Environmental sustainability

Energy and greenhouse gas efficiency projects are ongoing at VU.

Renewable energy

We have a couple of renewable energy sites that produce around 13,000kWhrs per year. They are located at our St Albans and Sunshine campuses.

Ride to Work Day

Staff and students participating in Ride to Work Day.

We encourage our staff and students to participate in the annual Australia-wide Ride to Work Day.

We run an annual Ride to Uni Day breakfast which aims to encourage people to get on their bike and ride to work or class. Fewer cars on the road mean fewer emissions, improved air quality and healthy staff and students. On the day we offer free bike checks and adjustments for all participants as well as a chance to win great prizes, just for being involved. Keep an eye out for our breakfast in October and we hope to see you there!

Carpooling initiative

VU has partnered with 9 organisations in the Western region of Melbourne to implement a free car-pooling program called Carpool the West. This program is open to all students and staff members of VU and it’s free, it only takes minutes to sign up and from there you can search for other program members to link up with. All of your personal information is protected.

VU will be installing some priority parking spaces for car-pool members at our Footscray Park Campus so keep an eye out for them. They will have the Carpool the West logo on them, designating them for car-poolers only.

IT sustainability

One of many IT sustainability initiatives, the Energy Efficiency Best Practice Data Centre and IT Facilities at the Sunshine Campus reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 600 tonnes CO2-e per year, saving approximately $40,000 annually on energy bills.

New energy efficient buildings

All new buildings at VU are designed to a minimum 5 Star Green Star-Education rating. The Sport and Learning Precinct building at Footscray Park Campus not only features state-of-the-art sport and exercise science facilities and student learning spaces, but also has an array of sustainable design features.

Take a look at our sustainability courses and sustainability units.

Our students have the opportunity to participate in Environmental Sustainability programs on campus and as part of their course work.

We encourage any student or student group that is interested in running a sustainability-related project to contact environment@vu.edu.au. We can help with project planning and development as well as funds to assist you to get your idea up and running.

Past projects

• Students from Footscray Nicholson Campus encouraged the cafeteria to give a discount for people who purchased a coffee using their own reusable cup.
• A Community Development student helped get the solar powered fountain near Building D, Footscray Park, restarted after years of dormancy.
• Student group Sustainable Living and Urban Gardening Group (SLUGG) created a community garden space complete with wall garden on the Footscray Park Campus.
• Masters of Applied Psychology students developed a 'No butts' campaign to promote the responsible disposal of cigarette butts.

A mixture of Multimedia, Communications and Public Relations students ran an Environment Day as part of their coursework to promote environmental awareness on campus. The successful events included a recycled fashion parade, a 'green police' video and an environmental pledge signing ceremony.

We have a university-wide policy to improve our environmental sustainability performance.