Sustainable Campus
At Linnaeus University, we want sustainability in the broadest sense to be integrated into structures and cultures throughout our operations.
Our university campuses are showcases for our sustainability work. The appearance and features of our buildings and the campus areas as a whole reflect Linnaeus University’s vision and ambition. Moreover, our campuses and the university as an organization, serve as objects of study and learning in themselves – a so-called “living lab.”
Biodiversity on campus
Linnaeus University’s efforts to promote biodiversity have been tailored to the specific conditions of each campus.
In Kalmar, beehives have been placed on the rooftop of one building. On several rooftops in Kalmar there are sedum plants grown for increased biodiversity and water management. A Linnaeus Garden with herbs has been established on an outdoor terrace.
In Växjö, meadows and parks are preserved and developed into meeting places for students. Avenues and trees ensure that campus is green and offers good conditions for biodiversity.
Linnaeus University has also participated in Dark Sky Week 2024, where the university turned off facade lighting in the evenings to raise awareness about light pollution.
Accesible for everyone
The campuses are available for the public, both outside and inside the buildings. Pedestrians and cyclists are prioritized at campus.
A parking garage for bicycles is centrally situated underground at the Kalmar campus. There is also a small bicycle repair shop at two locations on campus. At the Växjö Campus there are several under-roof bike racks.
Linnaeus University is committed to providing an accessible study and work environment for students, staff, and visitors with disabilities. When needed, we can offer individual support such as interpreting services, personal assistance, alternative formats of information, and alternative contact routes.
We work continuously to improve accessibility and have routines for identifying and remedying shortcomings.
Our premises are largely accessible, with ramps or lifts, accessible entrances and toilets, clear signage (including Braille and contrasts), hearing loops in meeting rooms, and evacuation routes designed to be usable by everyone.
Sports facilities on campus
Linnaeus University shares sports facilities with the local community, including local schools and the public.
The university's campuses, particularly in Växjö, offer a range of recreational areas and gyms, which are accessible to both students and the surrounding community.
These facilities contribute to an active and vibrant campus life, integrating the university with residents and promoting health and well-being for both students and the public.
Sustainable Buildings and Energy Efficiency
Certified buildings
The buildings in Kalmar are LEED Gold-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), featuring environmentally friendly materials, rooftop solar installations, and a unique seawater-based cooling system, as well as ensuring water and energy efficiency.
In campus Växjö there are wooden buildings that are zero-energy-houses and one LEED Gold-certified building, as well as ensuring water and energy efficiency.
100% renewable energy
In terms of infrastructure, Linnaeus University’s buildings are at the forefront of energy efficiency. The university’s electricity, heating, and cooling are provided by suppliers that use 100% renewable energy.
Energy saving measures are continuously being implemented, including installation of energy-efficient lighting and optimized heating and ventilation systems.
Production of solar energy
Campus 2022 2023 2024
Växjö 228 MWh 280 MWh 342 MWh
Kalmar 126 MWh 140 MWh 133 MWh
Sustainable consumption
Linnaeus university follows a systematic approach to socially and ecologically sustainable consumption through its procurement processes. Nearly allprocurements and call-offs have environmental and social requirements.
In 2024, 100% of consumed IT products (such as cell phones and computers) were either reused or recycled.
Furniture throughout the university is being reused and refurbished when possible.
Sustainable infrastructure
In terms of sustainable infrastructure, Linnaeus University works closely with Kalmar and Växjö municipalities, as well as local property owners, to develop a sustainable infrastructure around its campuses.
This collaboration is apparent through features such as accessible facilities, efficient bus connections, ample bicycle parking, and charging stations for electric cars.
Both campuses also provide numerous meeting spaces, including cafes, shops, and restaurants, that are welcoming and accessible to students, staff, and visitors.
Climate Contract within Viable Cities' mission Climate Neutral Cities 2030
Both Växjö and Kalmar Municipalities are part of the Viable Cities initiatives. Linnaeus University is an active part in the steering committee of Climate neutral Kalmar 2030.
The university signed the Climate City Contract of Växjö in August 2024. A Climate City Contract describes the city's commitment to accelerating the transition to a climate-neutral and sustainable city.
Notably, two of Sweden’s 23 cities that have signed climate contracts, Kalmar and Växjö, are connected to Linnaeus University. These municipalities offer research agreements that enable collaboration between university researchers and partners from businesses and non-profit organizations.
Viable Cities' mission is Climate Neutral Cities 2030 with a good life for all within the limits of the planet. Together with cities - municipalities, business, academia and civil society - and government agencies we work together to create ecologically, economically and socially sustainable cities.
Linnaeus University provides students access to sexual and reproductive health-care services including information and education services through our student health services.
Students receive confidential SRH counselling, contraception guidance, STI information, consent education and LGBTQIA+-inclusive materials.
Where clinical treatment, testing or prescriptions are needed, students are referred to the appropriate regional public health providers in accordance with Swedish healthcare regulations.
University privacy, non-discrimination and safety rules apply to all services delivered on campus.
The university has current collaborations with local, national and global health institutions to improve health and wellbeing outcomes. These include formal referral pathways with regional primary care and youth clinics, and joint initiatives with public-health actors focusing on mental health literacy, sexual health and harm reduction.
