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Monday, December 14, 2020 at 06:45

URJC among the 60 most sustainable universities in the world

According to the "UI GreenMetric World University Ranking", the Rey Juan Carlos University occupies the 60th position, achieving the highest score in the "Waste" and "Education and research" indicators.

Jaime Riveiro Fernandez

One more year, the “UI GreenMetric World University Ranking”, a list that takes into account universities from around the world and assigns them a score based on the current condition and policies related to the fight against climate change, sustainability, energy, recycling and water conservation, among other indicators . In this context, in 2020 the Rey Juan Carlos University ranks 60th at the international level and is fourth at the national level in this classification organized by "Universitas Indonesia".

“For the URJC it means recognition of the effort made by our university community in environmental matters. It is a good indicator that the path that is being followed to turn URJC into a university committed to 2030 Agenda, is the correct one”, explains Diana Benito, director of the Strategy Program. In this sense, the URJC2030 Project has been launched from the Vice President for Planning and Strategy; and, within this, is the Green Office, with Consuelo Iriarte as coordinator, who seeks to minimize the environmental impact of university activity. At the same time, UNEFE is working to improve the energy efficiency of the university's facilities.

The “UI GreenMetric World University Ranking”

The main objective of the "UI GreenMetric World University Ranking" is to encourage the use of environmentally friendly policies and activities, reducing environmental impact and promoting commitment in the university community. "This ranking makes it possible to make these results visible individually and in comparison and can be stimulating for universities to continue improving in environmental matters," says Benito. In addition, its international character favors its relevance, since only this year 912 universities have presented themselves.

To classify and assign a position to each institution, the ranking has a series of indicators and their corresponding score. The Rey Juan Carlos University has achieved the highest score in two of them, in "Waste" and in "Education and research".

Highest score in “Waste” and in “Education and Research”

On the one hand, the good management of waste is decisive for the protection of the environment. “The URJC is not a neophyte in carrying out actions related to the responsible consumption of resources. At URJC we work under the motto 'the best waste is the one that is not generated'. Reduction, reuse and revaluation are the principles of our management”, says Benito.

On the other hand, the results obtained in "Education and research" are explained thanks to the numerous articles related to sustainability published in 2019 by researchers from the University. Different conferences and events to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have also been organized throughout the year, especially those most closely related to environmental protection. As if that were not enough, the Green Office has trained more than 9000 students in sustainable matters in the 2019 academic year, through the RAC Sustainability: Criteria and Decision Making. "And, moreover, more and more frequently, sustainability criteria are being introduced in training at the level of skills and content in undergraduate and master's courses," adds Benito.

URJC tour

Year after year, the URJC has been climbing positions little by little, going from position 212 in 2014 with 360 participants, to position 60 in 2020 with 912 universities. “We will continue working with the intention of reducing the environmental impact of the university, we will advance in the development of environmental policies and in the URJC2030 project. Surely all this will lead us to a better environmental and social impact, which is what is important. We want it to continue to be reflected in the results of the rankings”, concludes Benito.

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