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Sustainability

Sustainability League Table Submissions

People & Planet League Table

People & Planet is a UK based independent University League table focusing on universities sustainability performance. We have provided information on this page to demonstrate the comprehensive range of evidence that People & Planet review to assess universities’ performance. The information provided is up to date and reviewed monthly to ensure transparency and clarity for those wanting to understand further how universities are ranked.

Policy and Strategy

Publicly Available Strategy

The University of Southampton has a publicly available environmental policy here. This policy was updated in 2023 and signed by Professor Mark E. Smith CBE President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Southampton. The policy will be reviewed annually as part of our Environmental Management System review and Sustainable Development Goals reporting.

The University has a publicly available Sustainability Strategic Plan 2020-2027 (updated from the 2020 – 2025 plan in 2023). Read the strategic plan here.

SMART Targets

The University has set SMART targets in key areas of sustainability.

·         Construction & Refurbishment

·         Emissions & Discharges

·         Community involvement

·         Biodiversity

·         Waste management

·         Travel and Transport

·         Sustainable procurement

·         Water

Staff & HR Working in Sustainability

Governance - Senior Staff

Senior Vice President (Academic) Professor Phillip Wright is the Sustainability Strategic Plan Owner and the University of Southampton’s Sustainability Champion.

Dedicated and Expert Staff

The Sustainability Strategy within the University of Southampton is delivered by the following:

The Sustainability Strategy Board chaired by Philip Wright, Senior Vice President (Academic) with members of the University Executive Board.

The Sustainability Implementation Group chaired by Prof. AbuBakr Bahaj with the Sustainability Strategy Goal Champions and Goal Leads and representatives from faculties and professional services.

The Institutional Strategy Delivery Team

Executive Sponsor/Sustainability Strategic Board Chair Phillip Wright - Senior Vice President (Academic) [email protected]

Executive Director, Estates & Facilities - Kevin Argent [email protected]

SIG Chair AbuBakr Bahaj - Prof. of Sustainable Energy [email protected]

Goal 1: achieve net zero emissions for Scope 1 & Scope 2 by 2030. Champion Kevin Argent Executive Director Estates and Facilities [email protected]

Goal 1: achieve net zero emissions for Scope 1 & Scope 2 by 2030. Lead Adam Tewkesbury - Assoc. Director, Environment & Sustainability [email protected]

Goal 2:  Measure our total emissions footprint and set targets for Scope 3 emissions reductions. Champion Wendy Appleby - Vice President (Operations) [email protected]

Goal 2:  Measure our total emissions footprint and set targets for Scope 3 emissions reductions. Leads Eychelle Heywood - Head of Procurement, John Preston - Prof. in Rail Transport [email protected] [email protected]

Goal 3: Set a business travel emissions reduction target and implement through an appropriate action plan. Lead Adam Tewkesbury - Assoc. Director, Environment & Sustainability [email protected]

Goal 4:  Ensure that sustainability is a part of every University education programme by 2025. Champion Deborah Gill - Vice President (Education) [email protected]

Goal 4:  Ensure that sustainability is a part of every University education programme by 2025. Lead Simon Kemp - Prof. Fellow, Education, Geography & Environmental [email protected]

Goal 5:  Make sustainability a cornerstone of UoS' research and societal impact. Champion Mark Spearing - Vice President (Research & Enterprise) [email protected]

Goal 5:  Make sustainability a cornerstone of UoS' research and societal impact. Lead John Holloway - Assoc. Vice President (Interdisciplinary Research) [email protected]

Goal 6: Implement a sustainable and ethical investment policy. Champion Executive Director of Finance – Planning & Analytics

Goal 6: Implement a sustainable and ethical investment policy. Lead Mark Shutler - Director of Finance - Planning & Analytics [email protected]

Estates and Facilities Sarah Puckett - Environment and Sustainability Manager [email protected]

Faculty of Environment and Life Sciences Representative Felix Eigenbrod - Professor of Applied Spatial Ecology [email protected]

Faculty of Social Sciences Representative Denise Baden - Prof. in Sustainable Business/ Personal Chair [email protected]

Faculty of Medicine Representative Edd James  - Prof. in Cancer Immunology [email protected]

Faculty of Engineering and Physical Science Representative Andy Cruden - Associate Dean (Academic Infrastructure) [email protected]

Faculty of Arts and Humanities Representative Anna Collar - Lecturer in Archaeology [email protected]

