Sustainability

Back to the Université Paris-Saclay Scientific Framework

Promoting a sober, sustainable campus. In the years to come, important efforts are required to reduce the environmental impact of our teaching or research practices. Sufficiency is a major aspect of these efforts, in parallel with longer-term decarbonisation actions. Many of the involved changes require an in-depth transformation of our existing work and study practices. However the urgency of the challenge requires us to implement the required changes as quickly as possible. The action plan currently being discussed within the whole Université Paris-Saclay community relies on four major impact areas:

1. Procurement - a thorough analysis of current practices aims at ensuring that we buy less and better, through a better screening of needs and mutualisation of resources.
2. Transportation - as home-to-campus and on-campus mobility are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, Université Paris-Saclay is implementing a  transportation blueprint to offer sustainable alternatives (bike, public transport, car pooling, etc).
3. Energy consumption on campus - a process is underway to improve the energy efficiency of our real-estate, and requires a multi-year planning and investment process.
4. Food and catering - discussions are underway with the catering providers for students and staff to diminish their environmental impact.

Developing research on sustainable development. Université Paris-Saclay has identified seven major interdisciplinary societal challenges. Many of them (Health & well-being; Energy, climate, sustainable development; Biodiversity, agriculture and food; Transport and mobility) are key for sustainable development. The breadth of the research carried out at the University in this area is presented in the dedicated section below, and deals with:

• The better understanding of environmental changes and associated risks for human societies and living beings.
• Solutions for a sustainable future.
• Issues related to equity in resource distribution and use.

The urgency of the environmental crisis raises deep issues, which are currently being debated collectively throughout the university, in the wake of recent seminars and conferences - among others, to what extent should we actively prioritise research directly relevant to sustainability concerns, or to what extent should we refrain from engaging in research which into research lines which might favour non-sustainable applications.

Orienting research practices towards sustainability. At the same time as our research teams explore the mechanisms of environmental changes and possible solutions,  research activities themselves generate a significant environmental impact. We cannot ignore this tension. Université Paris-Saclay is taking active steps to analyse the  carbon-footprint of its research activity, and promote accessible practices, adapted to each lab on a case-by-case basis.

Raising awareness and reaching out. Université Paris- Saclay offers a significant number of study paths which are directly relevant to sustainable development and train future professionals equipped to tackle the challenges of the environmental transitions: five professional undergraduate degrees, more than 30 Master’s tracks, more than 15 engineering specialisation tracks are currently being offered within departments ranging from natural sciences (geosciences, engineering, etc.) to humanities and social sciences (law, economics, public policy, etc.). Université Paris-Saclay has been also a pioneer with the introduction, as early as 2020, of a large-scale undergraduate teaching module dealing with ecological transition, accessible as a SPOC and mandatory for second-year undergraduate students. A  result of the collaboration of more than 40 academic staff from many disciplinary fields, this module is the basis for the open access book, Enjeux de la transition écologique.