The Green University Toolbox represents the central outcome of the Erasmus+ co-funded project GET-AHED and provides higher education institutions with practical tools, resources, and guidance to advance sustainability, climate action, and institutional transformation. Developed through close cooperation between partners and stakeholders, the Green University Toolbox is designed to support universities and universities of applied sciences in embedding sustainability across governance, teaching, research, and campus operations.
With the launch of the Green University Toolbox, GET-AHED leaves a lasting legacy: an openly accessible, practice-oriented resource supporting higher education institutions across Europe in their green transition.
The University Greening Toolbox is now publicly available at: https://green-uni-toolbox.eu/
The Toolbox provides a structured and accessible framework to support sustainability efforts in higher education institutions. Key components include:
- The Green Self-Assessment Toolkit to help institutions assess their sustainability performance, identify areas for improvement and receive inspiration for discovering sustainability potential;
- Green Training Programmes for HEIs, focusing on green governance, institutional strategy and capacity building; and
- Green Case Studies and examples of practice drawn from European higher education institutions.
The Toolbox can be used independently or as part of broader institutional development processes. It supports evidence-based decision-making and encourages knowledge exchange across institutions.
The Toolbox can be used in many flexible and creative ways across higher education institutions. Some HEIs integrate it into internal strategic development processes, using it to structure discussions on sustainability priorities and long-term goals, while others draw on it as a source of inspiration to strengthen sustainability initiatives across different units. Its whole-university perspective makes it particularly valuable for intra-institutional dialogue, helping to connect sustainability efforts across governance, teaching, research, and campus operations.
Beyond strategy, the Toolbox supports reflection and learning. Institutions can repeat the self-assessment over time to monitor progress and identify areas for improvement. Educators increasingly use the Toolbox in teaching, inviting students to explore its resources or assess their own institution, which often sparks rich discussions about how sustainability is understood and practiced. In this way, the Toolbox not only informs institutional change but also encourages critical reflection on the sustainability of projects, policies, and everyday practices within higher education.
