As the University of Bath continues to develop as a world leader for sustainability, this year saw us climb 71 places to become 56th in the QS World Sustainability Rankings. Sustainability action and our network of changemakers continue to gain momentum across the University, with 69% of all departments now participating in staff-focused sustainability programmes. Initiatives including Green Impact and the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) are empowering teams to embed sustainability into their work culture.

In its second year, Green Impact at Bath has grown exponentially. The Sustainability Awards provided an opportunity to celebrate these collective efforts.

Green Impact achievements in 2025/26

  • 41 teams took part
  • 23 departments represented
  • 18 teams achieved certification
  • 409 staff were actively involved
  • 33 student auditors volunteered their time and received ISEP Certified Sustainability Auditor Training

Nine Gold Awards

  • Campus Services
  • Centre of Excellence in Water-Based Early-Warning Systems for Health Protection / Red-Alert CDT (CWBE)
  • Department of Psychology
  • Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Faculty of Science
  • Institute for Policy Research
  • School of Management
  • Sustainable Futures Team comprising Skills Centre, Careers and HR
  • The Library

Two Silver Awards

  • Creative Services
  • Skills Centre

Five Bronze Awards

  • CARMA (Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub)
  • Department of Social and Policy Sciences
  • Centre for Evolution
  • Advancement Office
  • Department of Sports Development and Recreation

Two Green Awards

  • International Relations Office
  • Faculty of Engineering and Design

In addition to receiving their award levels, this year Green Impact teams have developed sustainability across the University in a variety of ways, including:

  • eight teams held digital declutter days by deleting over 10,982 emails
  • four teams undertook a programme level audit of sustainability in education and teaching
  • nine teams have a publicly available department sustainability statement, demonstrating broad commitment and accountability for sustainability

There have been additional innovative actions completed by teams, including:

  • the Department of Psychology Team created a Sunflower Challenge that resulted in over 60 staff and students growing their own sunflowers on campus or at home, with the goal of lowering the barriers to engagement with sustainability by focusing on connecting with nature and wellbeing, rather than technical knowledge
  • members of the Centre of Excellence in Water-Based Early-Warning Systems for Health Protection / Red-Alert CDT (CWBE) team spent five hours litter picking on the river, travelling 5km from Batheaston to Warleigh Weir
  • the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Campus Services and the Faculty of Science Green Impact Teams held a campus wide food bank collection and donating for Genesis Trust in March, collecting 139.4kg of food

Building a culture of shared sustainability

Green Impact is building a culture where sustainability is part of the everyday, visible in how we work together and make decisions. The toolkit encourages collaboration and innovation, giving everyone the opportunity to embed sustainability and thrive as changemakers. As we look ahead to the next year, we’re excited to grow this momentum. With more teams, more ideas, and more support, we’re building a future where sustainability is truly shared.

The new toolkit will launch at the beginning of the academic year - in the meantime find out more about our growing community within Green Impact: