The potential for energy efficiency and for the deployment of renewable energy at universities is substantial, and they represent promising ways to meet an institution's energy needs on the one hand, without a large climate burden on the other. However, in order to achieve successful investment and results, it is imperative to understand the level of current commitment to energy actions. Therefore, this paper investigates the level of engagement in energy efficiency measures of a sample of 50 higher education institutions from round the world, and identifies which types of renewable energy are being used to date. Results show that in more than half of the universities only a small portion of energy consumption comes from renewable sources (1%–20%) and solar/photovoltaics is the most used source (70%). Investment in energy efficiency is more common in the sample, with 54% of the universities reporting higher levels of engagement, mainly in buildings (78%) and equipment/machineries (56%). Departing from the assumption that sustainable energy use is a pre-condition for campuses to pursue sustainability, the paper identifies current deficiencies and discusses improvements in this key area, with experiences which may be replicable elsewhere.

能源效率和在大学中部署可再生能源的潜力是巨大的，它们一方面代表着满足机构能源需求的有前途的方式，另一方面却没有很大的气候负担。但是，为了获得成功的投资和成果，必须了解当前对能源行动的承诺水平。因此，本文调查了来自全球50个高等教育机构的样本在能源效率衡量中的参与程度，并确定了迄今为止使用的可再生能源类型。结果表明，在超过一半的大学中，只有一小部分能源消耗来自可再生能源（1％–20％），而太阳能/光伏发电是最常用的能源（70％）。在样本中，对能源效率的投资更为普遍，有54％的大学报告了更高的参与度，主要是在建筑物（78％）和设备/机械（56％）中。不同于假设可持续能源使用是校园追求可持续发展的前提条件的假设，本文指出了当前的不足之处，并讨论了该关键领域的改进，其经验可以在其他地方复制。