The university's climate work
On this page, you will find information about the university's own emissions, how the university is working to reduce them, and its goal of becoming carbon neutral.
Stockholm University aims to be carbon neutral by 2040. A prerequisite for succeeding with this goal is the ability to measure emissions. The university's Climate Roadmap outlines the path to this goal, and the Climate Tool supports the planning and follow-up of the university's climate efforts.
In 2019, the university signed the UN's Climate Emergency Letter for Higher Education, committing the university to:
- Be carbon neutral by 2040
- Mobilise more resources for solution-oriented climate research and capacity building
- Develop environmental and sustainability education across disciplinary boundaries
University emissions
In order to work systematically on reducing emissions, they must be mapped. In 2019, Stockholm University, together with an external provider, investigated how the university's total emissions can be calculated in a cost-effective and reproducible way. This resulted in a calculation method that uses economic data in combination with environmentally adapted multi-regional input-output models, estimating the university's emissions based on its expenditures. The calculations are presented in a web tool called the Climate Tool, which shows how the university's emissions are distributed across different emission categories for every measured year. More information about the Climate Tool can be found further down on this page.
The calculation method is continuously developed by the provider. Each time the method is updated, the results for all years are recalculated. Thus, the years are always comparable as they are calculated in the same way. As of spring 2025, the distribution of emissions at Stockholm University between 2016 and 2024 is as follows according to the calculations:
Zoom imageThe figure shows Stockholm University's greenhouse gas emissions (kilotons CO2e) distributed among the main categories: Transport & Travel, Properties, Goods, Services, Energy, Food & Accommodation, and Other. Click on the image to enlarge.
Climate Roadmap – for a carbon-neutral university
To work towards the goal, the Climate Roadmap has been developed. The work to create and revise the roadmap is a collaboration between the Environmental Council and researchers in climate and environmental fields at the university. The Climate Roadmap is the highest governing document for climate work at Stockholm University and is integrated into the university's environmental management system.
To manage both new knowledge and changing conditions, the Climate Roadmap is revised every two years. The revised Climate Roadmap, approved in 2024, includes proposed measures in the following prioritized areas: properties and energy, procurement of goods and services, business travel, and negative emissions.
The Climate Roadmap outlines the following objectives for the university's climate work:
Procurement of goods and services: Stockholm University aims to achieve a 30% reduction in emissions by 2026, compared to the reference year of 2019.
Business travel: Stockholm University aims to achieve a 30% reduction in emissions by 2026, compared to the reference year of 2019.
The efficacy of the university’s climate work is evaluated through regular follow-ups on emissions in each area and the university's action plans and strategic plans. The Boards of Science and Human Science and the administration are expected to report implemented and ongoing measures based on the Climate Roadmap.
Stockholm University's Climate Roadmap for the Period 2025–2026 (Swedish)
Climate Tool
In 2022, the Climate Tool was launched, visualising the university's emissions from 2016 onwards. The university purchases this service from the same provider that conducted the emissions mapping. The tool shows both how the university's emissions are distributed among different main categories – such as business travel, properties, and services – and the amount and categories of emissions from individual departments or administrative offices. The tool can be used to prioritise actions and measure their effects. At an overarching level, the tool provides a broad picture of emissions, but it is important to note that there are also limitations with the tool, especially at the department and administrative office level.
Logging into the Climate Tool is done via Single Sign-On (SSO) with a university account. The primary users of the tool are Environmental Representatives, department heads, Division Managers, and Administrative Managers. Access rights are primarily granted to these roles. Contact miljo@su.se if you hold one of these roles but lack access or if you have a request for access despite not holding one of these roles. Note that the number of licenses is limited.
Stockholm University's Climate Footprint (Swedish)
Pdf, 1.3 MB.
Flight data
In spring 2023, an app was launched to report flight data in the university's new business intelligence system, Qlik Sense. The app is simply called the Flight app (“Flygappen”). Here, you can see how much emissions business travel for the university has generated from 2015 up to the previous month of the current year – the app is updated with new data monthly. In the app, you can view statistics for the entire university as well as for individual departments and administrative offices. It also shows how the university, or the individual department or administrative office, is performing in relation to the university's goals regarding emissions from air travel.
All university employees can log in to Qlik Sense and use the app with SSO via beslutsstod.su.se.