New steps for our sustainable development work

At the start of the year, we compiled a number of different indicators of how KTH is progressing with its sustainable development work. As part of this, a report on some of these has been compiled and submitted to the Swedish Environment Protection Agency Naturvårdsverket. Many of these indicators are pointing in the right direction, but there are also a few that are moving in the wrong direction. Here are some of the results:

The number of courses that are shown as environment or sustainability courses continues to grow.
There is a continuing increase in indicators of scientific publications and financing linked to sustainable development.
There has been a rise in the number of faculty services with a clear link to sustainable development in the subject or subject description. This is especially pleasing as they have had a tendency to fall for several years.
The indicator of KTH’s visibility in media when it comes to sustainable development continues to rise. Our international visibility increased in 2019.
Carbon dioxide emissions from air travel fell by 9 percent per employee between 2018 and 2019. This is the first time in several years that this has been the case. This is encouraging and hopefully can remain so in the coming years. We aim to reduce emissions by 20 percent between 2015 and 2020 ). To date, emissions have increased by 7 percent since 2015.
There has been a drop in the proportion of procurement processes that include some form of environment demands.
Foundation and donation capital managed on behalf of KTH is invested in 99.46 percent fossil fuel free assets.

These results show the breadth of KTH’s sustainable development work and the systematics behind it. This is not a temporary project or single initiative. It is long-term work that includes education, research, cooperation and our own effects. We are going to continue this work in 2020 and add new steps.

During the year, a more indepth review of our education and research goals will be performed. We are also going to set out new sustainability goals for the period 2021 and beyond. These will build on the climate goals that KTH resolved on last year and the work KTH is already doing. We believe universities, and universities of technology in particular, have a key role to play in the transition to a climate neutral and sustainable society. KTH aims to be a leading university of technology, and here, this also includes being a leader in sustainable development.

Tip of the week: Join us to discuss how universities of the future can contribute to Agenda 2030 and the global sustainable development goals. What needs to change and how should we structure our approach? New and old students, employees and everyone else interested in this issue are invited to attend workshops and discussions on 28 March. Apply here: