29. August 2023

Climate survey among students and staff at the Faculty of Social Sciences at UCPH

How can the Faculty of Social Sciences reach their climate goals in a meaningful way for both students and staff? And what is the faculty's responsibility in society's green transition? These are questions that staff and students at SAMF will be discussing in the fall of 2023.

Facts

The green transition requires comprehensive transformation of all institutions and sectors if the international climate, biodiversity and sustainability goals are to be met. This also applies to universities.

“It is a fundamental task for us to reduce our climate footprint at the faculty and ensure that SOCIAL SCIENCE contributes to the green transition in society. But there are no easy solutions. Now we are asking the campus population to get into the engine room, and I have high expectations that they will come up with better suggestions than those that arise in the boardroom,” says Dean Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen.

The University of Copenhagen has approximately 10,000 employees and 37,000 students. If they were residents, KU would be the size of Vordingborg Municipality. This also means that the university has a relatively large footprint in the consumption of materials, energy, transportation, etc. The Climate Collection therefore has an important task:

“We need your help to recommend and prioritize how SAMF should reduce itsCO2 emissions and ensure that SAMF actively contributes to society’s green transition.”

All students and staff at SAMF are invited to participate in the climate assembly. From those who sign up, we select 36 members for the climate gathering in collaboration with Analyse & Tal. The draw is representative, so the composition reflects the different programs and roles that exist at SAMF.

The task of the Climate Collection is to develop nuanced and reflective recommendations on the core issue. These recommendations are then handed over to the dean’s office, which is committed to addressing all recommendations and explaining and justifying which recommendations will be followed and which will not.

At We Do Democracy, we are excited to run the first climate assembly at a Danish university and to spread the use of deliberative methods together with staff and students at the Faculty of Social Sciences. At the same time, we will help the members of the Climate Assembly to deliver recommendations that can really help SAMF in their transition to a more sustainable future.