Sustainability DCU Plans and Reports

In Q1 2023, DCU published our first response to the National Climate Action Plan 2021.  This plan again calls out the scale of the challenge, not just in meeting electricity and gas decarbonisation targets but in addressing the whole of institution emissions.  DCU is currently working to implement the Climate Action Roadmap 2023 and investigating what additional actions are necessary and feasible to meet the National Climate Action Plan requirements.  

Further reports and updated Roadmaps will be published here.

As a university, a place of past and state-of-the-art knowledge where we guide and develop our next generations, we must stand up for them and for those most impacted by the ravages of climate change and biodiversity loss. 

We must defend the science and communicate with integrity to all our society, including our industrial and political leaders, the urgent need to fundamentally change our business-as-usual models so as to allow the possibility of a future for all. 

Samantha Fahy, Sustainability Manager

DCU is committed to making radical changes to curricula, research and operations to reduce our environmental impact and reach our ambitious zero carbon targets. 

Meeting our science-based targets (a 4.2% annual reduction in carbon emissions up to 2030) will be extremely challenging. In fact, these targets may well be superseded and increased under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and the National Climate Action Plan 2021. 

While we wait for our national targets to be established, we continue to work towards our science-based targets.  The scale of the work to be done demands that each of us overhauls our previous practices and considers carefully how we use resources.

Devised by our Sustainability Council, our Climate Action Plan 2021-2026 sets out a detailed strategy and action plan for DCU. 

The plan establishes baselines against which we can measure progress, and outlines detailed targets and actions across every area of our work. This is an iterative plan and additional actions will be required to transform our university to meet our targets. :

• Teaching and learning
• Research, development and innovation
• Operations
• Engagement

Discover the DCU Climate Action Plan in detail.

“Climate change represents the greatest global challenge of our age, with major implications for almost every aspect of life and society. Our ambitious Climate Action Plan builds on the leadership DCU has already shown, by sharing our learned experiences. 

We aim to use the power and reach of education to help engage and educate current and future generations about the climate crisis challenge. Reaching zero carbon targets requires radical change. This will be challenging, but DCU excels at leadership and change management, as we saw during the pandemic. 

DCU cannot deliver this alone. Addressing the climate crisis demands systemic changes within our University, but also at policy level within the Government and its departments, across semi-state organisations and throughout Irish society.”

Professor Daire Keogh, DCU President 

In this section we publish our annual sustainability report.  Please note that some of these reports are currently offline as we update them to ensure that they are accessible.

In this section we publish our annual carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions reports.  Please note that some of these reports are currently offline as we update them to ensure that they are accessible.

The DCU Carbon footprint for 2022 & 2023 will be published here shortly - in the interim summary information of these footprints can be seen in the DCU Sustainability Report above.