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Environmental sustainability engagement strategy (2023-24)

Policy information

  • Responsibility of: University Secretary
  • Initial approval date: June 2023
  • Review date: June 2024
  • Approved by: Vice Chancellor's Executive

Contents

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1. Introduction

1.1 Environmental sustainability should be an integral part of every individual's role and actions. The University of West London (UWL) encourages its staff and students to take action for sustainable development on campus as well as support the local community.

1.2 UWL’s environmental sustainability engagement strategy aims to encourage positive behaviour change by cultivating a culture of conscious environmental responsibility amongst staff, students and the local community. 

1.3 The University’s EcoCampus Platinum Award Environmental Management System (EMS) is used as a tool for implementing a positive behavioural change programme and continuously improving environmental sustainability performance.

2. Engagement objectives

2.1 Objective 1 – Inform:

2.1.1 UWL will inform staff and students about the University's sustainability goals, challenges, and successes. We will provide clear and regular updates on the full range of sustainability actions and opportunities available at the University.

2.2 Objective 2 – Increase engagement:

2.2.1 UWL will increase engagement by staff and students in on-campus environmental sustainability initiatives by encouraging involvement.

2.3 Objective 3 – Empower:

2.3.1 UWL will inspire and empower staff, students, and the local community to take action on environmental sustainability inside and outside of campus, in order to adopt a sustainable lifestyle at home and in their future careers.

3. Engagement baseline (2018/19)

3.1 Baseline 1 – Green campaigns:

3.1.1 In 2018/19, there was one staff and student green campaign.

3.2 Baseline 2 – Environmental Review Board (ERB) attendance:

3.2.1 In 2018/19, the average number of staff, students, and contractors engaged in monitoring environmental issues through the ERB was 18.

3.3 Baseline 3 – Local community engagement:

3.3.1 In 2018/19, the total number of activities and campaigns in the local community was one.                                                                                                  

4. Status on the 2022/23 engagement objectives

4.1 The University has delivered on all its engagement objectives and targets set out for the academic year 2022/23.

4.2 Below shows the status of the 2022/23 engagement objectives as of 30 June 2023:

  • Objective: Increase "Go Green" campaigns

    Target: 

    For 2022/23, increase the number of student green campaigns to six and staff green campaigns to four.

    Status: 

    The University delivered campaigns on the following themes to both staff and students:

    1. Global Recycling Day
    2. Veganuary
    3. World Vegan Day
    4. Food Waste Action Week
    5. Earth Day
    6. Earth Hour
    7. Climate Fresk workshops
    8. Sustainability Tip of the Week features in the internal Insider Magazine which covered a range of topics including energy, waste, water and travel.

  • Objective: Increase formal engagement in the monitoring of the strategy

    Target: 

    For 2022/23, change the monitoring of environmental sustainability as outlined in Appendix 2 to ensure that there is engagement of senior staff with sustainability through a Sustainability Management Board and also increase the number of staff who can be involved through environmental networks. We aim to establish at least one environmental network and increase the numbers engaged in the networks and governance to 30.

    Status: 

    The University created three new sustainability groups: the Sustainability Management Board (SMB), Environmental Operations Group (EOG) and the Staff Sustainability Network (SSN).

    SMB – the SMB is responsible for delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Membership comprises academic and professional services department leads. Total number of members is 27.

    EOG – the EOG is responsible for delivering the net zero carbon target. Membership comprises academic and professional services departments that have a direct involvement in management of carbon producing activities. Total number of members is fourteen.

    SSN – the SSN is an informal network for staff to collaborate on accelerating sustainability on campus and through teaching and research. Total number of members is eight.

  • Objective: Increase local community engagement

    Target: 

    For 2022/23, increase the total number of local community engagement activities and campaigns to four.

    Status: 

    The University delivered the below community engagement activities:

    Volunteering – staff and students volunteered with local charities specialising in environmental sustainability. Between June 2022 and May 2023, staff and students logged a total of 1,550 hours volunteering to support charities such as the Felix Project, City Harvest and Hanwell Hootie.

    Next Stop for Fashion – students from the London School of Film, Media and Design delivered an event on sustainable fashion to the local community in the London Borough of Ealing. The "Next Stop for Fashion" event was held at the Ealing Project and offered attendees the chance to learn about repairing and upcycling their clothes, or even give them a second life as part of a clothes swap.

    London Climate Action Week (LCAW) – during LCAW, the University collaborated with Ealing Council in a panel discussion to raise awareness about energy management and sustainable transport to the local community. The event was held at the Southall Library.

    Climate Fresk – the University partnered with Bouygues E&S to deliver a Climate Fresk workshop to a local community group, the University of 3rd Age.

