Climate plan Ghent University

Strategy and Organisation

Ghent University aligns itself with the EU's ambition to be climate neutral by 2050.

We are making this concrete through a Climate Plan. This plan sets out the objectives to be achieved by 2030, covering education, research, operations, and organisational structure. These objectives guide policy decisions — no decision can be made that contradicts them.

The Climate Plan is part of Ghent University’s broaded sustainability vision and thus aims for more than just tackling the climate crisis or reducing CO2. It addresses our role in a socially just ecological transition and our responsibility to strive for a good life for all within the planet’s boundaries.

In the Sustainability Roadmap, we outline the actions we will take between 2025 and 2028 to work toward these objectives. The results are monitored annually by the Board of Governors, and the actions are adjusted as needed. Faculties have also committed to additional efforts to strengthen and enrich the sustainability transition.

But a sustainable university takes shape through its community. Ghent University relies on a well-developed sustainability network and creates space for involvement, for sharing expertise and dialogue, for acquiring new knowledge through (student) research, policy preparation, and living labs, and for supporting sustainability initiatives in faculties, student associations, and more.

Education, Research, and Services in the Context of Sustainability

CO2 Reduction

Energy use, air travel, and commuting contribute the most to Ghent University’s carbon footprint. By 2030, we aim to reduce emissions in these three sectors by 27% compared to 2019 (WB2C), with a target of reaching a 46% reduction (WB1.5C).

Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Campuses

Circularity and Sustainable Consumption

Thematic Working Groups

Thematic working groups or platforms consist of experts, policy officers, and engaged staff and students. They work on thematic goals and transition pathways, shaping them further by sharing knowledge and experience, providing policy advice and preparatory work, refining research questions, and experimenting in living labs. The groups seek a balance between concrete actions and broader scientific narratives. They monitor progress and propose adjustments, including for future roadmaps.

The composition of the transition working groups can be found under "Sustainability Network: Who Does What?"

Ghent University’s CO2-eq Emissions

Since 2019, Ghent University has calculated its annual carbon footprint — the total sum of all greenhouse gases we emit. Through our Climate Plan, we aim to reduce the university’s total emissions year after year. The ultimate goal? Meeting the Paris Climate Agreement target: net zero emissions by 2050.