Sustainability Matters 2024

All over the University, people continue to think about environmental sustainability and are focussing on changing how they work to create a more sustainable future and to achieve the vision set out in our Environmental Sustainability Strategic Framework.

Visit our Sustainability web pages to learn about our targets and our progress to date.

Reducing our carbon emissions is important, but there is so much more to what we are doing. Here are some of the highlights from the last twelve months.

In December 2023, we were very pleased to rise 36 places in the People and Planet University League Table, reflecting the work which we have undertaken in the University in the last three years to put Sustainability a the heart of our strategy and operations.

We have been working on plans for a new Student Village at our Stoke-on-Trent campus for some time now and were very pleased to received planning permission for our proposals in March 2024. As well as improving the on campus experience for our students and creating a great student community, another of the objectives of the project is to make a major contribution to achieving our goal of Carbon Net Zero for Scopes 1 and 2 by 2030.

We will have another announcement soon about the Village, and will be able to share more information about how we will reduce our carbon emissions by increasing the level of energy generated on site from renewable sources, as well as operating in a more efficient way.

The new Village will also allow us to address climate challenges on campus and create a new green heart to the Stoke-on-Trent Campus, which will result in a substantial increase in biodiversity.

Our Catalyst building, which opened in early 2022, was recently short-listed for a RIBA West Midlands Regional Award 2024. The Catalyst has provided the University with large amounts of flexible space and has increased the amount of energy generated on-site form renewable sources. We have spent the last two years managing and monitoring the building’s energy performance and are pleased with its contribution to our targets.

Life on campus

We continue to make small changes at our Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford and London campuses – focussing on reducing consumption and waste on campus, whilst increasing the level of recycling. You can read more about how we are helping staff and students to be live, work and study more sustainably through our quarterly Sustainability update.