4.3 A list of historical environmental sustainability engagement activities can be found in Appendix 2.

5. Engagement targets for academic year 2023/24

5.1 Target 1 – Increase green campaigns:

5.1.1 Increase the number of staff and student green campaigns to seven.

5.2 Target 2 – Increase staff engagement in environmental sustainability:

5.2.1 Increase the Staff Sustainability Network membership to twelve.

5.3 Target 3 - Increase local community engagement:

5.3.1 Increase the total number of local community engagement activities and campaigns to five.

6. Environmental sustainability engagement action plan (2023/24)

6.1 The Environmental Sustainability Engagement Action Plan sets out the campaigns the University intends deliver for the academic year 2023/24. This can be found in Appendix 1.

6.2 UWL has a £1,000 budget for sustainability engagement activities this year.

7. Monitoring and reporting

7.1 Engagement reporting:

7.1.1 All staff members are encouraged to report their sustainability engagement activities via these channels:

  • Environmental Operations Group (EOG)
  • Sustainability Management Board (SMB)
  • UWL Sustainability Hub

7.1.2 Reporting can include but is not limited to participation in sustainability events, initiatives, projects or any sustainable practices implemented.

7.2 Progress tracking:

7.2.1 The University will track and monitor progress of the engagement activities at the EOG and SMB meetings.

7.2.2 It is the joint role of the Environmental Operations Group (EOG) and the Sustainability Management Board (SMB) to devise and deliver the environmental sustainability engagement strategy and report to the Vice Chancellor’s Executive on progress.

7.3 Communication:

7.3.1 Progress towards achieving identified objectives will be communicated to all staff and students through the EOG, SMB and UWL Sustainability Hub.

7.3.2  Updates on the engagement objectives and targets will be included in the annual sustainability report.

7.3.3 This strategy is reviewed on an annual basis.

Appendix 1: Environmental Sustainability Engagement Action Plan (2023/24)

Appendix 2: List of historical environmental sustainability engagement activities

  • Diabetes health and wellness coaching

    • Date: August 2022
    • Description: UWL in partnership with the West London NHS delivers cooking classes on healthy diets to communities from BAME backgrounds.

  • Eco-friendly cleaning

    • Date: August 2022
    • Description: UWL switched to eco-friendly cleaning products, in partnership with Bouygues E&S.

  • Plant-based training

    • Date: September 2022
    • Description: Colleagues from LGCHT delivered a plant-based training workshops to 6 UK universities, in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

  • Guardian of Grub's Cost-saving Skills course

    • Date: October 2022
    • Description: 50 students from the LGCHT took part in WRAP’s Guardian of Grub Cost Saving Skills to gain more knowledge on food waste reduction. 

  • New ‘Clean Air’ signage in external areas

    • Date: October 2022
    • Description: New sign installation to reduce car idling and promote clean air around the St. Mary’s Rd estate SMR estate.

  • Re-introducing reusable cutlery

    • Date: October 2022
    • Description: UWL and Elior have re-introduced reusable cutlery in the refectories.

  • Sustainability Tip of the Week

    • Date: October-November 2022
    • Description: Comms published a series of ‘Sustainability Tip of the Week’ in the Insider magazine to engage staff and students in climate action. Topics included sustainable food, water, travel and energy.

  • A panel discussion on career opportunities in sustainability

    • Date: November 2022
    • Description: Students had the opportunity to network with several sustainability professionals and learn about their career paths and the positive impact they are making at their organisations as well as society at large.

  • WinterFest campaign

    • Date: December 2022
    • Description: Eco-friendly festive season tips were included as part of the wider WinterFest campaign.

  • Perlego

    • Date: December 2022
    • Description: Perlego app for staff and students to gain access to free ebooks was launched.

  • UWL Ranked 1st Class for sustainability

    • Date: December 2022
    • Description: UWL announced as scoring 1st class in the People & Planet’s Sustainability League.

  • Byte News' cost-of-living crisis campaign

    • Date: January 2023
    • Description: Journalism students created TikTok style short videos on tips to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and energy crisis.

  • Veganuary 2023

    • Date: January 2023
    • Description: Throughout January 2023, UWL participated in the national Veganuary campaign in partnership with Elior.

  • UWL Business students discuss sustainability with a panel from Barclays Bank

    • Date: January 2023
    • Description: More than 60 students attended an interactive session with Barclays staff, delving into sustainability through the lens of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting the importance of embedding ESG into investment strategies.

