Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time, affecting ecosystems, economies, health and communities across the world.
Sustainable Development Goal 13 calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, strengthening both the transition to a low-carbon future and society's capacity to adapt to changes that are already happening. ARU recognised the urgency of this challenge by declaring a climate emergency in September 2019, committing to use its teaching, research, campus management and partnerships to tackle the causes and consequences of climate change.
Climate action is embedded across ARU rather than confined to a single part of the University. ARU's new Transforming Lives strategy commits us to putting sustainability at the heart of education, research and operations and aligning its work with international sustainability goals. Our Sustainable Futures research theme brings ARU together with regional, national and international stakeholders to support environmentally and socially just transformations, with projects addressing issues including renewable energy, sustainable food systems, circular economies, biodiversity and behaviour change.
Education is equally central to our response. We have committed to making sustainability part of all courses, supported by our Education for Sustainability work, helping students develop the knowledge, skills and values needed to contribute to a more responsible future. On our campuses, this commitment is translated into measurable action: we have a target to reach zero carbon emissions by 2045, including Scope 3 emissions; all purchased electricity is already 100% zero-carbon; and approximately 1,420 square metres of solar panels prevent around 13 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. We've also committed to remain free from investments in fossil-fuel extraction companies.
Together, these activities demonstrate the breadth of ARU's contribution to Goal 13: generating evidence for climate action, educating graduates to respond to the climate emergency, working with communities and policymakers to accelerate change, and reducing the climate impact of our own operations.
We're directly participating in cooperative planning through impact-driven projects on climate mitigation, adaptation, resilience, energy transitions and governance.
Climate action depends on people having the knowledge, skills and confidence to contribute to solutions. At ARU, we've made a commitment to include sustainability across our courses.
Climate action begins with reducing the environmental impact of our own activities. We're integrating carbon reduction, low-carbon energy, energy efficiency and sustainable estate management into our operations.
Through research partnerships, we've informed and supported government action on climate change and disaster and risk warning, monitoring and management.
Last updated: October 2026
To request additions, corrections or changes to the information in these pages, please contact: Dr Zareen Bharucha: [email protected]. Please use the subject line ‘ARU SDG’.