“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
– Plato

2021 has been quite a year. Despite the slow re-opening of campuses and society at large, progress around bringing the higher ed sector into a stronger leadership position as a key player in the green transition while also working to elevate youth voices and bring non-formal education into these important conversations has been moving forward with many exciting milestones to celebrate. Let’s take a look back at some of the key highlights of 2021:

1,086 Universities joined the Race to Zero

What is it?
The Race to Zero is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth. Universities have a key role to play in this Race and in the broader transition to a more sustainable future, as they hold a great deal of influence over the minds and hearts of future generations. The impact which universities can have goes well beyond their own institutional footprint to influencing their students, staff and wider campus community.

What happened in 2021?
1,086 universities from 68 countries and representing over 10 million students made commitments to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. Over the last year, the sector has really stepped up its leadership by rallying together to join the Race to Zero campaign. Universities from around the world joined the Race including 40+ universities from China as well as 200+ commitments coming through the Not Zero-Net Zero campaign from Indian universities. Learn more here! You can sign up, as well as check out the list of institutions who are part of the Race on the website here.

What’s next?
In 2022 and beyond, support will be provided to help signatories build out solid climate action plans to meet their ambitious targets. Yearly reporting will take place to ensure commitments are on track with results to be shared transparently on an annual basis.

Playing for the Planet Alliance gained 14 new members, reaching millions

What is it?
UNEP supports the video gaming industry to use their influence, reach, and creativity to address some of the world’s biggest environmental challenges through the Playing for the Planet Alliance. In joining the Alliance, gaming companies have made commitments ranging from integrating green activations in games to reducing their emissions and supporting the global environmental agenda. Since the Playing for the Planet Alliance was launched, the initiative has supported its members’ efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, with 60% of all Alliance members having made a commitment to become net zero or carbon negative by 2030.

What happened in 2021?
In 2021 seven new gaming companies and seven associate members joined the Alliance. The 2nd annual Green Game Jam earlier this year featured 30 mobile and console game companies showcasing new green activations in their live games with the aim of reaching hundreds of millions of players on restoration and conservation of forests and oceans. As a result of the Jam, close to $800,000 in donations to charities were reported with real-world outcomes leading to 261,000 trees planted, and more than 60,000 pledges were made.

What’s next?
In 2022, the Alliance will continue to support decarbonization commitments to reach net zero by 2030 and keep building out green activations in play with a focus on real-world impact.

Tide Turners Plastic Challenge close to reaching 500,000 youth in 32 countries

What is it?
The Tide Turners Plastic Challenge Badge, supported by the UK government, seeks to increase awareness and educate young people across largely Commonwealth countries on challenges and solutions related to the production and waste of single use plastics. Since February 2019, over 470,000 young people have started the badge in over 32 countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

The aim of the badge is to support the World Scouts Association Movement, the World Associations of Girl Guides and Scouts (WAGGS), Junior Achievement and University students to take action to reduce single-use plastic in their lives, to ask their schools / churches to reduce it in their communities and then to raise the issue “upstream” with plastic producers and their representatives.

What happened in 2021?
In 2021, over 214,052 young people were engaged from 32 countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. 835 champions have been trained on Advocacy through Captain Planet Foundation Advocacy Bootcamps and a further 1,636 were trained by the World Association of Girl Guides & Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

What’s next?
In 2022, Tide Turners will continue to support its partners to scale up the project in more countries in the Pacific, Africa and the Caribbean and to facilitate a “Hero” level of training and engagement for youth that have completed the Tide Turners Challenge (TTC). The goal will be to provide them with tools to actively address the plastic pollution crisis, while also seeking to capture and present  stories of young change-makers from priority regions.

Little Book of Green Nudges pilot phase rolled out across 136 campuses around the world

What is it?
The Little Book of Green Nudges (LBGN) is a quick guide composed of 40 nudges to spark sustainable behaviour change among students and staff on campuses across several behavioural categories. The book, launched by UNEP in 2020, has been translated into 6 languages.

What happened in 2021?
136 pilot campuses worldwide joined the pilot phase of the LBGN to test out these nudges on the ground on their campuses. A series of thematic webinars took place in 2021, giving the opportunity to organizations and universities to share their experiences and best practices in order to learn from each other and to inspire others to follow suit.

What’s next?
The 2nd phase of the LBGN will seek to showcase the real world impact of green nudges. The aim will be to develop further research across several universities located in different regions to monitor the impacts of specific green nudges and assess their success in influencing sustainable behaviour change.

UNEP/UNESCO research shows need for stronger Higher Ed engagement

What is it?
UNEP and UNESCO have been working together to better understand how Education and Environment Ministries work on curriculum change around environmental education (EE) and ESD.

What happened in 2021?
In 2021, UNESCO and UNEP conducted a survey to explore how Education and Environment Ministries in some 21 countries, from Africa, Asia Pacific, West Asia, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, work together on this agenda. These 21 countries all reported education for sustainable development and environmental education (ESD/EE) to be a national priority, yet clear gaps were identified around:

• Lack of inter-ministerial cooperation on issues of ESD/EE: Although there are some promising models of collaboration between the Ministries of Education and Environment, many have not found the path to a strong and successful collaboration between ministries. In countries where promising models do exist, a lack around clarity of roles and capacity building deficits were commonly reported;
• Little mention of higher education: A stronger focus on higher education is needed, as well as deeper engagement with Ministries of Higher Education;
• Stronger youth engagement is needed: Most countries indicated they consult youth on the design and development of EE/ESD; however, the active role of youth in the implementation or development of further programmes is unclear.

