• Charles Sturt University ranks in the top 10 per cent for Climate Action in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings
• The University has achieved strong results across key environmental-themed rankings, demonstrating the effectiveness of the University’s ongoing sustainability strategy
• THE Impact Rankings assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

Charles Sturt University’s position as a higher education leader in environmental action has been confirmed again with the University achieving fantastic results across key environmental-themed rankings aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Charles Sturt ranked in the top 10 per cent of universities in the world for Climate Action, in the top 20 per cent for Clean Water and Sanitation, and in the top 25 per cent for Life on the Land and for Life Below Water.

The rankings assess more than 1,100 universities across the globe against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and ranks them in 17 categories across three areas – research, outreach and stewardship.

Manager, Sustainability at Charles Sturt, Mr Ed Maher said the University’s achievement in the environmental rankings reflected the impact of incorporating sustainability into all actions and practises across the University.

“Sustainability is a process that integrates environmental, social and economic considerations into decision making with the goal of creating a thriving and healthy society,” Mr Maher said.

“Charles Sturt has a long history of developing initiatives across our campuses that improve the quality of life for our communities without increasing the use of natural resources.

“We were Australia’s first certified carbon neutral university and have invested in carbon offset projects undertaken by Traditional Owners and Aboriginal rangers, and solar installations across our regional campuses save the equivalent carbon emissions as that generated by 1,032 homes.”

Other programs across the University include:

• The Albury campus boasts artificially created wetlands (David Mitchell wetlands) created when the campus was built and filled via filtering the grey and stormwater from campus buildings. The wetlands support one of the largest and few remaining populations of Sloanes Froglet in NSW.
• One of the key pillars of the Charles Sturt University Clean Energy Strategy 2030 is getting off natural gas and moving to electric campuses powered by 100 per cent renewable energy sources onsite and from external generation systems.
• The construction of Stage 2 at Port Macquarie as a ‘smart building’, which incorporates 164 kw rooftop solar system, tanks that capture rainwater to run the toilets, and has an automatic window traffic light system for internal climate control. The Port Macquarie campus also includes Electric Vehicle charge points to support the uptake of low-emission electric vehicles.

Mr Maher said that in addition to investment in sustainable infrastructure, Charles Sturt researchers had played a key role in water management, biodiversity, and groundwater management projects across Australia and the world.

“We recognise that climate change remains one of the single greatest challenges humanity faces, and for that reason we have adopted a mindset to constantly evaluate current practises, to find, implement, and promote a sustainable way forward,” he said.

Other THE ranking categories include no poverty, quality education, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, and climate action. The full list of rankings is available on the THE website.