By Maria Trabjerg, Campus Service

At AAU, it is important that we not only create knowledge for the world, but that we also do it in a sustainable way. This means that a lot is done to ensure that students can travel in an environment where all facilities are as sustainable as possible. From the moment you arrive until you leave, green solutions have been thought of throughout. Here is an overview of which sustainable practices are in your everyday life at AAU.

Sustainable transport

Take the bike out to your studies or to work. There are cycle paths directly to the campus in both Aalborg, Esbjerg and Copenhagen. All locations also have covered bicycle parking, and on the Copenhagen campus there is even a bicycle storage area where you can maintain your bicycle. At least once a year, campaigns are made to encourage more people to cycle to study and to work. The entire infrastructure on the campus in Aalborg has been designed so that it caters for cyclists, who can park right outside the door, while cars must park on the periphery of the campus area.

If you live further away than cycling distance, AAU encourages carpooling, and is building a collaboration with the company NaboGo, which is a carpool scheme for commuters. You can also take public transport to the Campus, and in Aalborg both the super cycle path and the Plusbus, which is a new fast and environmentally friendly way of getting through the city, are opening.

Recreational areas on campus that are accessible to all

When you arrive at the main campus in Aalborg, you cycle through large recreational areas, with great biodiversity and small oases where you can exercise or relax. The areas are publicly accessible, so everyone can walk and enjoy the campus grounds. There are both outdoor fitness facilities, a winding canal system that opens into a lake and a total of 75,000 m2 of grass and meadow areas, managed according to the 'Wild with Will' principles, where space is created for as many plant and animal species as possible. Oath poison is not sprayed on university grounds. 

Free communal gardens and fire pit

Part of the recreational areas on campus have been laid out as a community garden. If you, as a student, want to grow your own vegetables, but don't have access to a piece of land, Campus Service makes raised garden beds available free of charge to everyone. In the communal gardens, there are raised garden beds, running water, tables and benches and a cozy little fire pit. Find community and vent for creative thoughts by cultivating the soil together with your fellow students. Write to Mette Andersen, mand@aau.dk, if you would like to book a bed.

Intelligent climate-optimized buildings

When you enter an AAU building, there are energy saving measures all around. The buildings have central condition control and management (CTS), which means that the heat is turned down at night and when there is no one in the building. This is managed, among other things, through booking systems, so that if a room is not booked, the heat is at a minimum. Every time an area is renovated, state-of-the-art heat control panels are installed, so that the users also have the opportunity to turn the heat up and down themselves. In addition, renovations are ongoing with better insulation and windows, so that the least possible energy is used.

Ventilation without air conditioning saves energy

As a general rule, active cooling (air conditioning) is not used in the university's buildings (except for laboratories and other rooms with strict temperature requirements). Instead, the air is constantly replaced through ventilation systems. This is done to both create a good indoor climate with lots of fresh air, without using the enormous amounts of energy an air conditioning system would use. The ventilation systems, like the heating control, are intelligent in that they switch off if a room is not in use.

Sustainable toilet facilities - with access for all

The toilets at AAU have also been designed to be climate-friendly throughout. There are unisex toilets throughout the university and all buildings also have disabled toilets. Most toilets have light sensors so that the lights turn on and off automatically. There is a sparing flush in the toilet itself, so approx. half as much water per toilet visit. When you wash your hands, you also save water, because most taps have touch-free operation with a sensor that turns the water on and off, and when you need to dry your hands, it is done in sustainable paper napkins that are manufactured in a way that saves approx. one-third paper compared to old-fashioned paper napkins.

Clean, cold drinking water for free in shared water dispensers

In Denmark, we have some of the cleanest drinking water in the world, and cold drinking water is available free of charge to students throughout the university. In many places, centrally located drinking water dispensers with free cold clean drinking water have also been set up.

Sustainable canteen operations

In the canteens at AAU, work is focused on sustainable operations. There are vegetarian dishes in all AAU's canteens every day, and the aim is both for a greater proportion of organic raw materials and locally grown raw materials, which are less harmful to the environment. Students and staff are encouraged to use porcelain tableware, and where disposable tableware is used, it consists of either biodegradable plastic or bamboo materials. The canteen will eventually completely phase out the use of single-use service, and already now users are being nudged to choose porcelain, as there is an additional price for the single-use service. Another important area of ​​focus in the canteens is the minimization of food waste. In most places, food is sold cheaper in the last hour before closing time, to avoid the food ending up in the bin.

Garbage sorting

At AAU, from 2020 we will sort waste into up to 10 fractions. On a daily basis, plastic, bio-waste, residual waste, paper, cardboard, metal, glass, flamingos and hazardous waste are sorted. In addition, there is additional sorting at laboratories and workshops that have special types of waste. 

Optimal use of the facilities is good for the environment

Based on the ideas of circular economy, AAU continuously aims for optimal utilization of the facilities. This means, in short, that students increasingly share rooms, and furthermore that the same rooms are designed to be used for several different study activities. Concretely, this means that the actual building mass at AAU will be smaller (per student), which is sustainable in the sense that there will not be so many square meters that need to be operated, which remain unused for a large part of the time.

In recent years, students at AAU have also gotten used to sharing about the student workplaces. Common areas are used increasingly, so that space is created for group work. For example, all canteens at AAU in 2019 have received a lift and a new interior that supports PBL.