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UCD Sustainability

UCD aims to be a thought and action leader of transformational change for sustainability. Through its education, research and innovation, its campuses, its community and its partnerships and wider engagement, UCD will maximise its contribution to achieving sustainability at local, national and global levels.

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UCD SDG Dashboard

This interactive dashboard is for you to explore, learn about, and engage with sustainability actions and initiatives on the UCD campus based around the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

News and events

½ñÈÕ¿´ÁÏ\'s beautiful Upper Lake was once a car park. UCD Estates Operations Manager Ciarán Bennett explains that the lake is not just a natural amenity teeming with wildlife, but a sustainable urban drainage system too.\n\n From car park to lake
½ñÈÕ¿´ÁÏ's beautiful Upper Lake was once a car park. UCD Estates Operations Manager Ciarán Bennett explains that the lake is not just a natural amenity teeming with wildlife, but a sustainable urban drainage system too.
UCD team wins second prize at the Tri-continental Sustainability Competition in the University of Notre Dame, US. The competition is a partnership between UCD, Notre Dame and Strathmore University, Kenya. Tri-continental Sustainability Competition
UCD team wins second prize at the Tri-continental Sustainability Competition in the University of Notre Dame, US. The competition is a partnership between UCD, Notre Dame and Strathmore University, Kenya.
The UCD Sustainability Toolkit is a resource made by students for students to address climate anxiety, promote sustainability and support behavioural change on and off campus. Sustainability Toolkit
The UCD Sustainability Toolkit is a resource made by students for students to address climate anxiety, promote sustainability and support behavioural change on and off campus.
UCD is the most sustainable university in Ireland - and in the top 50 worldwide.\nThe latest QS World University Rankings for Sustainability sees UCD ranked 49th overall, a rise of one place from 50 in 2024. UCD remains ranked No. 1 in Ireland for the second consecutive year.\n QS Rankings 2025
UCD is the most sustainable university in Ireland - and in the top 50 worldwide. The latest QS World University Rankings for Sustainability sees UCD ranked 49th overall, a rise of one place from 50 in 2024. UCD remains ranked No. 1 in Ireland for the second consecutive year.
UCD will lead the ecological aspects of a new €25m initiative focused on conserving and restoring the biodiversity of Ireland’s marine ecosystems. Launch of LIFE project
UCD will lead the ecological aspects of a new €25m initiative focused on conserving and restoring the biodiversity of Ireland’s marine ecosystems.
The Irish government has named Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin Chair of the Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) on Nature Restoration. The six-member committee also includes Prof Tasman Crowe, VP for Sustainability at UCD. Nature Restoration
The Irish government has named Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin Chair of the Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) on Nature Restoration. The six-member committee also includes Prof Tasman Crowe, VP for Sustainability at UCD.
UCD Sustainability has launched 17 projects funded under our seed funding programme. These cover a huge range of topics. Sustainability seed funding launch
UCD Sustainability has launched 17 projects funded under our seed funding programme. These cover a huge range of topics.
Economist and \'Doughnut Economics\' author Kate Raworth is conferred with an honorary doctorate in economic sciences. Kate Raworth in UCD
Economist and 'Doughnut Economics' author Kate Raworth is conferred with an honorary doctorate in economic sciences.
During her UCD visit, Kate Raworth participates in a \'step into the doughnut\' workshop, organised by the Irish Doughnut Economics Network. 'Step into the doughnut'
During her UCD visit, Kate Raworth participates in a 'step into the doughnut' workshop, organised by the Irish Doughnut Economics Network.
SDG Champions Programme 2024-2025 launch SDG Champion
½ñÈÕ¿´ÁÏ has been appointed one of Ireland’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Champions for 2024-2025.
UCD Bike Library launch showing people with bikes at UCD Belfield next to the main lake Bike Week 2024
The pilot UCD Bike Library scheme, brainchild of UCD's Professor Francesco Pilla, was highlighted for Bike Week 2024.
UCD awarded a gold level Smarter Travel Mark from the National Transport Authority (NTA) for its efforts to support active and sustainable travel to and from its campuses. UCD awarded Gold level Smarter Travel Mark
UCD awarded a gold level Smarter Travel Mark from the National Transport Authority (NTA) for its efforts to support active and sustainable travel to and from its campuses.
UN SDGs logos

Goals for sustainability

Sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs while living within planetary boundaries. Sustainability is enshrined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), devised through a participatory process and adopted in 2016 to end hunger and extreme poverty, fight inequality and address climate change and biodiversity loss.

Addressing the SDGs is an extremely complex challenge that requires transformative change. Universities have a unique opportunity and a strong responsibility to create and inform future-thinking strategies while leading by example in real time.

UCD is committed to action for sustainability

Sustainability is woven through UCD’s ecosystem, through innovative education, such as in the , the and , through student societies such as and the which aim to raise awareness and increase action on key sustainability issues, and through our research institutes and major research centres such as the , the Energy Institute, and , right through to start-ups and spin-outs supported by NovaUCD.

UCD's campuses are serving as living labs for research and its application in areas such as creating more sustainable cities, reducing and designing effective interventions for waste management and recycling. UCD is strongly engaged with enterprise, policy and action on sustainability.

UCD is contributing to sustainability in many ways, but recognises that much more is required and is committed to further action.

Recent Achievements

QS Rankings
UCD has been named 49th in the QS World University Rankings for Sustainability in 2025, achieving the highest result in Ireland for the second consecutive year and ranking 28th in Europe.
SDG Champion
UCD has been appointed one of 20 organisations across Ireland chosen to help drive forward progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Smarter Travel Gold Mark
UCD has been awarded a gold level Smarter Travel Mark from the National Transport Authority (NTA) for its efforts to support active and sustainable travel to and from its campuses.
CANIE Accord
UCD has become the first Higher Education Institution in Ireland to sign the CANIE Accord which aims to create a carbon-neutral and climate-aware international education sector by 2030.
Sustainability Research
UCD researchers are informing policy, developing innovative technologies and participating in key advisory bodies, all with the aim of driving positive global change.

UCD Sustainability

½ñÈÕ¿´ÁÏ, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
E: vpsustainability@ucd.ie