. Action on waste: Parkville’s Choose to Reuse Plate Program was nominated as the Plan’s stand-out waste reduction achievement
The Plan’s gaps and weaknesses?	Action on waste: more action on food waste and composting initiatives was the most frequently cited area of weakness.
How do we build on these foundations in the next Plan?	Implement the University’s successful sustainability initiatives across all campuses and/or all operations. Parkville's Choose to Reuse Plate Program was the most frequently cited opportunity to 'scale up' a successful program.

Student and staff engagement

The Plan’s successes and strengths?	Efforts to raise awareness and increase knowledge of sustainability issues and actions within our staff and student community. The University’s Green Impact Program was most frequently cited as the Plan’s stand-out engagement achievement.
The Plan’s gaps and weaknesses?	Greater levels of awareness and participation in the University’s sustainability initiatives – especially in the student community.
How do we build on these foundations in the next Plan?	More effective internal communications that connects with a broader range of audiences and inspires buy-in and action.

Indigenous knowledge and engagement

The Plan’s successes and strengths?	-
The Plan’s gaps and weaknesses?	The integration of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into the Sustainability Plan.
How do we build on these foundations in the next Plan?	A stronger commitment to engaging Indigenous institutions and communities. Ensure Indigenous knowledge-holders lead and/or collaborate with the Sustainability Executive and/or sustainability initiatives. Use the University’s New Student Precinct project as a model for how we work with traditional owners and Indigenous knowledge holders.

Alumni and external engagement

The Plan’s successes and strengths?	-
The Plan’s gaps and weaknesses?	External outreach to support Plan goals.
How do we build on these foundations in the next Plan?	Better contextual links between the Plan and the communities in which our campuses are situated. Build more relationships with key players in the sustainability sector, and with national and global coalitions and communities of practice. Achieve greater levels of awareness in our alumni communities

Education

The Plan’s successes and strengths?	Establishing the Sustainability Fellows to champion sustainability-in-curriculum integration at Faculty level.
The Plan’s gaps and weaknesses?	Creating a robust interdisciplinary understanding of sustainability. Accountability for curriculum outcomes. Student awareness of sustainability subjects and pathways.
How do we build on these foundations in the next Plan?	Embed sustainability in curriculum across all Faculties and programs. Increase accountability for the Plan’s teaching & learning commitments. Develop a centralised ‘hub’ of sustainability knowledge and curriculum resources.

Discovery

The Plan’s successes and strengths?	-
The Plan’s gaps and weaknesses?	More sustainability-related research and development partnerships/collaborations with industry, local and state entities. Normative assessments of research projects’ contribution to sustainability. Greater focus on waste reduction and re-use in lab and clinical environments.
How do we build on these foundations in the next Plan?	Develop a centralised ‘hub’ of sustainability-related information and resources to support the University’s research activities

Looking ahead

Community priorities for our next Sustainability Plan.

