Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is one of the most important and urgent issues facing society. Large organisations like ours, with hundreds of buildings and thousands of staff and students, have a significant part to play in facing the global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Oxford takes this duty seriously and is committed to reaching net zero carbon and biodiversity net gain by 2035.
Our Environmental Sustainability Strategy identifies ten priority areas in which we will take action through a range of programmes and services. The Environmental Sustainability team is helping the University reach these goals and increase its positive impact on the world around us.
We help departments to reduce their environmental impact through sustainable procurement, waste management schemes, and the efficient use of energy, water, and waste:
- We have moved towards designing buildings using the ambitious Passivhaus approach.
- We provide support and services for bicycle users and introduced a shuttle bus linking our scientific sites to reduce car use.
- We continue to invest in energy efficiency technologies and install solar photovoltaic panels around the University.
- All of our non-hazardous waste is either recycled or used to generate energy.
- We achieve biodiversity net gain on our development sites and have projects to enhance biodiversity across our estate.
The University of Oxford acknowledges the three pillars of sustainability: social, economic and environmental. The University takes on economic and social sustainability in areas such as access and participation, race equality and closing the gender pay gap. Our Strategy is focused on environmental sustainability, but the social and economic impacts of implementing it will also be taken into consideration.
Visit the Sustainability website to find out more.