Sustainability Strategy Action Plan
See the key actions and target dates under our new Sustainability Strategy.
2024 update
The University of Sussex is currently developing its Sussex 2035 Strategy and the corresponding sustainability plans. The Sustainable Sussex Strategy and these webpages, which were published in 2021, will soon be superseded and these webpages will be updated with more information in due course. Find out more about the progress we’ve made in sustainability since 2021.
Objective 1: Ethical Educators
- Students as Partners and Innovators
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 1. Actively engage students, student societies and the Students’ Union on co-delivering the outputs from this strategy and shaping future sustainability policy
University of Sussex Students’ Union
August 2021 2. Recruit recent University of Sussex graduates and current students to be paid members of the university Sustainability Team
Maddison Taylor (Access and Participation Manager, Student Experience)
August 2021 3. Hold grand challenges and innovation competitions to support our students to create the sustainability solutions of the future
Emily Huns (Head of Careers, Employability and Entrepreneurship)
July 2021 4. Conduct a review focused of promoting social impact in student entrepreneurship
September 2021 5. Directly link all of our student careers initiatives to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and monitor our impact by 2021
- Sustainability in All Degrees
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 6. Develop action plans in all schools to deeper embed sustainability in the curriculum
Graeme Pedlingham (Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor: Student Experience)
August 2022 7. Offer a new online interdisciplinary introduction to sustainability certificate course to all first and second-year undergraduate students from August 2022 - enabling each academic school to adapt the content into a school specific 15 credit module in 2023, if appropriate
August 2023 - Sustainable Research Practices
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 8. Further embed sustainability within our research methods and processes
Seb Oliver (Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research)
December 2023 9. Gain LEAF sustainable lab accreditation
Rob Fowler (Deputy Chief Technical Officer)
August 2022 - Supporting Equality Diversity & Inclusion
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 10. Achieve the goals set out in our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Strategy – Inclusive Sussex
DPVC Culture, Equality and Inclusion (following recruitment)
December 2025
Objective 2: Decarbonising the economy
- Net Zero by 2035
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 1. Set a target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2035 with indicative interim targets for 2025 and 2030
Adam Tickell (Vice-Chancellor)
June 2021 2. Set an annual carbon reduction target in August each year to be monitored as a key performance indicator by Council
August 2022 - Excellent Carbon Accounting
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 3. Put in place more robust carbon accounting practices and achieve Science Based Target Initiative (SBTI) Net Zero Carbon Standard accreditation
Carey Mclaughlin (Assistant Director of Finance)
August 2023 - Decarbonised energy infrastructure
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 4. Begin to invest in replacing priority fossil fuel dependent infrastructure with lower carbon alternatives by December 2026. Producing feasibility studies in each of the following areas by December 2021
a. Replacing our Combined Heat and Power Plant with a low carbon alternative
b. Expanding our renewable energy production
c. Creating a new sustainable transport hub
d. Upgrading electric vehicle, scooter and bike charging infrastructure
Robert Hutton (Director of Estates, Facilities and Commercial Services)
December 2021 for feasibility studies
December 2026 for beginning project delivery
5. Reduce our digital emissions through our IT Network Replacement Project and Cloud-First Policy Clare Gryce (Deputy Director of ITS)
December 2024
- Energy Efficient Campus
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 6. Improving the energy efficiency of our campus by:
a. High level auditing the energy efficiency of all of our estate by December 2021
b. Producing investment opportunity analysis of the 20% of our poorest performing buildings and business cases for improvements by August 2023
c. Upgrading our Building Energy Management Systems – e.g. automatic heating controls – by August 2022
d. Developing minimum environmental product standards for the furnishings and fixtures that we buy for our estate by December 2022
e. Identifying if there is a business case to move beyond BREEAM Excellent environmental construction standards for new buildings by December 2022
Francine Hill (Deputy Director of Estates)
Completion of these commitments by August 2023 – ahead of further analysis and improvements by August 2030
