AU meets climate target: “We’ve reached our goal, but there’s still much work to be done”
AU’s carbon emissions within the baseline emission categories fell by 43% in the period 2018-2025. This means the university has achieved its goal of reducing its climate footprint by 35% – even while continuing to grow. This is documented in the 2025 greenhouse gas emissions report, which has just been released. Aarhus University has come a long way, but there’s still much work to be done, for example more sustainable purchasing, the university director points out.
AU has reached an important milestone. This is the main message of the 2025 greenhouse gas emissions report, which shows that carbon emissions within baseline emission categories – among them heating, electricity and air travel – fell by an additional 8 per cent from 2024 to 2025. This represents a total decrease of 43 per cent since 2918,which is the baseline year for measuring progress on the targets in AU’s climate strategy. The university has thus achieved its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 35 per cent in the period 2018-2015.
This results should be viewed in light of the fact that AU’s FTE headcount increased by about 15 per cent. In terms of emissions per employee, this corresponds to a 50 per cent reduction per employee since 2018.
While University Director Kristian Thorn is pleased with the result, he’s also frank about the magnitude of the task that lies ahead:
"For a number of years now, we’ve been working to reduce the university's climate footprint through initiatives in our annual climate action plans. It’s gratifying to see that our efforts are bearing fruit, and that we’ve achieved the target we’ve been working towards since 2018. At the same time, this is an unmistakeable reminder that our work is far from over. One of the major tasks we face is a major push for more sustainable purchasing – because procurement accounts for a significant proportion of the university’s overall climate footprint and environmental impact,” he says.
Greener energy, lower consumption and air travel reductions
A number of factors have contributed to shrinking AU’s climate footprint, both internally at the university and in society at large.
At AU, carbon emissions from electricity consumption have fallen by 70 per cent since 2018; both because AU has reduced consumption by 12 per cent, and because more of the energy used in Denmark is generated by solar and wind power. The university has also reduced its district heating consumption by 26 per cent, and has also phased out oil as a heating fuel.
Air travel is another major source of emissions, and here AU’ has seen a significant reduction in the number of kilometres flown by employees. So significant, in fact, that emissions from air travel have fallen 46 per cent since 2018.
Read the greenhouse gas emissions report in full
Learn more about how AU is working to become a more sustainable organization in AU’s Strategy 2030 (in Danish only)
About AU’s greenhouse gas emissions reporting and the 35 per cent target
- The target of a 35 per cent reduction in AU’s carbon emissions over the period 2018-2025 in the baseline emission categories was set in Aarhus University’s climate strategy, which covered the same period
- Since 2018, AU has published annual greenhouse gas emissions reports to monitor progress towards carbon emissions reduction targets
- The 2025 greenhouse gas emissions report is the final report of this strategy period
- Sustainability is now an independent focus area in AU’s Strategy 2030, and the university will continue to prepare annual greenhouse gas emissions reports to track developments in AU’s climate footprint
- New climate initiatives will be launched and evaluated in connection with follow-up on the strategy