Trinity Sustainability has a nice ring to it, and it goes beyond its conveniently smooth end-of-words rhyming scheme. It is a pillar on which the University stands and thrives. Walking into campus as a bright-eyed fresher means that you are exposed to the university’s green efforts on every corner. So what does sustainability mean at Trinity and why should it matter to you?
First and foremost, because this is Trinity and we apparently value prestige, it’s important to get the awards and achievements out of the way. Trinity College ranks 29th out of 2,001 institutions globally in the 2025 Global QS Sustainability Rankings, achieving 16th in Europe and 1st in the country. Other notable mentions are Trinity’s international award for the Responsible Futures Accreditation in 2025, which recognises the university’s institution-wide approach to sustainability. Trinity also raised its fifth Green Flag in 2026 – tying with University College Cork for having the most Green Flags in Ireland at university level. Bragging rights secured.
These achievements, major and multitudinous, are the result of countless hours of hard work carried out behind the scenes by Trinity’s staff and students. Led by Dr Jane Stout — Trinity’s Vice President for Biodiversity and Climate Action — Trinity Sustainability has made impressive strides in targeting climate change, biodiversity and health issues across campus. Starting in 2022, Trinity Sustainability was established under Provost Linda Doyle’s commitment to sustainability. The team now also includes Education for Sustainable Development and Biodiversity Fellows, Sustainable Travel and Green Lab officers as well as hundreds of researchers and educators across campus.
What roots the Sustainability Team in its principles and actions is the Sustainability Strategy 2023 to 2030. This published proposal seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51 per cent by 2030, reach net zero emissions by 2040, become nature positive by 2030 through the conservation, management and restoration of Trinity’s land for nature, all while advocating for increased health and wellbeing for all Trinity students and staff by 2030. These goals are aided by 264 action plans that make up the Sustainability Strategy.
Education is a key vessel through which the action plans can be achieved. Fundamentally an institution of learning and knowledge, Trinity is able to equip its students and staff with the knowledge and skills for a sustainable future. Currently, Trinity is working to develop Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) modules for undergraduate and postgraduate students as part of the international ESD programme.
What Trinity Sustainability is particularly known for, however, are the Living Lab Projects which aim to embed climate, nature and health into every aspect of how the campus functions. Here, the campus is used as an experiment on site for gathering data and conducting research. Highly successful projects were carried out by Healthy Trinity that looked at travel and smoking. Living Lab Projects often encourage the collaboration between students and academic staff. For instance, a current collaborative project is looking at air quality to inform decision-making for installing air quality monitoring apparatus across the grounds. Student-led projects can take off too. One student-led initiative looked at alternatives to catering milk, and thus their work led to the levy of non-dairy milks being dropped at TCD.
This all might seem very foreign and out of reach, but in fact, Trinity Sustainability has plenty of ways for students like you and me to get involved. Trinity has several student-led organisations such as the Green Campus Committee, the Environmental Society and the Evergreen newspaper for those who are interested in sustainability challenges. If a student wants to get involved with any of Trinity Sustainability’s work, they can join through the environment officer at SU, through the Green Campus Committee or contact the Trinity Sustainability Office directly. Of course, for something a little less formal, Trinity Sustainability has plenty of highly anticipated events throughout the year such as Biodiversity and Climate Action Week in October and Green Week in March.
Now and into the future, Trinity Sustainability is marching ahead to green the campus. Upcoming projects include finalising their Biodiversity Plan for prioritising nature and rethinking Trinity’s business model and supply chains. A planned Food Plan will prioritise sustainable health food on campus, and a Green Events Guide will be developed for the sustainable running of college events. If you are a student in STEM, you will likely hear of the Green Labs Programme, which seeks to transform energy- and water-use-intensive labs into ones that operate in a more sustainable fashion.
Whether you are an avid environmentalist seeking to join everything Trinity Sustainability has to offer or a casual observer of the campus, it’s clear that Trinity Sustainability have made their mark everywhere. From student events to biodiversity patches to sustainable catering, the team behind Trinity Sustainability work relentlessly to reshape Trinity into a global institution fit to provide sustainable futures for all who step through its doors. That includes you.
