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Research and policy increasingly recognize the essential role that higher education plays in driving the green transition toward sustainable societies and economies.
To address this challenge, the GET-AHED project (Green Education & Transition – A Higher Education online Digital Buddy) was launched in February 2023, co-funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ programme. The project’s main goal is to support HEIs in embedding sustainability and resilience across all levels of their operations and missions.
Over three years, GET-AHED developed the University Greening Toolbox, an integrated online platform that offers:
Each of these tools is evidence-based, designed through rigorous research, partner collaboration, and stakeholder consultation. Together, they provide a holistic framework for universities to assess, learn, and act—helping the higher education sector become a driving force in Europe’s transition to a greener, more resilient future.
The three tools of the University Greening Toolbox – the Green Self-Assessment[VR2] Toolkit, Green Training Programmes, and Green Case Studies – were developed through a participatory and theory-based approach. HEIs and stakeholders across Europe were involved throughout the process to ensure that each tool is both academically grounded and practically relevant. To guarantee quality and usability, the platform was tested in two stages: an external usability review with 19 European universities in spring/summer 2025, and an internal expert review in autumn 2025 by members of the GET-AHED consortium and affiliated experts. These reviews helped refine the platform into a user-friendly, evidence-informed resource designed for and with the higher education community
The GET-AHED project is coordinated by WPZ Research (Vienna, Austria) and unites a strong European partnership dedicated to advancing sustainability in higher education. Our consortium includes the University of Aveiro (Portugal), Munster Technological University (Ireland) – represented by the Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence and the Teaching and Learning Unit (TEL) – Fachhochschule Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences (Austria), and the University of Ruse “Angel Kanchev” (Bulgaria). Together, we combine academic research, innovation expertise, and applied practice to co-create the Greening University Toolkit for universities.
The Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research (BMFWF) creates the best possible environment for schools, universities and research institutions, and represents the interests of Austria as a location for science, research and business on the international stage.
The members of the Alliance for Sustainable Universities actively contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the areas of teaching, research, university management and cooperation, thereby fulfilling their social responsibility as universities.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Bulgaria is the ministry charged with regulating and promoting the educational and scientific work in the country.
EURASHE’s mission is to strengthen the impact of innovative, high-quality Professional Higher Education (PHE) and related user-oriented research in Europe by representing PHE institutions and facilitating their multi-stakeholder cooperation and dialogue.
With almost 4,000 students, Fachhochschule St. Pölten is a major player in the local university landscape. As a European University, they lead the European University Alliance E³UDRES² (Engaged and Entrepreneurial European University as Driver for European Smart and Sustainable Regions) and work together with universities from Portugal, Romania, Hungary, Belgium, Latvia, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands on the creation of future-proof teaching formats and the development of smart and sustainable regions.
The HEA leads the strategic development of the Irish higher education and research system with the objective of creating a coherent system of diverse institutions with distinct missions, which is responsive to the social, cultural and economic development of Ireland and its people and supports the achievement of national objectives.
Support the internationalisation of education and training, in particular to promote the creation of and participation in European networks of education and training institutions and to strengthen the international attractiveness of education and training institutions, in line with the objectives of the „European Universities“ initiative.