From Institutional Initiative to Shared Culture on Sustainability at Universidad de San Andrés: Our culture makes the difference

At Universidad de San Andrés (UdeSA), the central challenge was not to create a sustainability policy, but to make sustainability genuinely owned — a living culture shaped by the people who study, teach, and work here, rather than a mandate handed down from the institution.

The Sustainability Team pursued a dual strategy. On one hand, it provided institutional support for community-initiated ideas: student group GAIA designed and installed cigarette butt collection bins across campus, while a group of graduates built PUL, a carpooling app now actively promoted university-wide. On the other hand, the team launched annual Sustainability Breakfasts — participatory sessions with students, staff, faculty, and alumni to co-design initiatives and close the feedback loop for continuous improvement.

The resulting actions in 2025 included a dedicated Sustainability Website - https://sites.google.com/udesa.edu.ar/sustentabilidadudesa/- two e-waste (RAES) collection campaigns, a Zero Plastic initiative, waste management training, UdeSA's first battery collection drive, and the continuation of a native tree-planting programme that has seen over 150 trees planted on Campus over a 5-year period.

The outcomes speak to genuine cultural shift. In 2025 alone, 4,259 kg of e-waste and 3,263 kg of recyclables were collected — increases of 21% and 34% respectively from 2024 — 10,000 disposable cups were eliminated monthly, and carbon emissions were reduced by 5.09 metric-tons. Across programmes sustainability has become embedded in how UdeSA teaches, researches, and operates — deepening the cultural shift already underway.

“Sustainability at Universidad de San Andrés is no longer an institutional project handed down from above: it is a shared practice driven by our community.” Daniel Serrot, MBA Director and International Accreditations Director