Environment Programme

Operational environment

The Lapland University Consortium (LUC) aims to be a leader in the area of arctic research and competence. The LUC is a community formed by two universities – the University of Lapland and the Lapland UAS – with a particular focus on global arctic responsibility, sustainable tourism, future services, and governing distances.

The mission of the LUC is to produce new knowledge and competence from the arctic perspective so that life in the Arctic can continue to thrive in the future, and to encourage communities and other actors to bear responsibility. Active engagement in global and national networks focused on arctic competence is harnessed to benefit the LUC's strategic aims.

The LUC operates in an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable manner in constant dialogue with its stakeholders and partners. The LUC offers its students an inspiring learning environment characterised by digital solutions, connections to working life and the economy, and participation in research and education networks.

As a member of the LUC, the University of Lapland is committed to the attainment of the abovementioned strategic objectives as well as to taking environmental considerations into account throughout its activities.

The objective of the University of Lapland's Environment Programme is to bring clarity to the University's management of environmental issues, to strengthen the University's environmentally responsible activities, and to enhance the University of Lapland’s position as a university synonymous with sustainable development. The University of Lapland's Environment Programme has been created by the University of Lapland's Working Group on the Environment, and it is aligned to support the achievement of the environmental objectives of the University of Lapland as well as to comply with the WWF Green Office criteria.

Carbon neutrality

The University of Lapland has a range of functions related to research, artistic activities and education that can be geared towards greater environmental awareness and the University's objective to achieve carbon neutrality.

A central part of the University's environmental policy is formed by the environmentally responsible activities of the University Properties of Finland (SYK), the owner of the buildings and facilities of the University of Lapland's main campus, and promoting them through ownership steering. The University participates actively in the national development programs of SYK, which, for their part, promote the attainment of the carbon neutrality objective. Evaluation and monitoring of the development policies (good practices) of the universities belonging to SYK are an integral part of the abovementioned development programs.

In addition, in accordance with its vision, the LUC emphasises the significance of carbon neutral solutions throughout its activities. This shows, for example, in the RDI activities and simple everyday actions that can be taken on the LUC campuses to help the environment.

WWF Green Office environmental management system

Adopted in 2016 at the University of Lapland, the WWF Green Office environmental management system forms the foundation for management and promotion of environmental issues at the University.

The WWF Green Office environmental management system is intended for use in the context of offices, and it is easily scalable to office spaces of all sizes, ranging from companies, public administration and organisations. The university can be conceived of as one large office, for which reason, in the present Environment Programme, the word Office refers particularly to the University of Lapland.

The University of Lapland signed a cooperation agreement with WWF on 30 March 2016. The adoption stage of the WWF Green Office environmental management system included creation of environmental principles, setting concrete goals, and defining procedures and responsibilities as part of establishing the Environment Programme. In addition, adopting the environmental management system included its practical implementation: e.g. communications, training, and arranging events. The adoption stage was concluded with a WWF Green Office audit, which was conducted at the University of Lapland for the first time in March 2017, after which the University of Lapland was awarded with the WWF Green Office certificate. The University’s environmental management system was audited for the second time in May 2020. Maintaining the WWF Green Office certificate requires that the environmental management system of an organisation (Office) is implemented in compliance with external criteria, after which the Office meeting the criteria is granted the right to use the WWF Green Office logo and diploma.

After the certificate has been granted, the Office is committed to continuously improving its environmental activities. WWF Green Office audit is conducted every three years with the objective of inspecting whether the Office continues to meet the criteria and remains committed to working towards environmental goals. The procedures of the WWF Green Office environmental management system, and thus also the Environment Programme of the University, require continuous updating and annual reporting to WWF Green Office on the Environment Programme and the attainment of the goals set.

The adoption of the WWF Green Office environmental management system at the University of Lapland has enabled the University to reduce its harmful environmental impacts and, at the same time, to achieve cost savings. The environmental management system has made it possible to effectively include environmental considerations in different functions of the University and thus promote management of environmental issues and sustainable development. The WWF Green Office system is inclusive in that both students and staff members – the entire University community – have been given the opportunity to make a difference for the environment. The University's WWF Green Office certificate also allows the University to communicate its environmental sustainability to different stakeholders. The University has applied for the WWF Green Office certificate to cover the entire main campus of the University of Lapland, but the future objective is to extend it to cover all campuses of the University of Lapland.

At the University of Lapland, the responsibility for strategic coordination of environmental considerations lies with the Working Group on the Environment. The University has no designated person in charge of environmental issues: Instead, there are several persons in charge of environmental issues, and they attend to environmental considerations in addition to their other duties.

