| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 59.36 |
| Liaison | Ben Dharmendra |
| Submission Date | July 30, 2021 |
University of Sydney
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Zoe
Morrison Strategy Advisor Strategy Office |
Is the institution currently a member of a national or international higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):
Group of Eight Sustainability Forum
UN Global Compact and the Australia and New Zealand local chapter (UNGC)
Australiasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS)
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
Group of Eight Sustainability Forum
Does the institution actively participate in a regional, state/provincial, or local higher education sustainability network?:
The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):
UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
Has the institution presented at a higher education sustainability conference during the previous year?:
A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):
University College London - Gown Before Town. The Sustainability Strategy team made a presentation on the development of a multi-campus Sustainability Strategy that was co-created with academic and professional staff and students. The presentation concentrated on three elements - the co-creation of the strategy, how the Sustainability Strategy took into account multiple other university strategies including the building of a new satellite campus in Western Sydney and the proposed (at the time) Living Lab targets.
Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to an external higher education sustainability resource center or awards program?:
A list or brief description of the sustainability resource center or awards program and submission(s):
The University entered the Australian Financial Review Higher Education Awards under the inaugural Sustainability Category. The case study submitted was based on Professor Thomas Maschmeyer's sustainability-related research into reducing the impact of plastic waste by breaking it down into the reusable waxes and lubricants for industry and his renewable energy storage battery prototype. The case study's main consideration was his research which lead to the development of a Zinc-Bromide battery, Endure by Gelion. The University central infrastructure team worked with Prof. Maschmeyer's spin-off, Gelion, to develop solar powered benches that have been placed around our campus to test the Endure's batteries charge and discharge capacity in a real-world setting. The benches provide sheltered seating, laptop/phone charging facilities and lighting to 'dark zones' around our Camperdown/Darling campuses where no existing mains services to install lighting are available. The University of Sydney won the award in November 2020.
The case study: https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/10/19/university-technology-spinoff-Gelion-delivers-smart-solar-bench.html
The award win: https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/11/19/battery-storage-living-lab-recognised-in-afr-awards.html
Has the institution had employees or students serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years?:
A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):
Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:
The Group of Eight Universities have a Sustainability Forum which forms a mentoring group that meets formally twice annually and holds workshops in the intervening month. Each institution runs sessions or workshops on various aspects of sustainability that have worked well at our own institutions and explore how these can be scaled at other institutions. USydney has held sessions on how to incorporate research and education activities holistically throughout strategy and bring these areas of the University together.
Has the institution had employees or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the peer review activities:
A Sustainability Strategy team representative participated as a judge during the AASHE Sustainability Awards 2020 in the Campus Sustainability Research in the Planning & Administration category.
A brief description of other inter-campus collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year :
During the development of the strategy, we have engaged in mentoring and mentee relationships with several institutions.
The University of Melbourne and University of Sydney have an ongoing mentoring relationship in regard to sustainability. The University of Sydney is currently working with UMelbourne on the development of its next sustainability startegy, advising on how to develop and use an advisory group of academics, professional staff and students to co-create strategy in a genuine manner. UMelbourne provided advice throughout 2019 as we developed our own strategy.
Internationally, USydney has an ongoing mentoring/information swapping/advising relationship with the University of Edinburgh. We advise on building Communities of Practice with all areas of the University community and we're providing information and guidance on the development of UG and PG education opportunities in sustainability.
The Sustainability Strategy team and the Research Portfolio have also informally mentored various Sustainability/Research teams in universities who are joining the THE Impact Ranking for the first time. Universities include Durham and Warwick (UK), Calgary (Canada) and CQUniversity (Aus)
Website URL where information about the institution’s inter-campus collaborations is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.