Our latest Annual Sustainability Report for 2022-23 is a true celebration of our positive impact. The report showcases the progress we have made, including achieving the 8th position in the People and Planet University League table.
The report highlights that we ranked 86th in the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking out of 1,700 universities globally, and joint 14th in the world for delivering outcomes against the Sustainable Development Goal 17 focussed on partnerships.
These achievements are only made possible by all of our staff and students that contribute to our sustainability goals each day through their positive behaviours and actions.
Professor Jane Harrington, Vice-Chancellor and CEO, said:
This is a fantastic achievement for the university. To continue to rank so high on the list requires everyone in our community to do their bit and shows the entire university is committed to tackling the most pressing sustainability related issues.
Our Annual Sustainability Report is now in its eighth year. The report is published to ensure we measure and maintain our progress and commitments to functioning as a socially responsible and sustainable institution and therefore supports our corporate strategy.
Sustainability provides a perfect tool to support the principles of delivering value by considering a holistic approach that reduces impacts and creates opportunities throughout the university. As a university, we have a significant role to improve the needs of society and protect natural systems. At Greenwich we want to excel at this.
The report analyses our performance in key areas and against our set targets covering:
- Energy
- Carbon
- Transport and Travel
- Water
- Waste and Recycling
- Sustainable Food
- Ecosystem Services
- Construction and Refurbishment
- Environmental Management System
- Education and Research
Highlights for 2022-23 include:
- the launch of our Green Champions Network that had 65 staff in the weeks following its launch
- winning the Silver Award for the Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative
- recognition for our work delivering fairtrade by the achieving level 1 in the Fairtrade University accreditation
- launch of GREen Rewards, our online platform, which rewards staff for the sustainable behaviours they take.
There is a lot of work being done locally across the university, by individuals in our academic and professional services teams. Our teaching staff have been helping ensure sustainability is integrated within their subject areas, and staff have been actively tackling our environmental footprint through energy saving and resource reuse action.
Our students also continue to have a significant impact, with over 13,000 items donated to the British Heart Foundation through the end of term reuse scheme.
We recognise too that there is still more we need to do to improve , such as tackling our recycling rate through better waste segregation and reusing hot drinks containers, and also encouraging staff and students into our green spaces to improve their wellbeing and awareness of nature.
Read more about sustainability at Greenwich in our .
Want your work included in our next report?
We hope that you take time to explore the report and get inspired to take even more action. If you want us to include your work in the 2023/24 Annual Sustainability Report or the 2022-24 bi-annual Sustainable Development Goals Report please complete or email sustainability@gre.ac.uk
