To support this transition towards a more sustainable world, the University of Liège has entered into several partnerships. These networks allow the University to benefit from the expertise and experience of other institutions which have adopted a similar approach, and to be part of a collective approach favouring the coordination of actions and the sharing of resources.
Each membership is subject to prior evaluation and a decision by the academic authorities.
ULiège is a permanent member of the Commission du Développement durable (Commission for Sustainable Development) of the Académie de Recherche et d’Enseignement supérieur (ARES) of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The Commission promotes the exchange of experiences between higher education actors, develops collaborative tools in order to create a community of resources, and elaborates recommendations on institutional sustainable development policies for the academic and political authorities of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The Commission also organises an annual call for projects with funding of 200,000€. In 2019 and 2020, 19 projects were able to be funded, including 2 led by ULiège.
The Belgian platform The Shift brings together more than 500 organisations, public institutions, companies, associations and universities, which are committed to working together to achieve the goals of sustainable development. The network organises sustainable initiatives and the sharing of experiences between members. ULiège has been a member of The Shift since October 2020 and has signed its charter, committing it to working in partnership with local and international actors in favour of sustainable development.
In 2022, the University of Liege was the first Belgian university to join the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment. GRASFI brings together 26 internationally renowned universities, including Cambridge, Oxford and Yale, which promote academic research in the fields of sustainable finance and investment. It is through its School of Management (HEC-Liège), and more particularly the Financial Management for the Future (FM4F) research group, that ULiège joined this alliance, which testifies to a solid expertise in multidisciplinary academic research in these fields.
In 2021, ULiège announced that it had started the process of joining the ISCN – International Sustainable Campus Network. In March 2022, ULiège became a full member of the network, and shortly afterwards won the first prize in the competition for excellence organised by the ISCN. ULiège won the first prize in the field of cultural change for sustainability thanks to the Green Office engagement programme, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint of our community.
ULiège joined the International Association of Universities, a network of no less than 640 members in 120 countries, which counts sustainability as one of its four pillars. Thanks to this network, the University of Liège will be able to benefit from a strong echo chamber to spread its climate awareness efforts.
ULiège has joined the Green Office movement, a network of 46 other similar structures, whose aim is to provide institutional support, improve teamwork and increase collective impact by organising events on a larger scale.
In 2022, ULiège, through its Green Office, was one of the three co-organisers of the Belgian summit held at the University of Hasselt, a meeting that allowed the community to exchange best practices.
ULiège is extending its commitment to a social and environmental transition by joining the Belgian Institute for Sustainable IT. At the end of November 2022, ULiège signed the sustainable IT charter, committing the whole university to making an effort towards digital sobriety. The aim of this will be to rethink the allocation of digital resources in a reasoned and responsible manner.
4000 arbres pour 4000 nouveaux étudiant·es ! Un projet de reboisement porté par le Green Office de l'ULiège en partenariat avec l'ONG Friendship.
The University of Liège becomes the first Belgian university to become part of GRASFI (Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment), a global multidisciplinary academic research alliance in sustainable finance.
