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Annual sustainability report 2022/23

Contents

Page 1 of 9

Introduction

The report communicates the positive sustainability outcomes we have through learning, research and collaboration, and our ongoing work to reduce the negative environmental impacts of running our University. This report aligns to our third cross-cutting sustainability strategy which started in 2022 and has goals for a 5-year period through to 2027.

Sustainability is one of four overall ambitions of our University Strategic Plan 2022-2027 and has been a core Value of the University since 2010.

Our report is compiled with input from senior managers, academic teams, students and partners, and the images you see here are our actual activities and the people who led them. Its content reflects the concerns and interests of our key stakeholder groups, which include our executive, students, academic and professional staff, local communities, regional and international partners, and University Council as our governing body.

Highlight achievements

Oxstalls campus

Regional Centre of Expertise

The University is a designated Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) in sustainability education, acknowledged by the United Nations University. As RCE Severn part of our programme supports public engagement and learning partnerships in sustainability for mutual benefit.

Regional centre of expertise on education for sustainable development (RCE) logo, acknowledged by United Nations University

Governance of sustainability

This report enables public scrutiny of our performance and is part of our externally audited Environmental Management System (EMS) accredited to ISO 14001:2015. This ensures we meet quality standards, maintain compliance obligations and monitor continual improvement.

The report contains our top risks and priority challenges, linked to our EMS performance improvement targets and the main material impacts arising from our operations. It also spotlights the critical material impact of integrating sustainability into student development and academic activities, bringing positive benefits and capacity building to wider industries and professions.

Our governance system includes internal oversight, through an annual programme review process that also feeds into annual planning and priority setting across wider university teams. The report is reviewed and approved by University Executive and University Council prior to its release.

The objectives of our strategy and EMS are aligned into one governance approach that includes:

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Annual internal and external audit cycles linked to ISO 14001 accreditation

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Adherence to the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) protocols

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Internal monitoring via University operating plan and Sustainability business plan

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Local risk registers and tracking of objectives delivered by specific university departments

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Sustainability Performance Review annually, chaired by our sustainability executive lead

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Annual meeting with the University Council to review performance and plans

Our people 2022-23

Total students:Total staff:Sustainability team roles:Student team members:
6548 FTE968 FTE31

Our footprint

Gross Internal Area (GIA): 88,932 m2

Site locations: 4 in Cheltenham; 1 in Gloucester

Reporting on the UN Global Goals

This report meets our annual reporting commitments on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an institutional signatory to the tertiary sector SDG Accord.

Throughout this annual report, we record how the actions and results shown in this report contribute to the delivery of the UN SDGs. The actions on this page contribute to the specific goals marked below. For more information view the global goals page.


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