UN advisors attended sustainability day

On 29 October the Sustainability Day "Building a Sustainable Future" was organized for all staff and students at Jönköping University (JU).
"It is important that climate and sustainability work is incorporated into all education and all activities at universities because everything we do is linked to climate and sustainability in one way or another," says Markku Rummukainen, professor and climate researcher at Lund University, who was one of the lecturers during the Sustainability Day.

The first part of the Sustainability Day with lectures and a panel discussion was held at the School of Education and Communication (HLK). This was followed by a lunch seminar, workshops and competitions at the School of Engineering (JTH).

Markku Rummukainen is an advisor to the UN climate negotiations, the UN climate panel and the Swedish expert body Climate Policy Council. He spoke in general terms about today's climate policy, where it is heading and what opportunities there are to influence it.

"Major challenges and opportunities"

"The climate area is so closely linked to all aspects of sustainable development, from poverty to ecosystems, education and urban planning. Therein lie both the major challenges and opportunities," Markku Rummukainen says.

He emphasized the importance of buying only what you need and that those things are used for as long and by as many people as possible before being recycled. He was pleased to see so many students in the audience of 100 and that they asked good questions about climate and sustainability.

"It shows that students are thinking about these issues," he says.

"Facts that are backed up by research"

One of the students in attendance was Noah Engholm, who is in his first year of Logistics and Management at JTH.

"It can be difficult to know what is true when it comes to climat and sustainability, so it is good to hear facts that are backed up by research and others with a lot of knowledge about theese issues," says Noah Engholm.

He thinks it is important that a Sustainability Day is being organized at JU and says that his expectations of learning something new about sustainability and the climate were already fulfilled during the morning session.

The Sustainability Day was organized by JTH.