Green Jobs agenda moving forward and Global Guidance published

What is it?
Through the green jobs initiative, UNEP is trying to bridge the gap and translate youth aspirations and expectations into concrete outcomes. Students have the power to be green entrepreneurs for organizational change to help create an inclusive and green economy.

What happened in 2021?
UNEP launched the Global Guidance for Education on Green Jobs: Connecting Higher Education and Green Opportunities for Planetary Health to give readers (e.g. higher education community, NGOs, governments, employers and youth organizations) the tools and resources to prepare students to participate in this transition.

What’s next?
In 2022, IAU and UNEP-YEA are organising an event: Connecting Higher Education and the Green Economy Community: Workforce Development for the Clean Energy Transition and Climate Solutions. More details and registration can be found here. This event will seek to enhance participants’ understanding of how higher education, both universities and technical institutions, can better prepare students for sustainability careers and the implementation of climate solutions.

Times Higher Education Climate Impact Forum pushed the Higher Ed agenda forward

In October 2021, UNEP worked with Times Higher Education to organize the inaugural Climate Impact Forum. This event saw participation from Vice Chancellors of universities from around the world, government representatives from Indonesia, Ecuador and the UK, and higher education experts, youth, and more.

At this event, THE launched its new data-led report, The Race to Net Zero, which presented how well higher education institutions across the globe are performing when it comes to reducing their own greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to net zero. In addition, FutureLearn discussed their comprehensive online climate curriculum, a global student manifesto for change was launched, and LinkedIn discussed the need for adaptability in the workforce.

Missed the event? You can watch all the sessions on-demand via the agenda page. Click the “watch recording” button on the session you want to view.

UNEP Sustainable University Framework launched

UNEP’s Sustainable University Framework was launched this year!

This framework seeks to define what it means to be a sustainable university and lays out a pathway to becoming one. The framework also outlines how sustainability can be advanced in each of the four core areas of a university, including: 1) environment & climate, 2) teaching & research, 3) people & society and 4) administration & governance. The framework presents a 4-step process to becoming a sustainable university and shares useful tips on quick wins and how to get started in this journey. Check out the framework to learn more and help your university advance its sustainability journey!

Earth School 2.0 launched by TED-Ed

Earth School presents 30 nature-focused quests for kids to learn about our connection to and place within the natural world. Earth School was launched in 2020, with close to 1 million people having taken at least one lesson on the platform,

TED-Ed produced and launched Earth School 2.0 in 2021. Each lesson in Earth School 2.0 has been selected to help you build an understanding of how our planet works and exactly what it’s going to take to save it. Check it out and learn more here.

New Higher Education Sustainability networks are forming

Africa Green University and Youth Education Network (AGUYEN)
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The Africa Green University and Youth Education Network (AGUYEN) is hosted by the Hassan II International Centre for Environmental Training, the academic entity of Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection in Morocco. The network is growing, and now includes 22 universities from 8 African countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Comoros, Senegal, Kenya, Uganda). So far, AGUYEN has organized 4 training sessions and 3 webinars around different themes related to greening campuses and engaging youth. The objective for next year is to build new partnerships to strengthen the network’s sustainability and broaden its reach on the African continent.

India Green University Network (IGUN)
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With approximately 37.4 million young people enrolled in higher education programmes in India, the potential for impact through higher educaiton in this country is quite significant. In 2021, UNEP with support from TERISAS (TERI school of advanced studies) conducted a major stakeholder dialogue which witnessed participation from over 142 participants and attendees, which demonstrated a collective agreement that there is a need to establish an India Green University Network. The dialogue helped to establish a vision for higher education institutes to become key enablers in India’s sustainability journey and provide them with a platform to synergise and work towards the common goal of building a greener society.

Currently the process is underway to get consensus on framing a sound function, structure, and governance mechanism to ensure long term sustainability of this emerging network. Talks are also underway to ensure a strong partner in India for taking ownership of IGUN and a detailed action plan for 2022-2024 has been proposed. The plan is for this network to be built up and officially launched in 2022.

Nature Positive Universities

UNEP and the University of Oxford are launching a new global initiative on Nature-Positive Universities as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The purpose of this network will be to get universities to commit to looking at their land use and supply chains to ensure their impact on biodiversity and nature is net positive. So far, more than 260 universities have expressed interest in joining this network, which will be formally launched in early 2022.

Sports for Nature

UNEP, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), GRID Arendal and the University of Loughborough are partnering to launch this Sports for Nature initiative in 2022 with the aim to systematically shift the way sport considers its impact on and stewardship for the nature-based playing fields it relies on. The initiative will be built on similar models such as the work with the video gaming industry through the Playing for the Planet Alliance and the new Nature Positive Universities initiative being developed alongside the University of Oxford. Keep your eyes out for more on this later next year.

Universities for the Oceans

UNEP has been working to build out an initiative around enhancing and connecting the work of universities towards increased marine restoration and protection. The aim is to build on the success of the Tide Turners programme around marine litter, and to empower universities to use this as a learning and mobilization tool for their students and surrounding communities. More to come in 2022.