Public Policy Southampton Representative Wassim Dbouk - Research Fellow [email protected]

SUSU Representative Ed Brooker - SUSU President [email protected]

In attendance:

Tara Chilcott , SMP Sustainability Programme & Senior Project Manager, Strategy Office (Strategy Delivery and Transformation Department) [email protected]

Rahul Jain, Data Analyst (Sustainability) [email protected]

Ellis Ridett, Senior Research Assistant [email protected]

Craig Hutton, Director Sustainability & Resilience Institute [email protected]

Siobhan Balfour, Environment & Sustainability Programme Administrator [email protected]

The Sustainability Delivery Team

Adam Tewkesbury, Associate Director Environment & Sustainability [email protected]

I oversee the sustainability and environmental performance of the University estate, with a focus on decarbonization and delivering progress against the goals of the University Sustainability Strategy. I manage transport activities across the University, including the University Travel Plan and associated operational contracts, with targets to reduce car use and increase travel via sustainable modes.

Sarah Puckett, Environment and Sustainability Manager [email protected]

I manage the University's Environmental Management System, which improves legal compliance, reduces environmental risk and monitors environmental performance. I help to drive sustainable initiatives across the University to help to reduce our environmental impact and create positive change.

Mike Travers, Waste, Recycling, Cleaning and Landscaping [email protected]

I’m responsible for managing waste and recycling and external cleaning across the university. The waste and recycling team consists of a team of 13 staff based at Highfield campus and the halls of residence. I also oversee our Landscape Maintenance Team, who manage the vast array of natural areas across the estate.

Felice Foscheri, Catering Manager [email protected]

Responsible for all of the catering and catering outlets across the campuses.  The team are continually making changes to improve sustainability, take measures and review practices to reduce waste, manage our procurement processes to support and protect the environment.

Hannah Jezard, Hospitality Operations Manager [email protected]

My role has evolved from operations management of delivered catering, conferencing and events to also assisting with overseeing the various retail outlets on Highfield Campus and the wider business, identifying areas where we can reduce our environmental impact.

Amanda Boorer, Landscape Services Manager [email protected]

Responsible for overseeing the Landscaping Team, who look after the green areas of our University estate. The team work hard to ensure that the university grounds are enjoyable for all staff, students and wildlife.

Elliot Prescott, Transport Manager [email protected]

The Sustainability & Resilience Institute (SRI):

Craig Hutton, SRI Director, [email protected]

Craig provides the strategic leadership of SRI, as it aims to tackle the most critical challenges facing society and our environment through evidence-based solutions and collaborative work.

Lindsay-Marie Armstrong, SRI Deputy Director (Research & Enterprise) [email protected]

Lindsay oversees the SRI’s Renewable Energy & Decarbonisation theme, providing insight and experience into cross-sector engagement with industries as we collaboratively work towards decarbonising the regional economy.

Simon Kemp,  SRI Deputy Director (Education & Sustainable Development Goals) [email protected]

Simon leads the SRI education and student experience work, providing a progressive approach to sustainability through the undergraduate and postgraduate (taught and research) curricula across the whole university, focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Jon Lawn, SRI Collaboration Manager [email protected]

Jon promotes internal collaboration and networking between University of Southampton academics, manages SRI’s external partnerships, and oversees SRI’s funding opportunities.

Alice Brock, SRI Sustainable Development Goals Officer [email protected]

Alice is the university’s dedicated project officer for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She oversees the University’s monitoring and reporting to the Sustainability League Tables and supports the integration of EDI within sustainability.

Grace Compton, SRI Specialist Policy Office [email protected]

Grace provides University of Southampton researchers with timely policy analysis and insight focused on sustainability at local, national, and international levels. She also supports University of Southampton researchers in engaging with policy makers, including the sharing of evidence and research with policy makers.

Lou Payne, SRI Communications & Marketing Manager [email protected]

Lou provides strategic communications and marketing oversight for the Institute, as well as day-to-day input to SRI’s sustainability communications, both internally and externally, to raise awareness of, and increase engagement in, the work being undertaken.

Ellie Pun, SRI Coordinator [email protected]

Ellie provides administrative support to SRI and assists with the running of SRI’s meetings and events.

SUSU (Students' Union)

Liz Harris - Head of Sustainability [email protected]

Liz leads SUSU’s sustainability work; embedding environmental and ethical initiatives in the Student Union’s operations, supporting student officers, reps and student societies on sustainability activities, and challenging the University to be ambitious in its delivery of the Sustainability Strategic Plan and all other environmental initiatives.

