Waste and recycling
Our aim at the 91Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ is to promote a culture of ‘rethink, reduce, reuse and recycle’, in order to significantly reduce waste and increase recycling across all areas of the university estate.
This means reducing packaging; cutting down paper use; reducing and recycling food waste; facilitating staff to share surplus resources internally and with local organisations; running the annual reuse project in our halls of residence, and investing heavily in recycling facilities across our campuses.
Environmental Management System
Estates and Facilities Management hold EcoCampus Gold accreditation in recognition of work done to embed environmental sustainability, compliance and processes across the department through an Environmental Management System (EMS).
The EcoCampus scheme helps universities and colleges to improve sustainability performance by offering a flexible, phased approach to implementing an EMS. An EMS monitors an organisation’s environmental strengths and weaknesses, for example by ensuring compliance with relevant legislation. This allows institutions to manage these risks and reduce impact on the environment.
The Gold accreditation recognises that the university has implemented an operational EMS; that we are identifying and managing our significant environmental aspects, setting environmental objectives, managing environmental compliance, and that we have an up-to-date to which the EMS is aligned.
The Estates team are aiming for full ISO14001 accreditation - and EcoCampus Platinum status - by the end of 2023.
The EMS implementation team are also working on a road map to assist our schools and other departments in developing their own environmental management systems.
Sustainable travel
The university aims to facilitate staff, students and visitors to travel as sustainably as possible to and from campus, to help cut carbon emissions and pollution, and improve health and wellbeing. We particularly encourage to use of active travel such as walking and cycling, as well as public transport, car-sharing, e-vehicles, and avoiding the need to travel by using online meetings or conference calls, supported by the university's Agile Working Framework.
Our initiatives include:
- staff and student sustainable travel discounts
- access to a wealth of travel information for students and staff
- on-campus facilities including cycle parking, showers and lockers
- , providing tax-free salary-sacrifice bike purchases for staff
- salary sacrifice travel season ticket loans for staff
- staff access to travel discounts through the
- free 1 month bus pass from 91Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ and Hove Buses for eligible new staff
- competitions and challenges run as part of our award winning sustainability engagement campaign ‘c-change’.
The university is also a member of the Southeast Communities Rail Partnership’s, Steering Group. The groups connects communities to their railways along the line between Seaford and 91Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ, encourage travel by train and engagement with the railway.
Further information on all student initiatives and travel information can be found on the .
Biodiversity
We strive to preserve and protect natural habitats and biodiversity on our campuses, creating new opportunities for wildlife on campus wherever possible.
In addition to nurturing local habitats, our biodiversity work helps create a better environment for the university community, promoting staff and student wellbeing and increasing enjoyment of our campuses.
91Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ students and staff have collaborated to attain Bronze Hedgehog Friendly Campus certification, to further promote biodiversity and help protect a vulnerable species. More information is available on the .
The University is developing a People and Nature Strategy with the School of Applied Sciences, due for completion July 2022 to replaces the previous (pdf) and a (pdf).
These plans includes biodiversity initiatives such as:
- improved management of biodiversity at Moulsecoomb and Falmer
- better management of habitat corridors
- a reduction in the amount of chemicals used on our campuses
- the installation of green roofs.
Sustainable food
The university is committed to ensuring the sustainability of our campus food and drink outlets. We use locally grown fruit and vegetables, use sustainable fish and high welfare meat, offer a range of vegetarian and vegan options, and actively encourage healthy eating.
Our sustainable food commitments are outlined in full within our (pdf), which covers all food outlets and food served by the university, referred to as Food on Campus, and the university’s ethics webpages.
The university also provides spaces for staff and students to grow their own local sustainable produce in campus allotments at our Falmer, City and Eastbourne sites.
In recognition of our efforts in this area, the university was the winner of the 2016 Cateys Sustainable Business Award. In 2014, we also won a 'Highly Commended' Green Gown award for our work to embed our Sustainable Food Policy into fruit and vegetable supplier contracts. Watch our to find out more.