Environmental Sustainability at Sussex
Our ambition is simple and clear – to be one of the most sustainable universities in the world.
From our aims to reach net zero by 2035 and to embed environmental sustainability across the curriculum and beyond, to our wide-ranging research, our commitment to sustainability permeates everything we do. We already have sector-leading performance in key issues of sustainability, such as our own renewable energy farm with 3,000 solar panels and being the first UK university to introduce an aerobic digester for food waste. We scored 100 per cent in three areas of the 2022/23 People & Planet University League Table. Building on this, we have recently published our ambitious and comprehensive sustainability strategy, setting out a roadmap for Sussex. What is remarkable about ‘Sustainable Sussex’ is its breadth. We are addressing all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Our strategy is grounded upon consultation and collaboration at every level. It has been co-created with the University’s students, staff, partners and stakeholders. Our academics have also been doing tremendous work to protect and restore the environment. For example, Sussex biologists are involved in conservation projects across the globe, including joining a local initiative to protect and restore the Sussex coast’s kelp fields that have been depleted by trawling, and we have a new Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre, which received £20m from UK Research and Innovation. All these sustainability efforts, and more, have earned us praise and recognition. Sussex continues to be ranked within the top 50 in the world for impact, asessed against the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023)
OUR KEY AIMS INCLUDE:
Reach net zero by 2035 – including both direct and indirect carbon emissions via decarbonised infrastructure and ethical procurement activity.
Embed sustainability into all aspects of student learning and experience.
Recycle 50 per cent of waste by 2025 – and reduce the waste produced per student by 10 per cent by 2025. Create the UK’s most biodiverse campus – setting aside up to half of the site for nature. Have more staff and students volunteering in their local community – including through a new charity partnership with Surfers Against Sewage.
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