All Staff

The University of Southampton has launched a Sustainability Community of Practice open to all staff members, each faculty has a representative in the Sustainability Implementation group allowing staff to engage in improving the environmental performance of the University.

All staff inductions include a compulsory Southampton Sustainability Solutions e-module ; This e-module explains sustainability, introduces the SDGs, gives examples of sustainability work happening across the university, and helps participants make sustainability lifestyle choices. They will also meet the sustainability team, key players across the University and come away with a great understanding of sustainability and why it matters.

The University of Southampton’s Sustainability and Resilience Institute’s membership is open to all members of staff to engage with sustainability work across the university.

Environmental Auditing and Managing Systems

Accreditation to an External Environmental Management System

The University of Southampton has an externally validated annually updated ISO14001 Environmental Management System read here .

We are proud that as part of our commitment to continual improvement of our environment and sustainability work, we report and discuss our progress on this Policy and associated targets on an annual basis to our University Executive Board (UEB) (the most senior university governance board) which is chaired by our President and Vice-Chancellor Prof Mark E Smith. The most recent report took place in March 2023. Not only is this a requirement of our ISO14001 EMS, it also demonstrates how embedded our environmental and sustainability work is within our university governance systems.

In August 2023, we achieved recertification for a further 3 years against the ISO14001:2015 standard. This also brought SUSU within the scope of the EMS certificate for the first time.

Our externally validated EMS is entered into HESA.

Ethical Investment and Banking

The University of Southampton has an active, robust and publicly available Ethical Investment Policy reported on at the senior level here . This policy was updated in 2021 and approved by the University Council,  Finance Committee and authored by  Julie Fielder, Director of Finance – Planning & Analytics. This policy applies to the full scope of institution’s investments and is integrated within our overall investment policy.

Our Commitment to Screen out Specific Sectors

Our Ethical Investment Policy details the excluded/ restricted areas of investment.

Transparency and Accountability

Our Ethical Investment Policy is easily accessible and publicly available.

Our annual list of investments is easily accessible and publicly available. See the list of investments here.

Our list of committee members that oversee investments is easily accessible and publicly available. See the committee members here.

Ethical Careers and Recruitment

Ethical Careers Policy

Our active and publicly available ethical careers policy can be found here and was updated in 2023 and signed off at a senior level.

Our Commitment to Screen out Specific Sectors

Our careers policy details the exclusions and restrictions for recruitment opportunities with us.

Transparency and Accountability

Our careers staff structure is available here including information about staff roles and contact details.

Managing Carbon

Carbon Management Plan

The University of Southampton has carbon management at the heart of our Sustainability Strategic Plan. The most recent edition of the plan for 2020 – 2027 can be found here this is an extension of the 2020 – 2025 plan which can be found here.

We use our 2005/2006 emissions for scope 1 and 2 as our baseline.

Our carbon reduction target is scope 1 and scope 2 emissions to meet net zero by 2030 with an interim target of 1,888 tonnes CO2e by 2027/2028.

Senior Vice President (Academic) Professor Phillip Wright is the Sustainability Strategic Plan Owner and the University of Southampton’s Sustainability Champion.  The Sustainability Implementation Group meets every month to monitor and co-ordinate progress towards meeting these goals and is currently chaired by Professor AbuBakr Bahaj. Progress is then reported to the University’s Sustainability Strategy Board every quarter.

The University of Southampton produces annual emissions reports to monitor our carbon management plan and sustainability strategic plan targets here.

We report our carbon emission data to the Higher Education Statistic Agency (HESA). This information is publicly available on the HESA website and is updated annually, explore the data here.

Sustainable Travel Policy

The University of Southampton updated its Travel Plan in 2024, find the most recent version of the Travel Plan here.

Accommodation Emissions

The University includes accommodation emissions in our emissions calculations as seen in the technical report for our emissions reporting here . We report these emissions to HESA and these figures are used in our calculations for parity across our reporting.

Workers' Rights

Electronics Watch

The University of Southampton is part of the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) and is therefore a Consortium Affiliate of Electronics Watch. Electronics Watch is an independent monitoring organisation which works to achieve respect for labour rights in the electronics industry. See evidence of our membership here.

Can't Buy My Silence Pledge

The University of Southampton has signed the ‘Can’t Buy My Silence’ Pledge, committing to: “not using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to silence people who come forward to raise complaints of sexual harassment, abuse or misconduct, or other forms of bullying.” See the United Kingdom Pledge List here .

