Promoting a green lifestyle

UI is very well located in central Reykjavík. We encourage everyone at UI to use a sustainable mode of transport for their journeys to and from the UI campus.

According to a travel survey, about half of staff and students use private cars to commute to and from campus.

You can reduce your own carbon footprint by choosing sustainable transportation. Simply by choosing an alternative to the car twice a week, you can reduce your own emissions due to transportation by 40%!

For further information, see: Transportation and Sustainable mobility

In all UI buildings, you can find bins for:

• Paper and cardboard
• Plastics
• Organic waste
• Bottles and cans 
• General waste

The sorting system at UI is the same as the new waste sorting system introduced in the spring of 2023 in the capital region and at Suðurnes.

Facilities supervisors can help you if you need to dispose of waste in other categories, such as hazardous waste like batteries and light bulbs.

Sorpa collects from neighbourhood recycling stations located throughout the capital region. You can, for example, find one near Stúdentagarðar in Eggertsgata. Familiarise yourself with the location of your nearest neighbourhood recycling station.

See also: Recycling: how to sort your waste

A few tips to reduce your electricity consumption:

• Adjust the power setting on your computer so it goes into standby or sleep mode. Devices can use up to 40% of the energy when they are turned on but not in use. It's also helpful to use power strips with an on/off switch, as many devices can be turned off with a single button.
• Set your photocopiers and printers to standby mode when they haven't been used for a certain period of time.
• Choose energy-efficient appliances and devices - they can save both energy and money.
• Avoid using screensavers.
• Turn off computers and monitors at the end of the workday.
• Turn off lights in unused rooms and all lights at the end of the day. Lights in unoccupied rooms are waste of energy and money.
• Take advantage of natural light and turn off lights when you have the chance – natural light is always the most beautiful!
• Choose to take the stairs instead of the elevator if you can.
• Before you go on holiday, turn off all lights and unplug your devices.
• Unplug chargers for devices like laptops, mobile phones or tablets when they are not charging - devices can still use electricity even when they are fully charged.
• Disconnect your mobile phone from the charger after it has finished charging. This saves both energy usage and extends the battery's lifespan. Charging the phone between 40-80% can also extend the battery life!

Paper has various environmental impacts from production to usage. The University of Iceland strives to minimise paper usage.

Below are some tips on how to reduce paper usage:

• Think about whether you really need to print it out.
• Print on both sides of the paper and use black-and-white printing settings when possible.
• Reuse paper that has been printed out, for scrap or notepaper.
• When possible, offer digital versions of materials/presentations that readers can choose instead of paper copies.
• Minimise the distribution of leaflets and brochures at events.
• Purchase only environmentally certified paper and collaborate with environmentally certified printing companies. The Environment Agency of Iceland has a list of reliable environmental certifications on their webpage.

Procurement is an important factor for sustainable operations. Sustainable procurement can bring various benefits for buyers, sellers and society at large. Sustainable procurement is about choosing goods or services that are less harmful to the environment or human health and have the same or lower negative environmental impacts during their life cycle compared to other comparable goods and services. A simple way to integrate environmental considerations into procurement is to purchase environmentally certified services or products.

Our consumption has an impact on our planet: production, transportation, storage and waste. All consumption leads to greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, so it is crucial that each time we purchase something, we consider and question whether we really need it. One of the most significant actions we, as individuals, can do to reduce our environmental impact is to be mindful of our consumption. It can be helpful to ask ourselves the following before purchasing new item:

• Do I need this?
• Is it necessary for me to have this? Why?
• Is there something else I want or need more?
• Can I manage without buying this?

If you are organising an event, conference or meeting at the University of Iceland, sustainability should be used as a guiding principle. It is not difficult to make events environmentally friendly.

The University of Iceland is implementing the Green Steps in its operations, which include minimising the environmental impact of meetings and events. Go through the checklist below to make sure your event fulfils the Green Steps criteria!