  • Biodegradable cleaning products

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: The Property Services Department has changed cleaning products to plant-based 100% biodegradable cleaning products this year. The products are used for all routine and daily cleaning requirements in kitchens, washrooms and personal care and comply with national ecocertification criteria and EU Ecolabel. The ingredients are typically derived from by-products of the agro-food industry, originating from sugar beet, maize, straw bran, wheat bran and coconut. The products contain no artificial dyes, perfumes, quats, chlorine, phosphates or oxide compound and has been formulated to achieve the lowest hazard classification.

  • Zest Quest Asia Awards 2023

    • Date: February 2023
    • Description: Colleagues from LGCHT supported culinary students to win the ‘Minimum Wastage’ and ‘Electric Cooking’ category awards for the Zest Quest Asia Awards 2023.

  • Climate Fresk workshop

    • Date: February 2023
    • Description: Colleagues, students and local communities participated in a Climate Fresk workshops to get deeper understanding of the causes and effects of climate change.

  • World Book Day swap

    • Date: February 2023
    • Description: V Team organised a World Book Day swap initiative, which is line with circular economy principles.

  • Octopus EV salary sacrifice

    • Date: February 2023
    • Description: VCE approved introduction of an electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme.

  • EV charging points

    • Date: February 2023
    • Description: At its main campus on St. Mary's Road, the University added  additional electric vehicle charging points. Each charging station unit has a 7kW power rating, allowing two cars to charge at the same time, for a total additional charging capacity of ten vehicles simultaneously.

  • Energy monitoring and metering

    • Date: March 2023
    • Description: New energy meters have been installed at Cavendish House and Century House to support with ongoing monitoring of carbon emissions.

  • Food Waste Action Week (FWAW)

    • Date: March 2023
    • Description: LGCHT hosted a Chef’s Manifesto event on 6th March to mark FWAW. Communication published to staff and students to get their engagement in tackling food waste.

  • UWL contributes to a working paper on equipping universities for the impact of climate change

    • Date: March 2023
    • Description: A UWL aviation expert has contributed to a working paper recently published by the UK Universities Climate Network (UUCN) entitled ‘Assessing Climate Risk and Strengthening resilience for UK Higher Education Institutions’.

  • New healthy and sustainable food policy

    • Date: April 2023
    • Description: As part of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) Food Made Good scheme report submission, the London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism (LGCHT) introduced a new Healthy and Sustainable Food Policy.

  • SRA Food Made Good scheme submission

    • Date: April 2023
    • Description: UWL awarded 3-star rating at the 2022/23 SRA Food Made Good for the Pillars.

  • Ealing Food Partnership website

    • Date: April 2023
    • Description: LGCHT and Property Services are collaborating with Ealing Council to develop a website for the Ealing Food Partnership in a drive to create a sustainable food system in the local area. Target date for launch is February 2024.

  • Guardians of Grub

    • Date: April 2023
    • Description: Senior Lecturer in Food Business and Nutritional Sciences, LGCHT, attended the Guardians of Grub Ambassador meeting to gain further insights on food waste reduction. 50 students completed the Cost Saving Skills course which explores sustainable cooking.

  • Carbon baseline workshop

    • Date: April 2023
    • Description: Bouygues E&S delivered a carbon baseline workshop to UWL representatives from IT, Procurement and Property Services. Following on from the workshop, a comprehensive carbon baseline for the academic year 2021/22 was completed in August 2023.

  • Herbicide removal

    • Date: April 2023
    • Description: Property Services and Bouygues E&S partnered to create a new grounds maintenance schedule for UWL sites, which includes removal of pesticides and herbicides other than in exceptional circumstances. Weeds will be treated with a combination of mechanical and hand weeding techniques.

  • UWL Sustainability Hub

    • Date: April 2023
    • Description: Property Services and IT have created a new UWL Sustainability Hub. The purpose of the Hub is to enable colleagues to share data on environmental sustainability. Contents will be added to the Hub by November 2023.

  • Food charity ‘City Harvest’ launches advertising campaign designed by UWL students

    • Date: April 2023
    • Description: West London-based food charity ‘City Harvest’ recently launched an ad campaign designed by third year BA (Hons) Advertising & Public Relations students from UWL’s school of Film, Media and Design (LSFMD).

  • Business students invest in local community sustainability project through consultancy skills – Earth Day

    • Date: April 2023
    • Description: Postgraduate students from the Claude Littner Business School have invested their time and skills in a sustainability consultancy project for Chiswick Park, home to leading companies including QVC, Discovery, Starbucks and Danone. The students delivered practical recommendations on how Chiswick Park can align their current environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, identifying good practices and delivering a clear set of recommendations.

