Ollscoil na Gaillimhe - University of Galway
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

The Galway Green Labs initiative, saw labs at CÚRAM, the SFI Research Centre for Medical Devices based at NUI Galway being the first in Europe to be awarded Green Lab Certification. The Galway Green Labs initiative, is spearheaded by Dr Una Fitzgerald, a CÚRAM funded Investigator, Director of the Galway Neuroscience Centre at NUI Galway and member of the CUSP team. Together with her ‘green team’ of CÚRAM researchers and staff, and with the support of the University Deputy President and Registrar, Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, and the CUSP team, she is working to transform practice across campus to address issues such as plastic waste, energy reduction, recycling, and water usage. The achievement of Green Lab Certification in the CÚRAM Centre at NUI Galway was quickly followed by that of the Lambe Institute at University Hospital Galway (UHG). Certification of all laboratories on campus as ‘green’ by 2025 has since been adopted as a flagship action of NUI Galway’s sustainability strategy

NUI Galway is the first university in Ireland to join the SEAI Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) Network. A SEC embraces an inclusive and community approach, across all sectors, to develop a sustainable energy system. To do so, SECs aim to be energy efficient, to use renewable energy where feasible and to develop decentralised energy supplies. By joining the SEC Network, NUI Galway commits to knowledge sharing with SEC members and to developing and implementing energy-saving initiatives. Joining the SEC network offers many benefits to NUI Galway (and community partners), including: the potential for energy and financial savings by implementing energy efficiency initiatives; an opportunity to promote community building through a partnership approach, where resources and expertise are shared across the network; an opportunity to contribute to national energy reduction targets; to assist in the development of sustainable energy supplies through investment and installation of renewable energy technology.

In March 2019, our University was awarded the internationally recognised Green Flag by the An Taisce Green-Campus Programme on behalf of the International Foundation for Environmental Education. The Green Campus Programme is an international environmental education and award scheme that promotes long term whole college action for the environment that empowers both students and staff to create a more balanced community and to reduce environmental impacts and associated costs. The Green Flag Award is the result of many years of hard work undertaken to promote best practice in sustainability across five themes which include energy, waste, travel, biodiversity and water. Work to attain the An Taisce Green Campus Flag was led by the Green Campus Team and part of the Community and University Sustainability Partnership (CUSP).