What Sustainability Means to CEU
CEU is committed to sustainability and aims to serve as a model for environmentally responsible practices in higher education. We recognize our responsibility in shaping global sustainability efforts and are dedicated to building an informed, proactive, and more resilient academic community.
CEU integrates sustainability into teaching and research, across activism and outreach programs, and with site operations and governance to drive meaningful change.
CEU is a contributing member of the CIVICA European Higher Education partnership’s Environmental and Sustainability Board.
CEU Campus Operations
Energy and Material Consumption
CEU as an institution acknowledges the environmental impacts of site operations and related infrastructure. Our goal is to reduce the energy intensity of everyday operations.
CEU's Commitment to Sustainable Mobility and Travel
CEU recognizes that travel and mobility play a vital role in advancing the University’s educational, research, and outreach mission while also representing key contributors to our carbon footprint.
Commentary From Leadership and Faculty
While the climate crisis requires action from everyone, institutions of higher education have a special obligation to do their part. At CEU, we embrace our responsibility to shape future decision-makers and advance knowledge that supports a more sustainable world. Sustainability is not separate from our mission - it strengthens it.
Carsten Q. Schneider
Interim President and Rector
Globally, we are not lacking solutions or knowledge — we are lacking implementation at scale. At CEU, sustainability means embedding what we already know into how we teach, research, and operate, while setting an example that multiplies through our students. Leading by example is one of the most powerful ways to create lasting change.
Diana Urge-Vorsatz
Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy
Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
For me, sustainability starts with individual choices and becomes meaningful when embedded in everyday operations. At CEU, this means not only having processes and procedures that reduce our carbon footprint, but actively amplifying our positive impact.
Norbert Sabic
Chief Operating Officer
CEU's Sustainability Agenda
The CEU Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) and Environmental and Sustainability Officer advise on the direction and actions needed to advance CEU’s sustainability goals, including making recommendations for policy updates and implementing strategic development goals which focus on sustainability performance CEU is a signatory of the University Charter for Sustainable Development (COPERNICUS). This Charter recognizes the vital role of higher education institutions in advancing environmental literacy and sustainable practices.
The Charter reinforces CEU’s responsibility to educate for sustainable development, aligning with the Magna Charta of European Universities and international frameworks such as the UNCED Rio Recommendations. In this context, the CSAC seeks to further advance the university’s mandate under global initiatives including Agenda 21 (UN Programme of Action from the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio), the UNESCO Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, and the Millennium Development Goals.
Energy and Material Consumption
Areas of focus to reduce energy consumption and material intensity include:
- Developing building management protocol which promotes efficient internal working conditions
- Waste avoidance as a primary goal and recycling waste selectively
- Extending the life of products including furniture and electronics, donation at end of usage
- Reducing paper consumption and efficient document processing
- Reducing the energy consumption of data storage and digital footprints
- Establishing a specific workgroup which focuses on AI and data usage
- Communicating best practices for energy efficiency to community members
CEU’s Sustainable Mobility Guidelines outline travel expectations for community members and invited guests.
Priorities within the mobility guidelines include:
- Reducing travel where feasible, and prioritizing sustainable transportation options when travel is necessary
- Empowering community members to travel by land based public transport for business trips, research travel, event-related mobility, and daily commuting
- Promoting public transport usage and bicycle mobility
- Maintaining infrastructure that promotes accessibility and bicycle storage
- Organizing programming on campus which promotes knowledge of safe bicycle operation and maintenance
Sustainability News
Featured Article
Cultivating Mindsets and Practices for Environmental Sustainability
This fall, field trips in Vienna to the Donau-Auen National Park and urban farms, as well as the launch of CEU’s new Sustainability Hub, encourage students and CEU community members to develop habits for environmental stewardship and participate in localized efforts for climate resiliency.
Strategic Partnerships in Austria and Hungary
CEU has a close working relationship with numerous civic and environmental organizations in Austria and Hungary.