The purpose of the Working Group on the Environment is to monitor and develop the University's environmental work, to make recommendations for actions towards environmental sustainability at the University, and to update the Environment Programme.

The purpose of the WWF Green Office team is to monitor the University's activities within the framework of the WWF Green Office environmental management system and the system's implementation in the University's faculties and other units. The University has a Green Office Contact person who, together with the Green Office Team, is responsible for the University's Green Office activities. The team consists of staff members working on the University of Lapland's main campus, student members, and stakeholder representatives. The team is responsible for implementation of the WWF Green Office activities and it is responsible, for example, for informing and motivating staff to engage in Green Office activities, collecting feedback, and continuous development of activities to which Offices using the WWF Green Office system are committed.

The purpose of the Environmental Section of the University of Lapland's Student Union (LYY) is to raise awareness of environmental considerations among the student community and to contribute to monitoring the University’s environmental activities.

The University of Lapland is committed to the Theses on Sustainable Development and Responsibility put forward by Universities Finland UNIFI, the Council of Rectors of Finnish Universities.

The University of Lapland's Key Environmental Principles that lay the foundation for the University's environmental work:

• Environmental considerations are taken into account throughout the University's activities.
• In research and teaching, attention is paid to the specificities of the Arctic and northern operational environment, and teaching and research objectives are attained while consuming less material and energy.
• Environmental impacts of various activities are identified and action is taken to reduce the impacts without compromising the work and study conditions.
• Efforts are made to make the campus environment more flexible and attractive, and ultimately a good and safe environment for studying, teaching, research, and other university activities.
• An ongoing dialogue is maintained among students and staff members on environmental considerations, and efforts are made to raise environmental awareness among the University community with the objective of motivating the community members to make environmentally sound decisions.
  

The University of Lapland's 2023 environmental goals:

1. Goal: Reducing energy consumption
   Target: Energy consumption (electricity, heat) is reduced by 3% compared to 2019 by the end of 2023.
   Indicator: Electricity/heat consumption kWh/person/year
   
   
2. Goal: Reducing water consumption
   Target: Water consumption is reduced by 3% compared to 2019 by the end of 2023.
   Indicator: Water consumption litres/person/year
   
   
3. Goal: Reducing the amount of combustible and landfill waste
   Target: The amount of combustible and landfill waste is reduced by 3% compared to 2019 by the end of 2023.
   Indicator: Amount of waste kg/person/year

The above environmental goals apply to the University of Lapland's main building (the University's main campus).

In addition, in their agreement for 2021 to 2024, the Ministry of Education and Culture and the University of Lapland have agreed that the University of Lapland will be carbon neutral by 2030.

The University of Lapland's Environment Programme is aligned with the WWF Green Office procedures divided into nine categories:

1. execution and coordination of the Environment Programme
2. energy
3. travel and transportation
4. procurement
5. food
6. waste and recycling
7. water
8. biodiversity; and
9. people.

The University of Lapland's procedures to attain these goals are:

• Appointing a WWF Green Office contact person
• Forming and maintaining a Green Office team
• Creating and maintaining an Environment Programme
• Selecting procedures and setting numeric targets for them
• Creating an internal environmental communications plan
• Controlling and activating energy saving settings for electric equipment
• Encouraging staff to save energy by turning off computers, screens and other devices when they are not in use.
• Developing and maintaining procurement guidelines
• Complying with the provisions of the Waste Act recycling whenever possible
• Expanding the scope of the WWF Green Office environmental management system to cover also the university premises other than the main campus
• Developing carbon footprint calculation
• Applying to become a Fair Trade University and committing to the criteria of the title.

Some of the procedures listed above are Green Office criteria that the University is required to meet in order to be granted the right to use the WWF Green Office certificate.

The University of Lapland's Working Group on the Environment operates as the executive body of the procedures of the University's environmental work and is also responsible for continuous development of environmental work. The Working Group on the Environment has regular meetings in order to actively maintain environmental goals and objectives and to promote environmental considerations. The group's predetermined meeting schedule includes meetings in the spring and autumn term, as well as campaigns and events organised on campus.

The University's WWF Green Office contact person/team is responsible for reporting on the University's WWF Green Office environmental management system to WWF. Consumption data for selected procedures is reported to WWF annually. The goals for reducing consumption are set for a period of three years at a time, after which new goals will be set. In addition, the Green Office procedures that have been implemented as part of the University of Lapland's Environment Programme will be reported annually. Every three years, the procedures and goals are updated and collected in a document and presented to the University community members. The University of Lapland’s Environment Programme is published on the University's website and on the intranet.

As for the carbon neutrality objective, the University of Lapland reports its procedures by which it intends to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 to the Ministry of Education and Culture.