Sustainable USC - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

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Sustainable USC

USC is committed to environmental sustainability for the benefit of students, staff and the wider community.

USC has an active program of sustainability initiatives that addresses both large-scale issues such as energy, waste, recycling and the campus environment, and targeted activities such as the development and use of green cleaning practices.

Asset Management Services pond
Wildlife

USC is a flora and fauna reserve, spread over 100 hectares

USC water battery at USC Sunshine Coast
Energy
Clean energy is more than just a lesson at USC – it’s how we will power our largest campus.
Water
Water
USC is a Water Refill campus and offers free chilled filtered water
Coffee cups
Waste and recycling
USC has adopted measures to manage and minimise our waste
Cyclist
Sustainable transport
Travel to campus by bike or jump on the USC Express shuttle
Carbon management
Sustainability governance
USC's strategic position on sustainability
Architecture at Sippy Downs
Buildings
Campus buildings focus on environmentally sustainable design
Sustainability awards
Sustainability awards
Our practices have been acknowledged through a series of national awards
Sustainability research
Sustainability research

Sustainability, aquaculture and forestry are the core research foci at USC

Study sustainability
Study sustainability
Take the passion you have to make a difference and turn it into the job you do every day.
The future is clean
As the world grapples with the impacts of climate change, we need skilled and passionate people who can help lead the way towards a cleaner economy.

The latest sustainable news

USC Newsroom
USC student Mitch Dakin and Growcom's Lene Knudsen
High-tech sandbox helps farmers visualise water flow
 23 November 2020

A Civil Engineering Honours student’s Augmented Reality hydrology sandbox will be used by Queensland’s peak horticulture industry body to help teach local growers about water movement in the field.

Graduate Steele Ford working with seaweed at Bribie Island
D’Aguilar graduate studies science of seaweed
 9 June 2020

With his arms deep in a tub of locally-grown seaweed at the Bribie Island Research Centre, Steele Ford’s job is as hands-on as his recently-completed USC Bachelor of Environmental Science.
Project to benefit reef water quality and grazing
 2 June 2020

Research by a USC PhD graduate that used the latest drone-based remote sensing techniques to investigate sediment sources to the Great Barrier Reef is the catalyst for a joint project by the University and CSIRO.

Sustainability Report

USC is committed to achieving sustainability in terms of teaching, research and how it operates. It is important to measure what we accomplish in this space in order to understand what has been achieved and what still needs to be done. The University captures measurable data where possible and qualitative information where measurable data is not available. USC feeds this information into internal and external reporting processes. USC has developed a biennial Sustainability Report to highlight sustainability initiatives achieved, transparently track progress towards actions set out in the University's Carbon Management Plan and identify priority areas for the upcoming two-year period.

The 2018/2019 USC Sustainability Report is currently available for download.