Me, the sustainability committee – and you?
On 5 February 2021, SDU has officially worked with the UN’s 17 SDGs for 500 days. As a nearly graduated biologist I love the SDGs and the implying possibilities for changes. That is the reason why I joined SDU’s SDG journey from the very beginning.
The Faculty of Science (NAT) is lucky to have many competent and innovative researchers and students. We all love nature – as implied in the name of the faculty – and therefore it should not come as a surprise, that the vast majority of us scientists engage in SDU’s sustainable mission. So, there was no doubt in my mind that I should say yes, when I was asked in May 2019, whether I would represent the biology students in NAT’s new sustainability committee SUSTAIN.
SUSTAIN aims to establish more sustainable everyday operations at NAT. This concerns both the administrative operation of the departments and administration of the faculty and the very life as a student and employee.
We work with anything and everything e.g. better waste sorting, less paper consumption, greener laboratories, large commitment from students and staff and procurement of NAT’s sustainable research. We coordinate all our work with SDU’s management because the cooperation can bring us even further.
The first meeting in SUSTAIN took place on 4 June 2019. NAT’s strategy was presented at a kick-off event on 18 December, where I introduced SUSTAIN. So, NAT has been working with the SDGs for a long time. And we have already achieved a lot.
Visit from Japan, green laboratories and events about sustainable research
Professor Manake Kazuhuri from the University of Kitakyusu in Japan visited SDU on 5 December 2019. Professor Kazuhuri works on implementation of the SDGs in teaching at all years in Japan’s educational system. As a student representative for SUSTAIN I was allowed to participate in a discussion about the best way to perform sustainable teaching – and sustainability in teaching.
NAT’s laboratories use more energy, water and plastic than ordinary office environments. Tina Holm Svenstrup from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has – via SUSTAIN - initiated the obtainment of “My Green Lab” certifications.Several laboratories have introduced new initiatives to ensure a certification e.g. recycling and sorting of materials and sustainable procurement methods. Last year Tina won NAT’s sustainable inspiration award for her efforts with My Green Lab and recycling in laboratories. The scientific laboratories are expected to receive a sustainability certification soon.
Furthermore, we in SUSTAIN have taken the initiative to a series of sessions, Sustainability Live Sessions, that shall contribute to further procurement of NAT’s sustainable research. The sessions take place every other month and contain presentations from researchers and debates about interdisciplinary cooperation – as it has great potential to work together in order to meet the sustainable agenda. So far, we have learned about plastic pollution, sustainable production of enzyme, mathematics for sustainable solutions, climate adaptation, sustainable phosphorus extraction etc. The next session takes place on 20 April, and you can join it by Zoom right here.
Sustainability for the students …
A SDG course in the first semester of all educations has been implemented for the students at NAT to give them the notion, that they can lead the world in a sustainable direction with their education. SUSTAIN now also awards a SDG prize for the first-year project that best manages to incorporate sustainability. Based on the SDGs the faculty has developed two new Master’s programmes with focus on sustainability – “Climate Adaptation” and “Environmental Chemistry and Management”.
My role as a student representative in SUSTAIN gives me ample opportunities to bring sustainable ideas from the students up in high places. This is exactly what happened to an idea from one of my fellow students, Kristian Bastholm Hansen. In the autumn 2020, Kristian was puzzled by the numerous grass areas without plants and flowers at campus. He requested more biodiversity; I presented his proposal at the subsequent meeting in the committee, and now we, SDU’s SDG HUB, Technical Services and SDU’s gardeners, are planning to create more biodiversity and amenity value throughout the entire campus. I look very much forward to seeing it become a reality.
… and sustainability for you
Just as Kristian’s idea is being realised, so can your idea. It is my clear perception that SDU is glad to hear from us students and wishes to implement our good ideas. If you are a student at NAT, you are welcome to contact me or SUSTAIN, if you have ideas of how to make the faculty more sustainable. If you are a student outside the faculty, you can send your ideas via mySDU. If you have a sustainable project idea, for which you lack funding, you can apply for up to 1 MDKK with SDU’s The Student’s SDG Pool for activities based on the SDGs.
The world is moving in a sustainable direction and we can only cross the finish line together. I hope that you will take part in the development together with me.
Meet the student
Emma Emilie Kanstrup Skou Andersen studies biology at SDU in Odense and is an active member om SUSTAIN
SUSTAIN
- Sustainability committee at The Faculty of Science
- Gives counsel to the Dean in sustainability and the SDG's in science, education and
- Working with knowledge sharing across faculties