Accountability for Sustainability?

Of our eight universities (many of which publicly state the need for a low carbon economy) only one The University of Waikato provides clear sustainability metrics (image shown above) in its annual report.

It is great that they are reporting on this – it would be even better to know how they are reducing and offsetting their emissions.

What about the other seven Universities – do you measure your environmental footprint are you able to report on your sustainability efforts are you able to minimise your Airmiles?

Approximately 340 thousand trees need to be planted every year to offset CO2 emissions produced from flights undertaken by our eight universities

Do we have ‘climate action’ leaders in government institutions?

They only way we know if government institutions are reducing their carbon emissions – is if they report on them. The University of Waikato is doing this, and other academic institutions need to follow and influence chance in their own ecosystems.

Accountable sustainability

Should it be mandatory that all government institutions provide clear and accessible information on how they are reducing and offsetting their carbon emissions?