ACU recognises its responsibility to reduce its contribution to heating of the Earth through the emission of greenhouse gases.

The university is therefore seeking certification as a carbon neutral university under the Federal government’s Climate Active scheme, the most rigorous third-party carbon neutral certification available in Australia. ACU anticipates obtaining its carbon neutrality by mid-2022.

ACU’s carbon emissions peaked in 2019, with the emission of approximately 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gases. ACU’s carbon emissions declined substantially in 2020 and in 2021 because it purchased 100% renewable electricity and reduced its air travel journeys by over 90 percent. Emissions from electricity and air travel were the two largest sources of ACU’s greenhouse gases.

Other major sources of ACU’s greenhouse gases includes the organic waste that it sends to landfill, the gas it uses on campus for heating and appliances, fuel for its fleet vehicles, and the hundreds of goods and services that ACU purchases as part of its normal operations, such as IT equipment, consultancies, catering, paper, construction and renovation, and business accommodation.