IQS’s commitment to sustainability started with its 2020 Strategic Plan. The current 2026 Strategic Plan provides continuity and a framework that establishes an easily identifiable goal: “to transform IQS into a benchmark of sustainability, both from an educational point of view as well as through leading by example in the sustainable management of the university’s facilities and laboratories.”
IQS’s investment in sustainability started in the 2020 Strategic Plan as one of the pillars that must govern the institution’s comprehensive educational, social, and environmental commitment. The current 2026 Strategic Plan provides continuity and a framework that establishes an easily identifiable goal: “to transform IQS into a benchmark of sustainability, both from an educational point of view as well as through leading by example in the sustainable management of the university’s facilities and laboratories.”
The creation of a Sustainability Committee, together with a roadmap aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the URL and UNIJES, is another one of the priority actions set forth in the current 2026 Strategic Plan.
The following are some of the investments IQS has made in order to manage the energy that it uses more sustainably:
IQS is committed to solar energy
The installation of 240 solar panels, spread across three rooftops at IQS, will be able to generate an estimated 149,840 kWh of electrical energy, which is equivalent to an annual emissions reduction of 41.40 tonnes of CO₂ (0.259 g CO₂/kWh according to the electrical grid mix published by the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission on 20/04/22). The installation of the solar panels has been designed and executed by SOLIDEO.
Furthermore, the installation will be used for educational purposes and to raise awareness among our students, as well as our teaching, research, and administrative and service staff. Anyone who is interested can follow the amount of energy generated by IQS’s solar park in real time through TIGO-IQS Barcelona.
As part of this commitment to solar energy, IQS Executive Education and AIGS will offer a 12-hour training course on 3, 10, 17, and 24 March 2023 on the solar park’s business model. The course will be taught by Juan Antonio Tormo, a professor at the IQS School of Engineering, and Javier Monfort, the Country Manager of BlueFloat Energy. The training course will be free of charge for IQS staff and students.
The Bioengineering building now uses LED lighting
Moving forward in the transition to more sustainable lighting, in 2022 IQS replaced all the lights in the Bioengineering building with LED ceiling lights, changing from the initial 30 kW of installed lighting power to the current 12.15 kW of LED power. This change represents a 60% reduction in electrical usage in lighting with a notable increase in the level and comfort of the lighting.
IQS welcomes electric vehicles
Within the framework of Spanish Royal Decree 29/2021 on measures to promote electric mobility, self-consumption, and the deployment of renewable energies, IQS has rolled out 7 charging stations in its parking areas (six in the TELPARK lot and one in the Bioengineering lot) The 22kW (three-phase) chargers with a type 2 current socket and WiFi connectivity are from the company Wallbox and are fully operational through the myWallbox app.