Sustainable Food

Sustainable Food Policy

The University of Southampton has a sustainable food policy found here.

Community Food

The University of Southampton provides space for and supports community food projects as can be seen here.

Staff and Student Engagement

Staff and Student Engagement Strategy

Within our Sustainability Strategic Plan we outline how we engage with our staff and students on sustainability at the university and our progress towards sustainable development. Our staff and student are at the core of all we do and we offer every opportunity to engage with our Sustainability Strategic Plan.

Each faculty has a representative as part of the Sustainability Implementation Group responsible for implementation of the plan. The president of the student’s union is also a member of this group. Annual reports on our emissions are publicly available and yearly updates and consultations are held for staff and students for feedback and transparency.

The most recent edition of the Sustainability Strategic Plan for 2020 – 2027 can be found here this is an extension of the 2020 – 2025 plan which can be found here.

Student and Staff Engagement Actions

The University of Southampton actively supports an environment themed week, ‘Green Week’ a jointly organised week by the Sustainability Community of Practice and Southampton University Student’s Union to see the events hosted in 2024 please see here . Events were run by staff, students and external individuals and groups, all events were open to all staff and students.

Staff Inductions

All students and staff are asked to complete the Southampton Sustainability Solutions e-module. This e-module explains sustainability, introduces the SDGs, gives examples of sustainability work happening across the university, and helps participants make sustainability lifestyle choices. They will also meet the sustainability team, key players across the University and come away with a great understanding of sustainability and why it matters. This e-module is part of staff induction and new student induction, it is also available for all students on the Southampton Virtual Learning Environment (Blackboard) so students can access it at any point of their time at the university.

Image of Southampton Sustainability Solutions Module on University of Southampton internal SharePoint

We work in close partnership with our Southampton University Students’ Union (SUSU). The commitment of SUSU to this area is demonstrated by their investment in the recruitment of a new Head of Sustainability, ensuring sustainable practices and engagement take place across the Union.

SUSU have an elected Sustainability Officer along with 5 elected Sustainability Faculty Ambassadors to ensure clear routes for student engagement across all of our Faculties.

Student Representation on University Committees

The President of the Student Union sits on the University Executive Board, the Sustainability Implementation Group and numerous other governance bodies.

Student and Staff Led Mapping, Auditing and Tracking of Actions Completed to Promote Environmental Sustainability Annually

The University of Southampton conducts various auditing, mapping and tracking of our environmental sustainability actions and promotion. See our reports here.

The University also conducts internal tracking and mapping activities led by staff and students, all compulsory education modules are mapped to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and all research output is mapped to the Goals annually.

Education for Sustainable Development

University Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development

Our commitment to ESD is very clear and forms Goal 4 of our six Sustainability Strategy goals, which is signed off at University Executive Board with a member of UEB as the University Champion.  The ESD Goal 4 'Ensure Sustainability is embedded across all our programmes by 2025' also sit as one of the five University Education Strategic Major Programmes, with senior responsibility sitting with our Vice-President Education Prof Deborah Gill.

We have developed our own University of Southampton specific ESD framework and strategy.  Our strategy is clear through Goal 4 of our Sustainability Strategy supported by a set of time-specific targets.  As part of this we have developed our own University-wide Curriculum Mapping framework where every Undergraduate and Postgraduate programme is mapped to the UN SDGs. This has led to a set of University-wide School and Programme ESD documents outlining where the SDGs are delivered, followed by School & Programme specific ESD curriculum development student and staff workshops.

Progress on the integration of ESD into the curriculum is reported on a monthly basis to the University Sustainability Implementation Group, Sustainability Strategy Group, and University Strategic Major Projects Group.  This is then reported to University Executive Board (UEB) and University Senate.  The ESD programme has a senior leader on UEB in the form of the Vice-President Education Prof Deborah Gill, with Prof Simon Kemp as the University Lead in Education for Sustainable Development responsible for the delivery of the integration of ESD across the whole of the university curriculum.

All academic staff can contact Prof Simon Kemp as the University Lead in Education for Sustainable Development for bespoke support in integrating ESD into their curriculum and staff can also access the Southampton Sustainability Solutions online module for training purposes.  All Schools hold individual training workshops led by staff, including Prof S Kemp, and student representatives where ESD integration into their programmes will take place. These workshops will involve the School Head of Education, Programme Leads, Senior Tutors, elected student representatives and any students who wish to participate.