Governance and leadership
- increase ownership and accountability for Plan outcomes
- embed sustainability into policy and decision-making
- more rigorous and transparent evaluation metrics and reporting
- improve the current Plan’s framework for action:
  - articulate the impact on society the University is seeking to support/advance
  - adopt an institution-wide definition of sustainability
  - frame action and targets with the degree of urgency they demand
Investment
- a stronger commitment and clear pathway to divestment
- a framework for ethical and sustainable capital works projects
- a venture capital allocation for sustainability initiatives in the University community.
- investment in future-proofing our campuses, incorporating community resilience planning
People and culture
- connect Plan goals with performance indicators for key staff, business units
- commitments to organisational sustainability, through supportive working conditions, job security, mental health and networks of support for students and staff
- proactive support of staff sustainability skills and knowledge development
Place and community
Action on waste:
- leadership and support for the circular economy. Aligning our operations with these principles.
- ban single-use containers and plastics. Reduce food and organic waste, increase composting
- reduce waste at the source through sustainable, ethical procurement processes that consider supply chains
Action on energy:
- revise our current 2030 carbon neutral timeframe. Can we bring it forward to 2022? 2025?
- prioritise clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives. Reduce on-campus energy use
- aim for net negative energy consumption. Transform UoM into a clean energy system participant.
Action on transport:
- carbon offset all University-sponsored flights/travel miles. Promote less travel overall.
- transition fleet cars to electric vehicles. Encourage active transport through improved cyclist access and facilities
Biodiversity and better use of green space:
- Non-water intensive, low maintenance gardens. Productive and Indigenous plantings. Leverage these for education, research and engagement opportunities.
- Mandate parameters and ratios for new builds: garden beds, tree canopies, green space
Engage and reflect the diversity of the UoM community in the Plan
Maximise student and staff awareness and participation by:
- raising the profile of sustainability at UoM
- ensuring the Plan reflects all pillars of sustainability to foster inter-disciplinary engagement
- empowering the UoM community to develop and lead sustainability initiatives
- breaking down organisational silos to foster collaboration and new ideas
- increasing tangible, experiential on-campus educational initiatives
Make connections between UoM research and institutional action:
- strengthen links between University operations and research. Transform our campuses into testing grounds for sustainable technologies.
- link research capabilities with campus engagement strategies.
Indigenous knowledge and engagement
deepen engagement to better understand Indigenous perspectives on sustainable cultures and practices
Integrate Indigenous knowledge into the Plan
facilitate platforms for Indigenous perspectives on sustainability, community, land management
Alumni and external engagement
better links and more collaborations with local communities
public education initiatives. Events, public lectures, open-access learning.
increase alumni engagement to expand our impact
better links to sustainable organisations and industry to increase student learning and research opportunities
better connections with global and national sustainability networks, coalitions, communities of practice
Education
- embed sustainability into all curricula
- incorporate Indigenous knowledge into sustainability curricula
- provide and promote study and career pathways in sustainability
- support staff to develop sustainability knowledge as it applies to their discipline
- position UoM as a leader in sustainability teaching and research
Discovery
- become an exemplar of sustainable practice in research
- incorporate sustainability into research ethics
- prioritise:
  - research partnerships that translate research into practice
  - research for the circular economy, sustainable buildings, renewable energy. Transform our campuses into testing grounds for sustainable technologies.
  - research with outcomes for resilience, diversity, environmental and social justice. Reflect a more holistic view of sustainability.

Engaging our community

Participants were asked “how can we engage the University community to help deliver on the goals of our new Sustainability Plan?”

Governance and leadership
- Executive leaders to champion sustainability and model action
- make action mandatory through policy and performance measures
- consider school-level subsidy resourcing to support specific initiatives (eg: Green Impact)
- for the University to participate in sustainability rankings, eg: Times Higher Education rankings.
Place and community
Empower UoM community members to help deliver on the Plan:
- enable passionate sustainability advocates to develop, lead and/or implement initiatives
- identify individuals within divisions/departments to champion initiatives
Improve communications to better connect with audiences:
- focus on tailored and targeted messaging, centralised resources, training modules
- provide ‘bite sized’ performance updates in ways that inspire action to support Plan targets
- leverage Sustainability Advocates and subject coordinators to increase comms reach
Education and support for sustainable behaviours and actions:
- a mandatory sustainability orientation module for all students and staff
- engage and support key teaching staff in all Faculties
- practical workshops that develop applied sustainability skills
- ‘how to’ guides for operating sustainability on-campus
Continued collaboration with UoM Sustainability Advocates, using their skills and networks to:
- develop intra-organisational networks and grassroots solutions
- operate as a feedback loop to central Sustainability Teams
Continue to realise the role of Green Impact (GI) program in mobilising staff and student action:
- consider modelling GI on climate reality – ie: leadership to empower others
- centrally organise large-scale volunteer days under the GI banner
- directly link actions in the GI toolkit to resources that support them
Alumni and external engagement
- seek alumni insights via focus groups on sustainability issues, topics, initiatives
- foster connections with community intermediaries to broker collaboration
- leverage Advancement channels to communicate our message to the wider world
Indigenous knowledge and engagement
- strengthen relationships with Indigenous knowledge-holders to support deeper engagement
- Include education and actions related to Indigenous knowledge in the Green Impact toolkit
Education
- embed sustainability into core curriculum in every faculty
- support teaching staff to integrate sustainability into courses and subjects, and to understand the value of doing so
- foster cross-disciplinary collaboration on sustainability-in-curriculum initiatives
Discovery
- focus on developing local and international sustainability research collaborations
- provide greater transparency around research funding, and how this aligns with the University’s sustainability commitments

Note: This summary employs four of Advancing Melbourne’s five intersecting themes to structure and convey community feedback. ‘Global’ is not included as a standalone category as it is integrated through the themes. For more on our methodology see the full report.

What was the result?

Following phases 2 and 3 of the Plan's development, the University of Melbourne’s Sustainability Plan 2030 was approved by University Council and launched at an event with students, research partners, staff and members of the wider community in May 2022.

Learn more about the Plan's development