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Resources and engagement – environment

Staff resources - environment

Priority: To provide staff resources to support University environmental improvements, sustainable behaviour, public commitments and compliance requirements.

In addition to the many activities dedicated to sustainability taking place throughout the University, there were two distinct groups dedicated to environmental sustainability: the Buildings and Property Division, and the Monash Sustainable Development Institute.

Buildings and Property division

The Buildings and Property Division is responsible for improving the environmental performance of the University’s campus operations.

The division undertook a range of programs and initiatives to improve the environmental sustainability of the infrastructure and operations of the University, and also to enhance the sustainable behaviour of the thousands of staff and students studying, working and living on the campuses. The Buildings and Property Division draws on the sustainability expertise of 14 staff integrated into the division.

Further information on the work of the Buildings and Property Division can be found here.

Monash Sustainable Development Institute

Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI) is one of the world’s leading research and education institutes in sustainable development. It’s harnessing Monash’s strength in interdisciplinary research, education and translation programs to advance the wellbeing of people and planet; and help achieve the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes hosting the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific chapter of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), which brings together universities, research institutions, foundations and civil society organisations in the region to develop and promote solutions, policies and public education for sustainable development.

Work and initiatives advanced by MSDI in 2021 included:

ClimateWorks

MSDI’s ClimateWorks was founded by Monash University and the Myer Foundation to bridge the gap between climate change research and action. In 2021, ClimateWorks continued to convene all state and territory governments around climate action and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which included State and Territory Climate Action analysis showing that state and territory emissions targets could reduce Australia’s emissions by 37-42 per cent by 2030.

The Net Zero Momentum Tracker project leveraged two years of research and analysis to establish ‘best practice’ for corporate net zero commitments. The Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative which ClimateWorks co-convenes grew, attracting partners representing ~28 per cent of ASX100 market capitalisation and over 20 per cent of Australia’s industry emissions. ClimateWorks gained funding to investigate an alliance for net zero infrastructure, while continuing work with built environment groups for energy efficiency improvements in the National Construction Code.

ClimateWorks expanded its program of work in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, opening a Jakarta office and working with SDSN and the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development at Sunway University to build the economic and technical case for decarbonisation in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia and Thailand, working with teams from half of all ASEAN nations. A ClimateWorks assessment was used by the Ministerial Forum of the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) through the ASEAN Climate Change and Energy Project (ACCEPT).

ClimateWorks supported the Government of Tonga to deliver a low-emissions development strategy, facilitating the collaboration between government, civil society, state-owned enterprises and the private sector for a successful launch at COP26. Ongoing engagement with PT-SMI (a government-owned infrastructure investor in Indonesia) led to the launch of a Monash Indonesia MoU with SMI, which will allow ClimateWorks to provide technical support in aid of the SDGs in Indonesia.

BehaviourWorks Australia

Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments

The Citarum Program

Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Education team

Co-curricular programs

Leave No One Behind

Water’s Net Zero Water Cycle Project

Staff recognition

Collaboration on key reports

The Climate Change and Australia’s Healthcare Systems report was commissioned by the Royal Australiasian College of Physicians and prepared by MSDI’s Evidence Review team. The report, endorsed by some of the country’s top medical colleges, warns that the effects of climate change will place immense pressure on Australia’s healthcare system in the next 10 years, predicting that climate-fuelled bushfires could contribute to the deaths of more than 1,000 people over that period and cost the healthcare system some $69 million.
The 2021, Medical Journal of Australia-Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change in Australia was released in October, with MSDI Director Tony Capon a lead author on the report. The report found that Australia has no national plan to address the health impacts of climate change, despite ongoing calls for a national-health strategy. The report found that Australians are increasingly exposed and vulnerable to rising temperatures from climate change, affecting health and worker productivity.
MSDI contributed to the development of the Developing the Future Energy Workforce report, released by the Reliable Affordable Clean Energy Cooperative Research Centre (RACE for 2030) - a 10-year, $350 million collaboration of Australian industry and researchers. The report proposed establishing an Australian Energy & Employment Report, which surveys employment in traditional energy industry, new and renewable energy industries and energy efficiency. The Monash team looked at the area of new skills development required.
MSDI collaborated with the Australian Fashion Council (AFC), with funding from DELWP, to develop the Transitioning to a Circular Economy for Textiles in Australia report. The team interviewed large manufacturers, retail organisations and SME organisations to investigate the appetite to adopt circular economy principles, and identify what may be needed to support a transition.

Staff and student engagement - environment

Priority: To engage staff and students to embed sustainability within their work, study and on-campus activities.

Staff engagement

Student engagement

Students contributed to additional on-campus sustainability projects through participation programs such as Green Steps, and through projects enabled by coursework in the Bachelor of Science Advanced - Global Challenges (Honours), and Master of Environment and Sustainability courses as well as offering Work Integrated Learning internships to students from the faculties of Arts, Science and Engineering.

In August, a number of projects were undertaken with Monash Green Steps students to cover a range of campus sustainability projects that investigated opportunities to create pollinator gardens on campus, remove single-use plastic items from campus retailers, and prepare a carbon footprint for the Monash Children’s Centre.

A student team from the Bachelor of Science Advanced - Global Challenges course, over the duration of a semester, investigated options for reducing laboratory single use plastic items, specifically pipette tips. The project offered insight into laboratory waste management and provided potential solutions to reducing waste generation while maintaining high safety and hygiene standards.

Enrolments in the Master of Environment and Sustainability - an interdisciplinary, international and industry-linked program spanning Faculties of Science, Business, Law, Arts and the Monash Sustainable Development Institute - continued to grow, with students integrating the knowledge needed to mitigate and adapt to global change with sustainability principles. Student projects for Net Zero included collecting and synthesising spatial data sets and historical building fabric audits into a form that can be used for energy efficiency modelling of the proposed District Heating and Cooling systems at the Clayton and Caulfield campuses; and interns assisted in the curation of content for a short course offering called ‘Developing a Net Zero Strategy for the Built Environment’.

Monash Residential Services (MRS) continued its commitment to sustainability by expanding the organic waste program to residential halls, installing a used oil collection station and setting up the Niche Recycling Initiative for hard-to-recycle waste. Waste minimisation and education continued to be a priority with ongoing initiatives such as the MRS Buy Swap Sell group, and RETURNR reusable food containers in the Halls Café. Despite COVID-19 restrictions residents were able to engage in sustainability activities in the community garden program, Earth Hour picnics, Enviro Trivia night, virtual indigenous garden tour and numerous video and movie screening events.

Resources and engagement – environment

Staff resources - environment

Buildings and Property division

Monash Sustainable Development Institute

Staff and student engagement - environment

2021 Annual Report