Collaboration activities are reviewed annually to confirm they remain current and outcome-oriented. For context on recognised unionised co-decision and social dialogue frameworks on campus, see our public information on MBL co-determination and union representation.
Each year we deliver outreach programmes and projects in the local community—often with student volunteers—covering mental-health promotion, hygiene, nutrition, family planning, sports and exercise, and ageing well.
Activities are publicly advertised, free to attend where possible, and evaluated for reach and impact to inform next year’s programme.
At institutional level we systematically measure/track women’s application rate and acceptance/entry rate across programmes and admission rounds. Results feed into our annual equality monitoring and faculty action planning, aligned with Swedish higher-education law and our equality-of-opportunity governance.
To widen participation and progression, the university provides women’s access schemes such as structured mentoring, targeted skills workshops and (where applicable) scholarship opportunities. Programmes are centrally coordinated, with published eligibility, annual cohort reporting and outcome follow-up.
We ensure accessible childcare facilities for students which allow recent mothers to attend university courses by coordinating access to municipal childcare close to campus, offering family-friendly study arrangements where pedagogically feasible, and providing breastfeeding/lactation spaces on campus.
For employees, childcare facilities for staff and faculty are supported through HR guidance on municipal childcare, parental-leave entitlements and flexible working practices.
The university has women’s mentoring schemes, and at least 10% of female students in eligible cohorts participateor the programmes are actively scaling toward that threshold with a defined improvement plan and annual reporting.
We measure/track women’s likelihood of graduating compared to men’s (including time-to-degree and completion rates) and we operate schemes to close any observed gap, such as academic-skills support, mentoring, enhanced placement access and timetable flexibility, with documented follow-up to assess effect.
As an employer, Linnaeus University pays all staff and faculty at least the living wage, interpreted in our context as compliance with Swedish sectoral collective-agreement salary frameworks and local indicators; annual checks confirm continued compliance.
The university recognises unions for all, including women and international staff, and engages in formal co-determination (MBL) and collective-bargaining processes that cover all employment categories on campus. Recognised staff unions at Linnaeus University include ST/OFR-S and SACO-S, among others, with contact details and local agreements publicly listed.
We maintain a policy commitment against forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour. These prohibitions apply to our own operations and to suppliers and contractors through our procurement requirements and supplier conduct standards.
When activities are outsourced to third parties, contract terms require equivalent rights and protections for workerscomparable to those of university employees, in line with Swedish law and our procurement policy. Compliance is monitored through contract management and supplier due diligence.
The university has a policy on pay-scale equity, including a commitment to measure and eliminate gender pay gaps. Regular pay-gap analyses are conducted under Swedish equality and work-environment frameworks, with corrective actions and timelines documented and followed up.
We have a process for employees to appeal on employee rights and/or pay. The process is confidential, time-bound, and provides clear escalation routes; employees may be accompanied by union representatives at all stages.
All commitments on this page apply to Linnaeus University as a body. We publish policies and services in Swedish and English, track performance annually, and update this page with current descriptions of procedures, datasets and facilities.
Our gender-equality and equal-opportunities work is grounded in the Swedish Discrimination Act, the Higher Education Act and Ordinance, the Work Environment Act and related regulations, and is carried out with an intersectional perspective.
Our campus history
Campus Kalmar
This is a part of town that has been expanded from the 17th century onwards and lies on fill. It is a brownfield site which could not accommodate residential buildings and already contained university buildings such as a Marine Biological Laboratory and The Maritime Academy. The other university buildings and locations were scattered throughout the city.
Linnaeus University wanted to offer good, modern and available facilities with energy-efficient buildings that could gain environmental benefits and contribute to a lively city center, beneficial both for the people living in Kalmar and its visitors.
When the buildings were in place the campus also became a more creative space where meetings between researchers, students, the trade and industry, and the public sector could come about.
A shipwreck from the 18th century was found when buliding the university. This shipwreck can now be seen in natural size via Augmented Reality when you visit bullding Stella.
In developing the new campus area, the three dimensions within sustainable development; ecological, social and economic sustainability, work together to create a long-term, sustainable societal development.
This means, among other things, that consideration was shown for local natural conditions and that sustainable buildings and environments with optimal solutions were created. They should also be economically sustainable from a life-cycle perspective, considering both energy efficiency and the use of resources.
The landlords intend to have the buildings LEED certified once they were completed. And so, it is.
Campus Växjö
The development of Växjö campus has been ongoing dynamically since the 1970s and is located a bit south of the city centre.
Distinctive for Växjö is the combined campus where classrooms, institutions, university library, sports hall, restaurants, cafes, pubs and other meeting places are within walking distance, and there is a lot of student housing available.
The development of Växjö campus has never really stopped, and in 2020, the municipal board commissioned the establishment of a campus plan in Växjö, based on the visions of several actors, partly concerning development of the physical environment and Växjö as a university city, and partly on strategies concerning the development of Linnaeus University and its knowledge environments.
It is important to Linnaeus University that the landlords have the same intentions concerning energy efficiency, use of resources and regards for the biological environment.
Meadows and parks are preserved and developed into meeting places for students. Avenues and trees ensure that campus is green and offers good conditions for biodiversity.
The environments are modern and promote participation and interaction between people that can lead to the birth of creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial ideas. These ideas contribute to development on a regional as well as on a national and international level.
