Universities can be a powerhouse for sustainability and innovation. They are home to thousands of creative and intelligent minds. They have the ability to influence, create and manage great change.
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly.”- Richard Bach
It is important to believe in a brighter future and to know what needs to be done in the world. Universities have the capacity to encourage and educate our young people in this way.
In the Foreword of the Department for Education’s strategy for sustainability and climate change for the education and children’s services systems, the Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP, says “The challenge of climate change is formidable. For children and young people to meet it with determination, and not with despair, we must offer them not just truth, but also hope”.
Connecting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Universities
Sustainability covers a broad spectrum of topics. Education is an essential piece of the puzzle in our planet’s sustainable development. This means universities, as a big section of the education industry, play a large part.
Each of the individual Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have a connection with universities, however explicit or implicit they are. Some examples include:
- Goal 4 discusses the need for quality education so this is probably the most obvious connection. The targets within this goal not only relate to standards of sustainability-related education topics, but also include accessibility to quality education for all genders, those with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations, amongst others.
- Goal 9 is about industry, innovation and infrastructure. This is relevant as universities are not just home to education, but also cutting edge research and innovation. They could be considered key facilitators for innovation. They work collaboratively with companies, and other education providers to find innovative solutions.
- Global and local partnerships can thrive in higher education. This aligns with Goal 17, Partnerships for the Goals. The government, companies, and civil societies partner with universities. This makes them a great tool for promoting the goals and implementing them internationally.
How can universities can become more sustainable?
There are so many different elements of universities that can be considered in a sustainability strategy. These could be buildings and campus grounds, student curriculum, staff travel and education, research and loads more…
When you think about all the possibilities, there’s potential for huge impact.
And when students go to university, they are investing in their future. Why not invest somewhere that puts effort into making their future as bright as possible?
Let’s look at some of the areas that Universities commonly look at to improve their environmental and social impact…
Buildings & campus development
Universities should keep an eye on any retrofitting opportunities that may arise in their buildings. This could include:
- Fitting new technologies to reduce energy consumption
- The replacement of traditional lighting to LEDs
- Eliminating any drafts
- Insulating buildings properly
University of Sheffield has adopted many creative technologies throughout their campus. For example, they harvest rainwater that’s then collected and reused throughout the building! Also during their recent redevelopment, they used paving slab made of recycled materials- very carbon friendly!
They could also consider how to make the best use of their grounds. For example by planting trees like Staffordshire University.
Waste Management
Really effective waste management is becoming a bigger priority with an increased focus on reducing the amount of waste that gets produced, as well as the potential cost savings.
A good way to deal with this is to implement a reduce, reuse and recycle policy. This ensures purchases are only made where absolutely necessary and items are re-used as far as possible, even before they are recycled. Responsible procurement policies and re-use projects are great additional initiatives that could help in this space.
Student Curriculum & Staff Education
Sustainability should be embedded into all student curricula if we want to prepare them for their future.
As a part of the Sustainability Symposium 2023, Manchester Metropolitan University talked about incorporating Carbon Literacy training into the university. They have been a close partner of the Carbon Literacy project since 2012 and from 2015, they’ve been delivering student and staff training. The whole concept revolves around the students delivering training to other students and staff. This Student Train-the-trainer design of teaching won the Green Gown Awards in 2019! They have also developed toolkits (that were also nominated for the Green Gown Awards 2022) that are being used by other universities and organisations across the sector. Carbon Literacy is now a large part of Manchester Met’s Sustainability Strategy and Education Strategy. They’ve also set themselves a goal to fully embed Carbon Literacy in all of their programmes by 2026!
And which universities are the furthest ahead on their journey?
The People & Planet University League is the only independent league table of UK universities that focusses on sustainability and transparency. It’s ranked by environmental and ethical performance and is annually complied by the UK’s largest student campaigning network: People & Planet.
In 12 years, it has driven massive improvements in environmental management and monitoring. Students simultaneously want and expect their universities to take responsibility for a sustainable future and keep global warming below a suitable level.
The table cleverly ranks the universities in the style of university marking (1st, 2.1, 2.2) and gives an in-depth review of each universities score and whether they met their emissions reduction target.
Give it a look and see where your local university ranked!
How Optimo can help
Sustainability is no longer a buzz word but it can be daunting and that’s why we are here to guide you along the way. At Optimo we are experts in managing change and making action happen.
What’s change management?
Change management is essentially the frameworks and approaches for preparing and supporting the people impacted and involved in a change you want to make and ensuring it is embedded effectively.
It can be difficult to adopt change within our daily lives so designing and creating a change programme to proactively support impacted individuals on their journey can be the best way to remove a considerable amount of resistance to the change.
And how do you make action happen?
Project management is a key skill set of the team at Optimo. This involves applying standard methods and processes to manage activities which will achieve specific goals, within various constraints such as timescales and budget. Translating strategies into action plans and change programmes can be a common blocker for many organisations in making progress on their sustainability journeys – which is where our expertise in creating plans, identifying interdependent activities in an organisation and assigning owners to tasks can be just the remedy.
Many universities have a portfolio, programme or project management office (PMO function) to manage their change projects. A PMO is an organisational function that offers support to projects and programmes of work, playing a crucial role in universities by providing a structured framework for planning, executing, overseeing and reporting on various initiatives. PMOs can be used as a valuable tool for incorporating sustainability activities into the wider portfolio of university projects, as well as day-to-day operations and culture and Optimo can provide the expertise you need to make sure yours is effective.
Educational institutions are a key part of creating a better future for everyone, so helping them to incorporate sustainable initiatives is something we love using our practical and operational expertise to help.
If anything in this blog interests you and you want to learn more about incorporating sustainability into your university, get in touch!
