International Networks
Table of contents
Una Europa
Una Europa is a European university alliance consisting of eleven excellent and research-intensive universities. Together, the universities want to transform the European research and education area. To this end, the alliance offers students, researchers, teachers and administrative staff opportunities for international cooperation and mobility.
Una Europa has an ambitious vision: a European, inter-university campus with joint research and teaching opportunities across borders, languages and disciplines, e.g. summer schools or transnational research collaborations.
In addition to UZH, the members of this university alliance are Freie Universität Berlin, Università di Bologna, the University of Edinburgh, KU Leuven, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Uniwersytet Jagielloński in Kraków, Helsingin Yliopisto (University of Helsinki), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Universiteit Leiden and University College Dublin.
Contact person at UZH in the Una Europa area of sustainability
Link to further information
League of European Research Universities
The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is a respected voice in the European Higher Education Area. It is committed to upholding sound conditions for research, especially basic research, and teaching. Since spring 2021 it has an ad-hoc working group on sustainability.
Contact person at the UZH in der Policy Group Sustainability
Link to further information
COPERNICUS Alliance – European Network on Higher Education for Sustainable Development
The COPERNICUS Alliance was established by rectors, presidents, and vice-chancellors of European universities. The network organizes annual conferences, initiates joint projects, and promotes its members’ workshops and publications. The COPERNICUS Alliance is the governing body of the COPERNICUS Charta, one of the first of the international university charters to explicitly promote sustainability in higher education. To date, over 300 universities throughout Europe – including UZH – have signed the charter.
Contact person at the UZH
Link to further information
International Sustainable Campus Network
Since 2018, the University of Zurich is a member of ISCN, which is a network of higher education institutions. Members can exchange ideas about sustainable campus development in working groups, webinars and annual conferences. The network has been founded in 2007 and has currently about 80 member institutions in approximately 30 countries.
Contact person at the UZH
Link to further information
International University Climate Alliance
UZH joined the newly founded International University Climate Alliance, which comprises around 50 universities. The aim of this network is to strengthen the exchange between climate researchers, to share knowledge and best practice examples for climate education and to promote innovations in climate research and its application.
Contact person at the UZH
Link to further information
Blue Community
The global network Blue Community promotes the following four principles:
- Recognize access to water and sanitation as a human right
- Promote publicly financed, owned, and operated water and wastewater services
- Promote the use of tap water instead of bottled water
- A Blue Community maintains public partnerships with international partners.
Members are for example cities, municipalities, associations or universities. In Switzerland, there are more than 30 members. Since May 2022, UZH is member of the Blue Community and wants to contribute to the Blue Community priciples through research, teaching and campus operations such as:
- Lecture by Maude Barlow, poster exhibition, and book exhibition at the Department of Geography
- Centre for Human Rights (UZHR)
In meetings and events at UZH, tap water should be offered whenever possible and bottled water should be avoided. There are already drinking water fountains in the canteens and several UZH buildings. If you are organizing an event, ask your caterer for carafes for tap water. The Guideline Sustainable Catering provides more tips to reduce the environmental impact of catering.
Guideline Sustainable Catering
Are you researcher or lecturer on Blue Community topics, or do you have ideas for sustainable water management in your company? Contact us.
Contact persons at the UZH
Link to further information
- Blue Community
Drinking water fountains at UZH (non-exhaustive list)
| AFL, Affolternstrasse 56 | E-001 (Canteen UZH Cityport) |
| BIN, Binzmühlestrasse 14 |
1-E13 (Canteen Binzmühle) |
| Common room next to 2.A.22 | |
| BOT, Zollikerstrasse 107 | 0-41 (Cafeteria Botanical Garden) |
| KOL, Rämistrasse 71 |
D-40 (Rondell) |
| In front of the restrooms | |
|
MEN, Künstlergasse 10
|
A-15 (Canteen A) |
| B-15 (Canteen B) | |
| PLM, Plattenstrasse 14 |
E-1 (Canteen Platte 14) |
| 1-111 (hallway) | |
| RAA, Rämistrasse 59 | E-04A (Canteen Rämi 59) |
| RAI, Rämistrasse 74 | E-059 (Cafeteria Rämistrasse) |
| Y15, Winterthurerstrasse 190 | H-99a (at the library in front of the restrooms) |
| Y19, Winterthurerstrasse 190 | M01 (intersection between buildings) |
| Y19, Winterthurerstrasse 190 | L (next to copying machine, intersection between buildings, center) |
| Y19, Winterthurerstrasse 190 | J (common room, intersection between buildings, center) |
| Y19, Winterthurerstrasse 190 | G (intersection between buildings, left side) |
| Y21, Winterthurerstrasse 190 | H-62 (canteen) |
| Y22, Winterthurerstrasse 190 | G-61A (Cafeteria Seerose) |
| Y24, Winterthurerstrasse 190 | Lichthof |
| Y42, Winterthurerstrasse 190 | F-L (intersections between buildings) |
| Y44, Winterthurerstrasse 190 | G-M (intersections between buildings) |
| Y63, Strickhofstrasse 35 | Strickhof Fountain |
| Irchel, 033 | Parc area |
Do you know a drinking water fountain that is not listed? Then write us an email to info@sustainability.uzh.ch.
United Nations Academic Impact
The University of Zurich is a member of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) initiative. The initiative comprises over 1300 institutions related to higher education in more than 130 countries. UNAI aims to contribute to the realisation of the UN goals, of which the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are integral. The University of Zurich has been selected to serve until 2021 as UNAI Hub for the SDG on «Climate Action» (SDG 13).
Link to further information
University Global Coalition
The idea behind the University Global Coalition is to form a global platform of universities and other higher education institutions committed to working together with the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and other relevant organizations. This coalition aims to support the Sustainable Development Goals both locally and globally through education, research and services.