For a country with good air

On June 4th, 2019, the Polytechnic of Coimbra (IPC) joined the “For a country with good air” Campaign, promoted by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), becoming the only Higher Education Institution in the Centre region to join the initiative.

This action follows the National Air Day, celebrated on April 12th, where Portugal was the first country in Europe to adopt this commemoration. The aim of this campaign is to gradually achieve as good an air as possible at national level.

APA is responsible for making campaign contents and materials available, for awarding the “good air entity” seal, as well as for updating contents and evaluating new ways of disclosure. The entities are responsible for disseminating the contents, participating in public actions of the National Air Day celebrations and proposing updates of contents or means of dissemination.

Although good practices already exist within the IPC, the ambition is for continuous improvement and an increasingly significant contribution to a healthier planet. At this moment several studies are being developed within the scope of the indoor air quality of the Polytechnic of Coimbra and the intention is to extend them to the outside environment. With the signing of the cooperation protocol with APA, formalized on June 4th, 2019, a work directed towards acting in behavioural change will be enhanced, namely through the dissemination of the campaign by various means and participation in initiatives related to the theme.

The Polytechnic of Coimbra intends to ensure, more than the future of the institution, the future of future generations and, therefore, it is also the IPC’s intention to increase the energy efficiency of the various buildings making up the facilities. There are already seven charging stations for electric vehicles and, in the short term, it is expected to acquire a fleet of vehicles with those characteristics. There was also an awareness action with the workers, in the scope of which stickers appealing to the sustainable use of the available energy resources were placed and/or distributed.