Sustainable development

Towards carbon neutrality

We are committed to taking environmental responsibility into consideration in all our operations. We aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, and we strive to promote ecologic sustainability and reduce our ecological footprint. In addition, our main campus has been awarded with the WWF Green Office certificate since 2017, and our future objective is to extend it to cover all our campuses.

Environment Programme 2021–2023

Our Environmental Programme comprises our environmental policy and goals as well as the procedures employed to achieve them. It also entails our systems of monitoring and reporting environmental considerations.

The programme is valid for 2021–2023, and it was composed by the University of Lapland's Working Group on the Environment.

Take a look at our environment programme

Our environmental principles

• We take environmental issues into account in all our activities.
• Our teaching and research will pay attention to the Arctic and northern operational environment. We strive to reach the desired outcomes in teaching and research with less material and energy.
• We recognise the environmental strain our operations create and work to reduce it without compromising good working and studying conditions.
• We will make the campus a more flexible and comfortable environment so that it is a pleasing and safe place to study, teach and do research.
• We maintain an ongoing dialogue among our students and staff members on environmental considerations.
• We strive to raise environmental awareness among the University community with the objective of motivating the community members to make environmentally sound decisions.

In addition, we are committed to the Theses on Sustainable Development and Responsibility put forward by Universities Finland UNIFI, the Council of Rectors of Finnish Universities.

Our environmental goals

• We reduce our energy and water consumption and the amount of landfill waste by three percent from the level of 2019 by the end of 2023.
• We will be carbon neutral by 2030.
  

Do you have any questions about our university's environmental activity? What about suggestions for improvement? Or would you like to share your top environmental tips with our academic community?

Easy way to get in touch is to use the form below. If you want us to respond, please give us your contact details and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Working Group on the Environment

University's Working Group on the Environment monitors and develops the University's environmental work, makes recommendations for actions towards environmental sustainability at the University, and updates the Environment Programme.

Members

Osmo Rätti (chairman), Vice-Rector
Juha Aavikko, Campus Manager, SYK
Hannele Alajoutsijärvi, Coordinator
Santeri Happonen, Exhibition Technician, Arctic Centre
Matti Honkala, Director of Financial Services
Ilari Hovila, Vice-Dean, University Lecturer on Environmental Law, Faculty of Law
Jorma Puuronen, Director of Planning
Sari Väyrynen, Communications Specialist
Antti Eteläaho, student member, LYY (secretary)
Esa-Pekka Tuppi, student member, LYY
Viljo Vuorimäki, student member, LYY

Expert members:

Ilkka Ratinen, Professor of Sustainability and Outdoor Education
Eija Ruokamo, Accountability Manager

Green Office team

The Green Office team monitors the University's activities within the framework of the WWF Green Office environmental management system and implements it in the University's faculties and other units. The team consists of staff and student members, and stakeholder representatives.

Contact person:

Hanne Alajoutsijärvi
Coordinator
Tel. +358 40 484 4070
greenoffice[at]ulapland.fi

Environmental Section of LYY

The Environmental Section of the University of Lapland's Student Union (LYY) raises awareness of environmental considerations among the student community and contributes to monitoring the University's environmental activities.