Our sustainability efforts are making a real difference

Since issuing its first Climate & Sustainability Strategy in February 2023, our School has made great strides in the areas of education, research, innovation and campus operations. A recently published progress report describes our achievements through mid-2024 and our upcoming priorities. It was reviewed by EPFL’s leadership team at the start of the fall semester in September.

In terms of education, one highlight is the introduction of a core sustainability class that’s mandatory for all first-year bachelor’s students. The class was pilot-tested in spring 2024, and the first cohort of over 2,000 students will take it in spring 2025. We also rolled out a master’s course this fall to train student assistants for the bachelor’s class. And because we also support the continuing education of our employees, we’ve developed an online training course for EPFL staff, called “Building a Sustainable Campus”, that will be introduced next year.

Using our campuses as demonstrators

In the area of research, we’ve launched seven R&D projects under our Solutions4Sustainability initiative. Each one involves using an EPFL campus as a demonstrator for novel approaches to power generation, carbon storage, digital technology, sterilization methods, food systems and more. We’re also striving to make our research activities more sustainable. To that end, we’ve developed a carbon emissions calculator specifically for research labs. It’s been tested at all EPFL schools so that any lab or research group that wants to use it can do so.

“We should keep in mind that sustainability doesn’t imply sacrifice. Let’s make EPFL an example that such changes can make our ecosystem more dynamic, more creative, more productive and, in the end, more humane and impactful.” This quote from the introduction to our progress report is backed by concrete examples of measures we’ve adopted in around a dozen areas – some of which, like food services and transportation, are particularly sensitive and directly affect the daily lives of our community.

Cutting travel-related emissions

When it comes to EPFL-related travel, we’ve updated our travel policy with the goal of reducing carbon emissions from flying. We’ve commissioned a travel agency to work with our School in implementing these new requirements, such as by booking tickets in economy class and selecting direct flights when feasible. This fall, after the progress report was issued, we rolled out a new online booking tool to help EPFL employees purchase plane tickets in line with our updated policy.

We’ve also taken steps in the area of commuting. For instance, we worked with the Lausanne public transport operator and the University of Lausanne to extend bus line #1 so that it now runs from the Lausanne train station all the way to the EPFL campus. We’re in the process of updating our parking policy – a move that coincides with the elimination of two parking lots on our Lausanne campus, as these sites will be used to build a large classroom building (containing four lecture halls) and a high-tech R&D facility. Yet the number of parking places on campus will stay broadly the same, since the spots that are currently assigned will be made available to all employees. In addition, we’re exploring the possibility of making gradual, tiered increases to our parking fees so that driving becomes a less attractive option than public transport. We’ve raised our subsidies for public transport passes and have built more biking infrastructure on our Lausanne campus.

Eating more sustainably

Our eating habits, like our commuting ones, aren’t easy to change. Yet adjustments in this area can make a big difference to our environmental impact. At EPFL, we cut the volume of food waste on our campuses by half between 2020 and 2023. We’re also using less meat – the biggest source of food-related carbon emissions – thanks to smaller portion sizes and to the considerable efforts by our restaurants to introduce a greater number of vegetarian options. These dishes, made with seasonal and – where possible – local produce, have been crafted by our chefs and prove that vegetarian meals can be tasty, colorful, nutritious and varied.

Our progress report outlines other achievements too, like a 29% drop in energy-related carbon emissions between 2019 and 2023 and a 22% drop in quantifiable emissions – which is already over half of our 40% target for 2030. However, the growth in our School’s headcount will offset many of the process-optimization and energy-saving measures we’ve adopted, meaning further progress will be harder to attain. And we still haven’t quantified our Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions from third parties); these relate mainly to our purchased goods and services and could double our total emissions. That said, we’re taking steps in this area too, working with our suppliers and updating our public procurement process.

Planting more trees, using less resources

The progress report also highlights the improvements we’ve made to our campuses for the benefit of our community. For example, we’ve planted 600 trees and shrubs on our Lausanne campus in order to mitigate heat islands, improve air quality and make outdoor spaces more enjoyable. And we’ve implemented initiatives to promote the circular economy and the reuse of materials. This includes opening a Point Smart repair shop for smartphones, where community members can have their phones serviced at cost price, and running an Old but Gold contest to encourage people to extend their smartphone’s lifespan.

Lastly, we would note that our efforts extend beyond the confines of our School. We recently adopted a Socially Responsible Investment Charter in which we rule out investing in companies that generate over 10% of their revenue from fossil fuels. This sends a clear message: that not changing is no longer an option.

“The tangible progress we’ve made shows that our community is active and engaged in sustainability issues,” says Gisou van der Goot, EPFL’s Vice President for Responsible Transformation. She is grateful to everyone who’s played a part. “An ongoing, concerted effort will be essential if we’re to keep moving forward. And any new ideas are welcome!”