As student you are an important part of the university’s environmental activities. In the following you will find some ideas and suggestions on how to decrease your environmental impact.
Every day, many cups of coffee are consumed on campus. Due to a successful student campaign a few years ago, all cafés and restaurants on campus now serve organically labelled and fair-trade coffee. If you want a more environmentally friendly coffee break or lunch you could:
Biking is a sustainable transportation. If your bike tires need air there are several air-pumping stations around campus.
Public transport is an environmentally friendly alternative. The local buses begin their routes in the City Centre and their routes include almost all residential areas. Train is also an environmentally friendly choice. From Umeå you can go by train to Stockholm, Gothenburg, Örnsköldsvik, Lycksele and Luleå/Kiruna.
Universities and schools must promote sustainable development in their activities.
As a student, you can study many different courses with an environmental or sustainable focus. In many subjects, you may also create your own environmental profile in your education. If you have any questions about which courses have an environmental or sustainable profile you should contact the programme counsellors.
As a doctoral student, you can also choose to study environmental and sustainability topics in most subjects. At the university there are also several research centres that focus on different sustainability topics, for instance, TRUM, Cerum and CERE, to name a few.
To prevent harmful effects on human health and the environment you must be aware of any possible risks before starting any work in the laboratory. You need to carefully read through, and follow, the laboratory instructions. Before you begin work in the laboratory you must also take note of the teacher's instructions. After handling chemical substances in the laboratory, hazardous waste may be produced. As student, you should receive instructions from teacher as to how you should handle such waste.
