The university for the green world
QUT’s vision is to move to a low carbon future and reduce activities that result in greenhouse gases emissions. Sustainability and the Environment, one of the high-level priorities in the University’s strategic plan ‘Blueprint 6’, reflects our ongoing commitment.
We realise the capacity of the next generation of decision makers, business leaders, specialist practitioners and citizens to maintain a sustainable world for the future.
QUT aims to tackle global challenges and achieve sustainability through our research, teaching programs, campus operations and partnerships.
Our strategy
Formal governance, high-level planning and reporting procedures are in place to ensure we are accountable for meeting our sustainability-related commitments.
The QUT Blueprint directs our integration of sustainability in our research and learning, operations and infrastructure, and everyday student and staff activities.
Advisory committees
Committees reporting to the vice-chancellor advise on a range of sustainability issues, including:
- planning and resources
- equity
- wellness matters
- environmental and other risk management matters.
Corporate indicators
Our contributions are reported in the QUT Blueprint, using our key corporate indicators. We report on:
- financial viability and responsibility
- graduate outcomes
- staff and student experiences
- students' well-being
- progress in reducing carbon emissions.
Our programs and initiatives
We successfully apply sustainable principles to reduce our environmental footprint, using innovative techniques and technology, and by encouraging our community to practice resource-conserving activities.
Coffee Cup recycling program
Each year Australians use more than one billion disposable coffee cups, with every cup ending up in landfill.
In 2018 QUT was the first Australian university to join forces with Closed Loop and their Simply Cups initiative to remove take-away coffee cups from our waste stream.
Since conception, QUT has diverted over 150000 coffee cups from landfill.
To decrease more waste to landfill, Boost Juice cups are now also recycled via the coffee cups recycling program.
Carpooling with Liftango
Our latest initiative is Liftango, a free carpooling app open exclusively to QUT staff and students.
As well as being great for the environment and our community, the rewards for users include cheaper parking and designated parking spaces.
Save time, money and the environment by carpooling to either Gardens Point or Kelvin Grove campuses with Liftango.
New habitat on Kelvin Grove campus attracts Bush Stone-curlews
In 2019 Facilities Management, with assistance from our service partners Ecosure, designed new landscaped gardens around H Block Kelvin Grove campus, to entice a breeding pair of Bush Stone-curlews to return after the construction of a new lab space.
Not only did the original Curlews return to enjoy their new habitat, another breeding pair of Curlews also set up home around the area.
While Bush Stone-curlews are considered as common in Queensland, they are listed as endangered in New South Wales and considered threatened in Victoria.
Transport
Get active and use sustainable transport – catch public transport, jump on board our free intercampus bus, car share, or walk or cycle to uni.
Buildings
We aim to achieve at least a 5-star Green Star rating and to construct all new buildings and refurbishments with sustainability in mind.
Energy
We are committed to reducing energy consumption and increasing production of renewable energy on our campuses.
Workspace
Our vision is to move to a low carbon future and reduce activities that result in greenhouse gas emissions.
Our workplaces play an important part in supporting QUT’s sustainability commitment.
Water
We are committed to best-practice water management.
Our Water Efficiency Management Plan includes conservation, capture and reuse of water around QUT’s campuses.
Waste
We are committed to sustainable waste management practices.
We are working to minimise waste going to landfill and increase recycling.
Our partners
In collaboration with our partners in higher education, industry, government, business and the wider community, we are committed to reducing our carbon emissions and addressing global and local sustainability challenges.
Tertiary Education Facilities Management Association
Facilities management, which involves designing, procuring, and furnishing buildings, has evolved into managing facilities in response to the demands of ecological sustainability.
The Tertiary Education Facilities Management Association (TEFMA) is producing a global reporting framework, that can be applied to public and private organisations, with principles that will measure and report economic, environmental, and social performance regardless of organisation size, sector, or location.
Packaging Stewardship Forum, Australian Food and Grocery Council
In partnership with the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, we contribute to the beverage container recovery targets set by the Packaging Stewardship Forum of the Australian Food and Grocery Council.
By providing education and infrastructure, the program aims to reduce the 1,500 tonnes of landfill waste generated by QUT students and staff annually.
Council of Australian University Directors of Information Technology
The annual IT turnover of the university sector in Australia and New Zealand is in excess of $1 billion and affects the environment through the generation of waste materials (e-waste) destined for landfill with a potential for contamination.
The Council of Australian University Directors of Information Technology (CAUDIT) is involved in building a set of resources, strategies, and best practice examples to minimise e-waste.
The Australian Green Development Forum
The Australian Green Development Forum (AGDF) helps integrate sustainable practices in the Australian building and development industry.
Projects and case studies include the Oxley Creek revitalisation, showcasing sustainable home living and design, eco-tourism and creating eco-villages, and building a water supply network for south-east Queensland to deliver up to 232 megalitres per day of purified recycled water.
Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability
Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) aims to inspire, promote and support change towards best practice sustainability across all types of campuses.
ACTS builds cross-sector partnerships, bringing together sustainability educators, practitioners and change-makers to create a community for positive engagement, capacity building and impact.
Contact us
Facilities Management Y1 Block
Victoria Park Rd
Kelvin Grove QLD 4059