Environmental sustainability strategy and policy

Work to develop our new environmental sustainability strategy is underway; for reference, the 2016-2020 strategy is detailed below. The University's new vision and strategic plan "Our future" and "Social Responsibility: A five-year plan" will set the direction for our new environment strategy. The Environmental Sustainability Team's priorities have been agreed for the 2021/22 academic year.

Our Future

Vision "We will be recognised globally for the excellence of our people, research, learning and innovation, and for the benefits we bring to society and the environment."

To gauge our progress towards our vision, we have identified eight measures of success. We aim to achieve these by 2025, unless otherwise stated, and will monitor these annually through specific measures. One of the eight measures of success is "Carbon reduction: We will align to the city's decarbonisation pathway and 2038 target for zero carbon."

Social Responsibility: A five-year plan

"Through our Sustainable Futures programme we will listen to, engage with, involve and inspire people to understand and address the urgency of the climate and nature crisis and the opportunity of environmental sustainability through our research, learning, public engagement and operations."

Our Sustainable Futures programme will advance knowledge, understanding and action on environmental sustainability on campus, in communities and around the world through the following key initiatives:

  • Sustainability platform. We will create a new platform to bring together, advance impact and share knowledge about the University's most significant research on environmental sustainability and climate change (2021-2025).
  • Zero carbon. We will develop a zero carbon pathway to support our transition towards a zero carbon campus, and will develop measures to ensure our campus is resilient to the changing climate.
  • Single-use plastics. We will develop an action plan to support delivery of our commitment to eliminate avoidable single-use plastics across catering, stationery and labs (by 2022).
  • ClimateCare. We will develop and agree strategic partnerships to engage staff, students, alumni and other communities in responsible schemes to support proven natural solutions to capture carbon, restore the natural world and enhance environmental sustainability. Local, national and international partners will be identified and targets agreed (by 2021).

Environmental sustainability strategy

For food related strategy, please visit the food page.

Environmental sustainability policies

Environmental sustainability plans

Reporting