7. Introducing new more modern flexible ways of working that can reduce our carbon footprint Rachel Mills (Provost)
August 2025
Objective 3: Civic leaders and partners
- Sustainable Supply Chain
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 1. Launch a new Sustainable Procurement Principles Framework to help select the suppliers that more closely share our sustainability values
Ian McKee (Assistant Director of Finance)
June 2021
2. Assess the quality of our sustainable practices against the ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Standard by August 2022 and consider what (if any) action is required to make any desired improvements by August 2023 (subject to feasibility review) August 2023
3. Investigate the feasibility of applying for Real Living Wage Accreditation August 2023
- Active and Sustainable Commuting
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 4. Set annual active and sustainable commuting targets
Scott Noble (Head of Service Delivery Estates and Facilities Management)
August 2022
5. Implement our active and sustainable travel plans in full. This will include: introducing an active travel reward app, promoting cycling and commissioning a feasibility study by August 2021 into the creation of a new sustainable travel hub August 2025
6. Reduce the emissions made by car journeys by introducing: more progressive parking charges (subject to equality analysis); ride sharing; and a possible lower cost ultra-low emission vehicle leasing scheme for staff August 2023
7. Make all of the University’s vehicle fleet ultralow emissions August 2025
- Better Business Travel
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 8. Introduce a new sustainable business travel policy
Martin Hookham-Simms (Head of International Office)
December 2022
9. Ensure our contracted Travel Management Company provides the optimal balance between value for money and sustainable travel, consistent with our sustainable business travel policy Ian McKee (Assistant Director of Finance) December 2022
10. Review our video conferencing options and work with staff and students to set annual targets for reducing business travel emissions Martin Hookham-Simms (Head of International Office) August 2023
- Community and Voluntary Impact
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 11. Promote an increase in volunteering amongst staff and students - including introducing a new staff volunteering allowance
Matthew Naish (Reward Manager)
August 2021
12. Identify opportunities to help make our employees homes more sustainable August 2024
13. Be active partners in various community sustainability partnerships Sue Baxter (Director of Innovation and Business Partnerships) Ongoing
Objective 4: Environmental Champions
- 50% of Waste Recycled by 2025
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 1. Set target to recycle 50% of our waste by 2025 (subject to further compositional analysis)
Adam Tickell (Vice-Chancellor)
June 2021 to set targets and August 2025 to achieve them
2. Set target to reduce the volume of weight produced per student by 10% by 2025 3. Set annual recycling targets for all of our waste streams Scott Noble (Head of Service Delivery Estates and Facilities Management) August 2022
4. Tender our waste contracts, ensuring appropriate recycling targets and innovation are included within them December 2022
5. Review of our current bin numbers, locations and signage December 2021
6. Launch a waste and recycling communications and engagement plan by August 2022 that will enable us to recruit a network of waste champions to help support and promote recycling and create behaviour change August 2022
7. Produce policies on plastic and project waste reduction December 2022
- Responsible Food and Water Production and Consumption
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 8. Introduce four new sustainable food priorities that encourage:
a. sourcing fresh produce from local suppliers
b. better consumer information on food sustainability
c. an increase in net zero cafes
d. a reduction in meat consumption
Helen Power-Hosking (Head of Commercial Services)
August 2023
9. Active support for sustainable food production and distribution on campus including the continued redistribution of surplus food Ongoing 10. Conduct a strategic review of options to improve water sustainability and set water consumption targets Rachel Mills (Provost) August 2024
- Biodiverse Campus
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 11. Publish our draft biodiversity policy Rachel Mills (Provost)
August 2021
12. Hold a Big Biodiversity Conversation from January 2022 to agree our target for setting aside either 30%, 40% or 50% of the land on campus for nature January 2022 - Behaviour changers
Action Co-owner Target delivery date 13. Engage every member of staff, students – and where appropriate community members – in bringing our sustainability vision and strategy to life James Hakner (Senior Communications Manager)
August 2021
Download as a PDF
Dowload our Sustainability Strategy Action Plan as a full PDF document using the link below.