to respect the environment

Resources need to be used respectfully and responsibly. In everyday life, wherever you are, value opportunities to maximise the utilisation of resources and reduce unnecessary waste.

Water

  • avoid running the tap unnecessarily while soaping your hands or brushing your teeth
  • if you find a leak in your tap, even if it’s small, report it immediately!
  • use less bottled mineral water and switch to tap water, which is high quality and constantly monitored

Paper

  • always use both sides of a sheet of paper, reusing sheets that have been written or printed on only one side
  • always photocopy and print documents in duplex mode
  • only print documents when a hard copy is necessary or actually useful, and get used to reading things first on-screen to determine their usefulness
  • whenever possible, reduce the page size so that you can fit two pages next to each other on one sheet
  • only print emails when absolutely necessary, and avoid printing all the footnotes, e.g. privacy information, antivirus controls...
  • avoid printing pages containing just a few lines: if the last page of a document contains only a few lines, reduce the font size or page margins of the document, so that you can print one page fewer
  • don’t print an excessive number of copies of a document, only print as many as you actually need
  • to avoid printing the same document multiple times unnecessarily, use the "Print Preview" option to check whether the page layout is the one you want
  • before printing a document, reduce the page margin and font sizes as much as possible

Waste

  • always separate your waste
  • whenever possible, always separate packaging made of multiple materials
  • reduce the volume of packaging, so as to make the separate waste collection service more effective
  • don’t throw anything away without first checking whether it can be repaired!
  • before disposing of something, consider giving it away or reselling it, to promote reuse
  • put books, scientific journals or research documents back into circulation, including by donating them to libraries
  • uses solar-powered calculators to limit the use of batteries
  • favour the use of rechargeable batteries

in addition...

  • favour the use of coloured pencils instead of highlighters containing solvents and, when possible, use pencils instead of ballpoint pens. In addition to plastic, ballpoint pens contain ink derived from an environmentally polluting manufacturing process.
  • introduce plants into various rooms: they increase the absorption of carbon dioxide and restore the oxygen concentration.

But also

  • for sustainable mobility

    In your daily commute from home to work/university and whenever you have to travel around, remember that there are good habits that benefit not only the environment but also your own health and safety.

  • to save energy

    Energy saving doesn’t involve making sacrifices, only small steps that bring about environmental, health and economic benefits. Follow them when you are at home, in the office or while studying at the University.