The University is a learning setting for the development of real-life sustainability skills. For example, the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Environmental Law and Management module uses the University campus and specific schools for the student assessed submission of an Environmental Legal Compliance Register, and an Initial Environmental Review report. The Biology programmes use the campus for biodiversity appraisals. The School of Management run assessments where students conduct sustainability reviews for local SMEs close to campus. All students can also take part in extra-curricular activities such as Bioblitz and Waste Wars which are held on campus and in University Halls of Residence.

In 2023 we launched the Meliora Podcast from the Sustainability and Resilience Institute, listen here. The podcast is the next step in sustainability learning and skills for students, staff and alumni. Built entirely around a truly equal collaborative approach between undergraduate studetns and staff, students are given the opportunity to contribute to the podcast through selecting and conducting their own research into the full spectrum of sustainability issues that cover each and all of the environmental, economic, social and cultural dimensions that make this such a fascinating and rewarding problem to explore. The Meliora Podcast is truly liberating for our students and the sustainability research work that goes into the Higher Education community. Students have an equal platform to academics, transforming the scale of reach of sustainability knowledge exchange outside of universities, due to their fantastic work being freed from the physical restraints of the classroom and assignment portals to be shared across the world for anyone, for free.

Energy Demands, Waste and Recycling, Carbon Reduction and Water Reduction

These aspects of our sustainability performance are calculated directly by People & Planet using data from our Estates Management Record which is publicly available on the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) website.

QS World University Rankings: Sustainability

The University of Southampton has climbed 54 places in the 2023 edition of the QS World University Rankings for Sustainability - placing it 13th in the UK and 34th in the world.

The QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, which are in their second year, look at how universities are addressing the world’s greatest environmental and social challenges. Over 1,400 institutions from around the world are assessed in the rankings, including 93 in the United Kingdom.

For one metric, Health and Wellbeing, the University achieved an impressive second in the world ranking. This metric assesses an institution’s commitment to improving the health and wellbeing not only of its students, but society more widely.

For Environmental Impact, Southampton climbed 98 places to 32nd in the world for this area. This recognises the impact of the institution’s education, research activities and operations towards an environmentally sustainable future.

The University also climbed 28 places for Social Impact, putting it in the top 20 universities in the world. This encompasses what the university is doing to boost employability, equality, education, health and wellbeing, and knowledge sharing.

The University has recently launched a new Sustainability and Resilience Institute. The institute aims to bring together colleagues from disciplines across the University to work with experts from around the world to tackle the most critical challenges facing our society and environment.

 

Times Higher Education Impact Rankings

The Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Ranking is a global sustainability league table using the UN Sustainable Development Goals as its framework to assess Universities and Higher Education Institutions on their sustainability impact. In the 2023 edition of the THE Impact Ranking the University of Southampton climbed over 100 places, demonstrating our global sustainability profile.

Notably the University of Southampton was ranked 69th in Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals, highlighting our incredible global and international sustainability work, education and operations. Key to the University of Southampton's success was the publication of our annual Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 found here.

 

It also achieved top 101 to 200 rankings in Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG  7), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10) Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11) and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16).

Professor Phillip Wright, Senior Vice-President and Sustainability Champion at the University said: “Universities have a key role to play in building a better, fairer and more sustainable future through our research, teaching and engagement activities. It’s encouraging to see our partnership work receive particular recognition, as we believe that it is by working together with others that we can make the biggest impact.”

THE evaluated 2,152 universities from 125 countries and regions to produce the overall Impact Ranking for 2024. The rankings demonstrate universities’ commitment to addressing the world’s most pressing challenges, including environmental sustainability, social inclusion, economic growth and partnerships.

Last year the University launched its Sustainability and Resilience Institute (SRI), which brings together academics and students from different disciplines to address the sustainability challenges facing our society and environment.

Professor Craig Hutton, Director of the SRI, said: “The SRI aims to improve how the University of Southampton shares its progress on the SDGs and its sustainability research with the public. The 2024 THE Impact Rankings, led by Alice Brock, SDG Officer, working closely with Molly Simmons, PhD Researcher, and with contributions from across the University, has shown the excellence of our work and provides a platform from which to progress further.

Professor Simon Kemp, Deputy Director of the SRI and University lead for sustainability education, said: “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at the University of Southampton. It is crucial that our students have a good understanding of the challenges facing our society and environment and are empowered to make a difference. Our scores in education in the Impact rankings demonstrate this.”

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