Last November Rachel Mills, as the UEB Sustainability Champion and Emily Harrison, as President of SUSU at the time, made a joint commitment to sustainability. They promised there would be a review of ‘staff and student travel, University investments, impacts of research, as well as estates and facilities building programmes and energy efficiency.’
Over the last few months, a Sustainability Strategy Group has been set up and they have developed a new Sustainability Strategy which they are very excited to officially launch today. This has been the product of many months of hard work and dedication from staff and students across our community during what has been an unexpected and challenging year.
The strategy sets out the University and SUSU’s joint ambitions in six clear goals:
- Achieve net zero emissions for direct emissions that the University controls (mainly from fuel combustion on site) and indirect emissions from electricity purchased and used by the University by 2030;
- Measure our total emissions footprint and set targets for reducing other indirect emissions from sources the University doesn’t own or control. Including emissions related to travel, waste and water;
- Adopt a value-based approach to reduce emissions from business travel;
- Ensure that sustainability is a part of every University education programme by 2025;
- Make sustainability a cornerstone of the University’s research and societal impact;
- Implement a sustainable and ethical investment policy.
Watch this video about the strategy.
You can read the full strategy and handy two-page summary on our Strategy SharePoint.
Commenting on the launch, Vice-Chancellor, Mark E. Smith said:
“Sustainability is one of the major challenges confronting society. Over the summer there has been some great work and we are now launching our exciting new strategy for sustainability. This signals our real commitment as there is both a vision and actions outlined which we now need to follow through on.”
Rachel Mills, Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences says:
“Carbon dioxide levels continue to rise despite the global impact of COVID-19 on society. We need to take urgent action at local, regional and global level if we are to keep warming within a few degrees and avoid catastrophic tipping points in the Earth’s climate system. Our Sustainability Strategy puts the University on the necessary path to net zero carbon and aligns all of our activity with this important goal. Our research and our graduates will all contribute to the global effort to address this planetary crisis.”
Olivia Reed, President of SUSU 2020/21 says:
“We’re really excited to see the launch of this strategy and pleased to have been able to join together with the University in its creation. Sustainability is a critical issue for today’s society and a top concern for young people, so it’s really encouraging to see the University committing to making it a priority.”
“We would like to thank everyone who took the time to engage with the green paper, interviews and emailed lots of thoughts and ideas about sustainability.”
So what’s next?
The Team will be touring all of the faculties and professional services (virtually) to talk through the strategy and what this means for you and to hear your thoughts about how you can get involved.
They will also be holding workshops for each of the goals to work out what is needed to achieve them. This will then be written up into their implementation plan. They would really value your input, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled for further details about these workshops soon.
If you want to get in touch you can contact them via Twitter @Sustainable_UoS or email on [email protected].
Read previous SUSSED posts on Sustainability.
