HR4RS stamp
Beatriz García
This ranking is represented thanks to the 'GreenMetric' program that the University of Indonesia has been promoting since 2010 with the aim of increasing knowledge about sustainability, thus improving the measures carried out by universities in this area. To award this certificate of commitment and action, the members of the jury have six indicators: adjustment and infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste, water, transport and education.
Consuelo Iriarte, coordinator of the Green Office, points out that "we are very well positioned both globally and nationally and we have been on a path of continuous improvement since 2014." This represents a great prize for the URJC since it is beginning to be taken as a reference in sustainability. "With programs of this nature, the commitment to the environment is made visible, not only from the Green Office, because if it were not for the participation of the entire university community, we would not be here" says Iriarte, thanking all the members that make up the University " from the students to the Attention and Service Personnel, through teachers and researchers, this achievement belongs to all of us”.
Currently, the Rey Juan Carlos University is beginning to be a benchmark in this area, numerous universities, both national and international, have contacted the Green Office to try to apply the policies and proposals of the URJC in their faculties.
In addition to the important work of the Green Office, the URJC has managed to position itself in these positions thanks, among others, to the efficient energy management carried out by the Energy Efficiency Unit (UNEFE) that was created in 2015. The UNEFE has Its purpose is to improve the energy performance of the university and help other public or private entities to achieve it. Its objectives are clear: reduction of the environmental footprint of the University by optimizing its energy consumption, reduction of the costs associated with said consumption and creation and implementation of management systems that promote continuous improvement in the use of energy. One of its main achievements has been obtaining, in 2014, the certification of the Energy Management System according to the UNE ISO 50001:2011 Standard, which has made it possible to give greater visibility to all actions aimed at saving and efficiency. that have been developed in the university.
More than 700 universities have participated this year in the program through a platform that is responsible for collecting the necessary data, through the same online questionnaire, in a given period of time. Every year, the number of participants increases. Only 95 universities participated in the first edition. In its first year (2014), the Rey Juan Carlos University ranked 212th out of a total of 360 candidates. Currently, it has risen notably, being in the 5th position of the 28 Spanish universities that are part of this program.
In order to continue improving and moving up in the 2019 ranking, improvements will be applied to water management and the carbon footprint of the URJC will be reduced.
