The University’s first Sustainable Development Goals Impact Report highlights the education sector’s vital role in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The document demonstrates RMIT’s genuine commitment to the SDGs agenda and global sustainability leadership by being one of the few universities in the world to publish such a report.
Chief Operating Officer and Sustainability Committee Chairperson Dionne Higgins said she was proud of the collective efforts across research, teaching, governance and operations to create a more sustainable world.
“We are incredibly proud of the way our people have embraced RMIT’s institution-wide approach to paving the way for positive change towards a more sustainable world,” she said.
“The breadth of work and achievements featured in this report are testament to the outstanding work of our people and genuine commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and the global 2030 sustainable development agenda.
“This report aims not only to hold us to account about our SDGs performance to our stakeholders, but to influence the higher education sector globally and drive change.
Higgins acknowledged that RMIT’s wide range of national and global partnerships across industry sectors, and inter government agencies were key to the University’s achievements.
“We are continuing to make great strides forward through initiatives and partnerships across learning and teaching, governance, operations, research and leadership,” she said.
“Being ranked number one in the world for our efforts to reduce inequality within and among countries in the 2020 Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings was a great reflection of our focus on making a real and positive contribution.
“A sustainable focus is also integrated into our students' educational experience to ensure they are well prepared for the future.
“It is really pleasing to see this learning reflected in so many of our students' projects from sustainable fashion to embedding a circular economy approach across science, technology and business.”