The ANU Environmental Sustainability Report 2025 (PDF, 7.90 MB) has been released, highlighting progress across campus operations, research, teaching and community engagement. 

The report marks the conclusion of the Environmental Management Plan 2022–2025 and reflects the collective efforts of staff, students and partners working to reduce environmental impacts, strengthen climate resilience and build a more sustainable university.  

Recognition for sustainability leadership 

ANU was recognised as a leader in sustainability, ranking: 

• 16th globally in the QS World University Rankings for Sustainability 2026
• 2nd in Australia for operational environmental sustainability  

Progress on emissions reduction, energy and electrification  

Highlights include: 

• Achieving 100 per cent renewable electricity across all campuses
• Reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 12 per cent in 2025, contributing to an overall reduction of 78 per cent since 2019
• Electrifying the glass furnace at the School of Art and Design
• Installing five new fast EV chargers
• Reducing energy intensity by 11 per cent since 2019
• Completing NABERS-based assessments for 14 major buildings
• Reducing emissions from University travel by 38 per cent since 2019 

Building resilience for a changing climate 

ANU continued strengthening its approach to climate adaptation and resilience by: 

• Completing its first organisation-wide climate risk and opportunity assessment, helping identify priorities for adaptation and resilience planning
• Environmental Sustainability Plan 2026–2030  

Supporting biodiversity and resilient landscapes 

Landscape and conservation initiatives included: 

• Planting 125 trees, resulting in a net gain of 75 trees
• Establishing more than 10,000 drought-tolerant plants since 2022
• Producing 200m3 of compost from campus green waste through the ANU Soil Yard
• Undertaking the University’s first First Nations-led cultural cool burn in the Acton Box-Gum Grassy Woodlands 

Reducing waste and conserving water 

Resource recovery and water conservation efforts included: 

• Nineteen buildings participating in the Be Bin Smart program
• Donating more than six tonnes of reusable goods through the Give It Forward program following student move-out at the end of the year
• Avoiding an estimated 63 million litres of water loss through improved monitoring and leak detection 

Research and teaching for impact 

ANU continued to make an impact through research and education: 

• 9,196 publications aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals between 2020 and 2024, with research cited 2.25 times the global average.
• 1,189 Climate Action publications, with one-third cited in policy documents across 51 countries
• Sustainability content embedded in 30 per cent of courses, 47 per cent of degree programs and 34 per cent of majors, minors and specialisations
• Approximately 41 per cent of students enrolled in at least one sustainability-related degree program 

Looking ahead 

ANU hosted the annual Group of Eight Sustainability Forum and launched the Environmental Sustainability Plan 2026–2030, setting the direction for the next phase of climate action, nature conservation and circular economy initiatives. 

Read the full Environmental Sustainability Report 2025 to explore the stories, data and people behind these achievements.