CONFERENCEGreen Action Plan
University of Latvia 2025 sustainability priority – biodiversity and the university environment and surroundings
In 2025, the Eco-Council of the University of Latvia (UL) has set biodiversity and the university environment and surroundings as its key priority, continuing to develop initiatives that promote both environmental protection and community engagement. This year, the completion of the UL Community Garden in the territory of the UL Academic Centre is planned, alongside continued work on the development of city meadows as educational spaces that enhance environmental awareness.
The biodiversity focus is complemented by activities within other core Eco-Campus thematic areas – water, waste, food, and climate. Throughout the year, various seminars, educational campaigns, community work events, and practical activities will take place, aimed at encouraging the participation of UL students, staff, and the wider public.
Cooperation with international and national organisations is being strengthened, including within the UNICA and FORTHEM networks, and the work of the UL Eco-Council is being further developed to ensure more effective student representation and community involvement in the University’s sustainability processes.
The University of Latvia continues to purposefully implement its Sustainable Development Policy and advance towards its strategic goals for 2027, fostering an environmentally responsible, socially inclusive, and economically sustainable university community.
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
The University of Latvia tracks its greenhouse gas emissions annually as part of its participation in the Eco-Schools/Eco-Campus programme, applying the programme's seven-step methodology (Eco-Committee, Sustainability Audit, Curriculum Links, Action Plan, Monitoring and Evaluation, Informing and Involving, Produce an Eco-Code). Emissions accounting falls under the Sustainability Audit and Monitoring and Evaluation steps of this framework.
The University's approach is consistent with core principles of the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard:
- Organisational boundary: operational control approach
- Base year: 2019, against which annual progress is measured
- Scope 1 (direct emissions from University-operated vehicle fuel use) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased electricity and heat) are calculated annually, using Latvia's national grid emission factor of 66 g CO2eq/kWh and the Environmental Education Foundation's (Vides izglītības fonds) CO2 calculator, supplemented periodically by independent energy audits
- Scope 3 emissions are not yet reported; this is a recognised gap and a planned area of future development
Headline figures, for verification purposes:
- Base year (2019) emissions: 2,181 tCO2e
- Most recent reporting year (2024) emissions: 1,476 tCO2e - a reduction of roughly 32% relative to the base year
- Emissions are calculated from the University's annual electricity consumption (approximately 8–10 million kWh per year) and heat consumption (approximately 14–25 million kWh per year, depending on the year and weather conditions), converted to tCO2e using the emission factor above
Year-on-year emissions have fluctuated primarily with heating demand: colder winters and reduced remote/online study delivery increase heat consumption and therefore reported emissions, while milder winters and periods of partial remote study reduce them.
Results are reviewed annually by the University of Latvia Eco-Council, which uses this data - alongside staff and student knowledge/attitude surveys on climate change - to identify priority areas and inform the University's action plan. Current findings show strong overall awareness of climate change as an urgent issue among students and staff (85.2% recognising it as such), alongside identified needs for more systematic action planning, more consistent knowledge levels across the University community, and improved integration of systems thinking into study courses.
Detailed underlying data - including annual electricity and heat consumption, fleet fuel consumption, and full Scope 1/2 calculations - is compiled each year in the University's internal environmental review and is available on request for verification purposes.
Contact: ekopadome@lu.lv