1. Communication and media

Promote the event in a sustainable way and make guests aware of environmental considerations:

• Digital communication, invitations, and advertisements are the most environmentally friendly options.
• Think about whether printed materials could be designed in a way that allows them to be reused in the future, e.g. "Welcome to this event" instead of "Welcome to this event in January 2023".
• If you need to print materials, choose an eco-certified printing service.
• If you use printed promotional materials, consider whether they can be reused or recycled afterwards.

2. Transportation

Environmentally friendly transportation helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Keep the following in mind to promote sustainable transportation:

• If the event takes place on-site, consider offering remote participation options or live streaming.
• Encourage guests to bike, walk or use public transportation to and from the event or even carpool.
• Provide information about nearby bus stops or public transportation options. If you will be organising a bus or rental car, inquire about the availability of eco-friendly vehicles.

3. Catering

You can mitigate the negative environmental impacts of catering services by considering several factors. It is estimated that approximately a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions are rooted in the food supply chain.

• Offer vegetarian or vegan options. The carbon footprint of plant-based food is much smaller than animal products and an increasing number of people choose not to consume animal products.
• Request reusable tableware and utensils to minimise unnecessary waste from the event.
• For large-scale events, consider implementing a registration system for catering to more accurately estimate the quantity of food needed and reduce food waste.
• If there are any leftovers, consider donating them to charity or offering guests the option of taking them home.
• Ask the caterers to avoid unnecessary packaging to limit waste.

4. Waste and recycling

Events with single-use tableware, a lot of promotional materials, etc., can generate a significant amount of waste. You must provide recycling bins to make it easy for guests to sort their waste properly.

• Encourage guests to recycle and provide visible and accessible recycling stations to facilitate sorting.
• Avoid single-use items altogether to minimise waste.
• If you give gifts, don't do it just for the sake of giving gifts.

The vegan selection at Háma is very good. Every day, two hot meals are available at Háma, and one is always vegan. The soup of the day is always vegan as well. Háma also offers a nice variety of vegan salads and sandwiches.

Háma is committed to minimising the use of single-use items by providing reusable tableware. Please remember to return all tableware to Háma.

You can also purchase a discounted reusable meal box from Háma to use for the hot meals.

It is cheaper to buy coffee at Háma if you bring your own container. Also, you can only drink coffee in classrooms from reusable cups!

You can advertise and/or request household items and furniture for your home in Ugla under 'Fyrir heimilið / For the home'.

On Facebook, there is a dedicated group for Student Housing residents to sell or give away items for other residents called 'Sölusíða fyrir íbúa Stúdentagarða (For sale at Student Housing)'.

UI offers a variety of courses related to sustainability in one way or another

The University of Iceland Student Council (SHÍ) includes the Transportation and Environmental Affairs Committee. At the committee's initiative, UI is now an Eco-School (Grænfánaskóli). Students can apply to join the Eco-School committee.

On Facebook, there is a page dedicated to sustainability and environmental matters at UI. There you can find environmentally related news and events at UI.

The UI website includes a page about sustainability and environment where you can find various information regarding UI's operations.

Gaia, the student association for Master's students in environment and natural resources, organises the annual Green Days programme at UI. All events are in English and open to all!

Check your carbon footprint, learn how to reduce it, and contribute to climate change research!

A carbon footprint is a calculation of the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual. Check your carbon footprint and be part of the project '1.5 degree compatible living in the Nordic conditions: attitudes, lifestyles and carbon footprints', funded by the Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS). The information collected will be used exclusively for non-profit academic research. 

How does the study work?

• Fill in the survey and find out your personal carbon footprint. Compare your results to others and share your carbon footprint on social media if you wish.
• Learn about your carbon footprint and find out ways to decrease your personal carbon footprint.
• Later the second phase of the study will take place. You will have the option of filling in a more detailed second phase survey, contributing to scientific research and learning even more about your carbon footprint!