Our Environmental Sustainability policy informs colleagues, students and interested parties of our commitment to continual improvement in environmental performance. The policy is in line with our ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS).
The policy outlines our headline commitment of protecting the environment and preventing pollution (including marine pollution) by reducing emissions and discharges.
The policy includes further commitments in a number of key impact areas, for example:
Adopting circular economy principles in our approach to waste and resource management- maximising reuse and recycling and reducing waste to landfill.
This applies to all waste types produced on campus (including hazardous waste) and is achieved through implementation a number of actions including:
implementation of laboratory waste segregation
minimisation of single use items (especially plastic)
campaigns to inform and engage on recycling
We have procedures, aligned with the Policy, that detail the process for handling hazardous and non-hazardous waste.
Preserving and enhancing biodiversity.
This applies across our estate. Measures towards delivery of this commitment include:
Preservation of any protected species on our campus sites
Conservation of green spaces
Elimination of any alien species
Increase in wildflower planting on the estate
Enabling Sustainable Water Use
Through this commitment we minimise the amount of water that is used across the estate. We do this through:
Leak monitoring and detection
Installation of water efficient fixtures and fittings
Environment and Sustainability Committee on 5 April 2023
University Executive Board on 26 July 2022
Council on 10 October 2022
The Environment and Sustainability Committee review both policies every year, most recently on 5 April 2023. Amendments to both policies were minor administrative edits that did not require approval from University Executive Board or Council.