Operations

Managing environmental impacts

This report contains our performance record against the objectives of our Environmental Management System (EMS) which is accredited to ISO 14001:2015 and audited annually by British Standards Institute.

In May 2023 the EMS passed its full recertification audit which covers the next 3 years to 2026. There are 2 relevant datasets:

1. Carbon emissions reduction performance – against targets for 2030 – which are part of our Carbon Net Zero Strategy – see the Net Zero section of this report.

2. Additional environmental management objectives – against targets for 2027 as part of our current Sustainability Strategy – see the data and policy aspects below.

Running an EMS and reporting on progress is essential for good sustainability governance and ours has both internal and external review and audit mechanisms. These overall system checks help us to assess and report on our material impacts, identify risks, reduce negative impacts, remedy weak areas and address concerns of our stakeholders (which includes staff, students, partners, local communities, and our executive team and University Council as our governing body).

We aim to make this data as easy to understand as possible, to aid transparency for stakeholders and auditors. Performance improvement actions are noted where we are falling short of our aims.

Performance data

Policy standards

As well as the performance targets above, our EMS has a range of policy objectives, that cover standards and practices we wish to maintain, to deliver the aims of our EMS and Sustainability Strategy. The status of these objectives at the close of academic year 2022-2023 was as follows:

Policy objective	Status
Compliance with legal obligations	GREEN
Complete divestment from fossil fuel investments	GREEN
Zero waste to landfill for waste streams	GREEN
Red Tractor accreditation for catering operations	GREEN
Marine Stewardship status for catering operations	GREEN
Preserve and enhance biodiversity through cross-campus biodiversity policy	GREEN
Regional Centre of Expertise status with the United Nations University	AMBER
Education for Sustainability programme supporting academic enhancement	AMBER
Student experience programme delivered collaboratively with students	RED
Monitoring of sustainability in academic activities	AMBER
Monitoring student satisfaction and interest through national surveys	GREEN

Environmental improvements actions

To maintain and improve performance, we oversee both annual and one-off initiatives across the university supporting our environmental management aims. In 2022-2023 this included:

Optimised winter heating schedule

Instead of running the boilers on full from October, we phased in winter heating, monitoring temperatures carefully and only running boilers long enough to maintain target temperatures during October and November.

• Gas saved: 750,581kWh
• CO2 emissions reduced: 11%

New EV charging points

Encouraging staff and students to use lower carbon transport is crucial to our carbon net zero targets, so we have installed two new electric vehicle charging points at FCH, Hardwick and Park. This builds on the four already in place at Oxstalls and the Sports Arena.

Waste into value through charity partnership

We work with the British Heart Foundation Pack for Good initiative to collect donated goods from student halls, avoiding waste and creating value for the charity. In 2023 we delivered:

• 1214 bags from 7 campus donation points, worth £16,996 To BHF
• 9.7 tonnes diverted from waste streams

Food waste trial in student halls

In response to student feedback, and as part of our ongoing work to improve waste management; we trialled separate bins for food waste in our Hardwick halls of residence, and provided students with tips to reduce food waste.

Policy updates approved by University Executive

In line with new University strategies, our Executive Committee approved a number of updated policies and plans aligned to sustainability, which we published online. These included our Biodiversity Policy, Sustainable Travel Plan, Sustainable Catering Policy, Waste Management Policy and Procurement Strategy.

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.