Universities are uniquely placed to support a pathway to sustainable development and growth. Through the education that we provide, we are enabling and empowering our students with the knowledge and skills to make a contribution to global challenges. And through our research, we are actively seeking to find ways in which we can create a better and healthier world for people and planet.

Context

The University of Bath was established in 1966 on Claverton Down in Bath. The University is situated on the skyline of the city of Bath, a UNESCO world heritage site. The core campus is the Claverton Campus, which is surrounded by the Bath Green Belt and adjacent to the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as well as National Trust land. The University also occupies buildings in the city centre as well as research facilities in Swindon and Bristol. The University’s core activities are higher education and research focusing on the following disciplines: architecture; engineering; humanities; social sciences; sciences; and management.

The Institutional Strategy (2021-26) launched in 2021 is framed around four key pillars: fostering an outstanding and inclusive community; driving excellence in education; driving high impact research, and; enhancing strategic partnerships.

Sustainability has been identified as one of the core values: supporting a sustainable community and adopting best environmental practice. These core values are at the heart of the strategy for advancement, growth, and impact, defining the characteristics as a community.

Purpose of the Sustainability and Environment Policy

For the University of Bath, sustainability is about conducting our activity (our research, our education, our operations and our engagement) in a way which embodies and addresses:

• environmental health and climate action
• social responsibility, equity and inclusion
• economic and financial sustainability

The University of Bath contributes positively to sustainability through its world-class research, its teaching and its partnerships and collaboration. However, the University also recognises that there are environmental and social impacts associated with its activities. The University aims to maximise its contribution to a more sustainable world whilst also minimising its impact.

The purpose of this policy is to set out the approach to embedding and managing sustainability across the full scope of the University’s provision of higher education, research and support services, in line with our Institutional Strategy.

Objectives

The University of Bath is committed to delivering continual improvement of its sustainability work to enhance our institutional performance (nationally and internationally) and to demonstrate our dedication to a sustainable future – with a particular focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). As part of this, we will seek to embed sustainability across all our activities – adopting a whole institution approach.

Our objectives include:

• we will endeavour to integrate sustainability across our education programmes including the formal, informal and ‘hidden’ curriculum, the co-curriculum, extra-curricular activities and training and support for our students, staff and partners, and we will also increase the relevance and impact of our education (and research) through the Living Labs programme
• we will strive to deliver research with impact and have made sustainability one of our research pillars, and we will also seek to address the sustainability of our research in accordance with the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation
• we will ensure that we minimise the environmental and social impact of our operations whilst enabling the University to meet its strategic goals
• we will use our external relationships and our role as an anchor organisation and Civic University to support and catalyse wider change

Key areas to be addressed by this policy

Net Zero Carbon (NZC)

We have set commitments to reduce the University's carbon footprint:

• we will have net zero carbon emissions by 2030 for scopes 1 and 2
• we will have net zero carbon emissions by 2040 across all emissions scopes (1, 2 and 3)

Energy use

We will encourage energy efficient practices and investment in our estate to reduce carbon emissions and change to lower carbon alternatives.

Pollution Prevention

We will ensure appropriate controls are in place to minimise and prevent pollution to air, land and water, including emissions and discharges.

Sustainable consumption and responsible disposal

We will encourage systems thinking and applying the principles of circular economy by embedding sustainable, ethical and lifecycle considerations into purchasing decisions. We will continue to prevent and reduce waste generated and increase the reuse of resources prior to recycling or disposal.

Water

We will manage and reduce water consumption through water-efficient practices and technologies.

Transport

We will seek to minimise the impact of business travel and commuting by staff and students, and by encouraging use of more sustainable forms of transport, active travel, vehicle sharing, public transport and use of video conferencing.

Buildings

We will take a lifecycle approach in the design, construction, refurbishment and operations of our buildings and will consider sustainable placemaking, Net Zero Carbon, optimising space utilisation, minimising resource use and maximising health and wellbeing.

Nature and biodiversity

We will protect and improve natural habitats to enhance wildlife and biodiversity on our campuses, and support wider initiatives which address our impact on global biodiversity.

Community

We will ensure this policy is communicated to our internal and external community and promote more sustainable behaviours; working with local and international networks and supporting volunteering.

Social and wellbeing

We will continue to promote and encourage the wellbeing of our staff and students and consider our other social impacts.

Adapting for climate change

We will ensure the adaptation of the organisation to meet the challenges of climate change, mindful of the increasing regularity of extreme heatwaves, floods and droughts.

Roles and responsibilities

The University Executive Board (UEB) is responsible for the approval and review of the Sustainability and Environment Policy and for referring sustainability aspects of the University’s activities, as appropriate, to Council.

UEB is supported by the Sustainability & Climate Action Steering Group, which monitors sustainability performance against agreed plans and commitments and recommends specific actions. The Steering Group reports annually to UEB.

The University also has a Sustainability team (within the Office of the Vice-Chancellor) which works across the University to plan, coordinate and deliver the Sustainability and Environment Policy.

Students, through the Students’ Union, are key partners in improving the University’s environment and sustainability performance. Elected officers are invited to the Sustainability & Climate Action Steering Group.

Policy implementation and corporate commitment

In accordance with our commitment to ‘best environmental practice’ and sustainability, as articulated in the University Strategy 2021-26, we will undertake the following activities in order to deliver against our objectives:

• identify the environmental and sustainability aspects and impacts of the University's activities and operations and develop mechanisms to address these in line with our objectives: in doing so, we should consider the relationship to international and national rankings
• identify the means by which we can integrate sustainability into our plans, processes and projects.
• for each of our objectives:
  • establish an agreed baseline performance
  • set SMART targets to help drive environment and sustainability performance
  • establish implementation plans for each of the key areas with consideration in each for costs, resources and timescales
  • establish specific policies on procurement, catering, travel and buildings which set out how we will address environmental and sustainability issues in these areas
  • establish a plan for engagement with our community, neighbours and business partners to progress environment and sustainability initiatives and exchange ideas and activities that improve the performance of all
  • establish a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and report on our progress towards our targets – including reporting against the UN SDGs
• promote awareness across our community of the need to achieve sustainable use of resources for the benefit of the University and society as a whole
• ensure that we are compliant with legal requirements and can demonstrate our compliance through appropriate procedures and management information

This Policy will be reviewed annually and managed through the development, delivery, and continual improvement of a Sustainability Management Systems (SMS).