  • NHS diabetes health and wellness

    • Date: May 2023
    • Description: LGCHT partnered with the West London NHS to deliver cooking classes on healthy diets to communities with BAME background. Additional coaching sessions were delivered in April and May.

  • Chef's Adopt a School Dinner

    • Date: May 2023
    • Description: Students and lecturers from LGCHT participated in the Chef’s Adopt a School Dinner at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.

  • Electric cargo bike

    • Date: May 2023
    • Description: Bouygues E&S introduced an electric cargo bike at the St. Mary’s Road. The e-bike will be used to transport light goods between the UWL campuses in west London.

  • No Mow May

    • Date: May 2023
    • Description: Property Services and Bouygues E&S collaborated during No Mow May to refrain from mowing the lawns at UWL sites. This initiative enables biodiversity to thrive in local areas.

  • Removal of large diesel van

    • Date: May 2023
    • Description: Bouygues E&S replaced a large diesel van with an electric cargo bike.

  • ENDS Power List 2023

    • Date: May 2023
    • Description: Head of Environmental Sustainability was featured in the ENDS Power List 2023 of the top 100 UK environmental professionals who have made the greatest impact in the past two years.

  • The Next Stop for Fashion encourages sustainable approach

    • Date: May 2023
    • Description: The Next Stop for Fashion, which aimed to inform and inspire local people in Ealing to change the way they engage with fashion, is the brainchild of Fashion Business students from the London School of Film, Media & Design at the University of West London. Held at the Ealing Project on Wednesday 10 May, the Next Stop offered attendees the chance to learn about repairing and upcycling their clothes, or even give them a second life as part of a clothes swap.

  • Adaptogenic coffee developed with help of UWL now being sold in Harrods and Selfridges

    • Date: May 2023
    • Description: London Nootropics is an adaptogenic wellness company which produces the highest-quality mushroom coffee, a blend of coffee, medicinal mushrooms and other adaptogen extracts. These extracts help your body and mind adapt to physical, mental and emotional stressors. Co-founders Zain and Shez developed their coffee blends for over two years with support from the West London Food Innovation Centre (WLFIC) in their early-stage product development, reformulation and in developing various prototypes.

  • ENDS Power List 2023

    • Date: May 2023
    • Description: UWL’s Head of Environmental Sustainability, was featured in the ENDS Power List 2023 of the top 100 UK environmental professionals who have made the greatest impact in the past two years. This was in recognition of her role in promoting the sustainability agenda and making positive impact on the University’s net zero carbon target.

  • UWL awarded the top rating on the Food Made Good sustainability standard

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: UWL has achieved an outstanding standard of sustainability and been awarded the maximum of three stars by the Sustainable Restaurant Association for their Food Made Good standard, the world’s largest and most comprehensive measure of sustainability in food service.

  • SDG2 Advocacy Hub’s Chef Manifesto event

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: LGCHT partnered with the SDG2 Advocacy Group to deliver an event on the Chef’s Manifesto. UWL students, academic staff and partners attended.

  • Beans is How

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: Senior Lecturer in Food Business and Nutritional Sciences, LGCHT, attended the Beans is How event. Beans is How is a campaign focused on doubling global bean consumption by 2028.

  • Reviewed existing policies

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: Property Services reviewed and updated the existing Environmental Policy and Sustainable Food Policy.

  • Created new policies

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: Property Services created three new policies: Energy Policy, Biodiversity Policy and Sustainable Travel Policy.

  • Green Gown Awards UK & Ireland

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: Property Services submitted applications for the 2023 Green Gown Awards and nominated Peter Cross, Senior Lecturer, LGCHT, for the Sustainability Champion of the Year. Sustainability Champion of the Year application has gone through to second round with results to be announced on 30th  November.

  • Annual sustainability report

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: Colleagues across the University worked together to contribute to the 2022/23 Sustainability Report.

  • ACI assessment

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: Property Services organised Air Conditioning Inspection (ACI) assessments for all the air conditioning and chiller systems at St. Mary’s Road, Paragon House, Cavendish House and Century House and Ruskin College. The assessment checks the energy efficiency of the systems and the assessor makes recommendations on saving energy.

  • Computer switch-off

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: IT have implemented software that enables student PCs to be switched off automatically without manual intervention. The software is programmed to switch-off computers at 10pm daily.

  • PIR sensors at Paul Hamlyn Library

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: Property Services approved works to install PIR lighting sensors in the stairwells at the Paul Hamlyn Library. The sensors will be installed during the summer works.

  • Staff Sustainability Network event

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: Head of Environmental Sustainability delivered a presentation on UWL’s net zero carbon journey at the inaugural Staff Sustainability Network event.

  • Building Design & Construction Magazine

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: UWL featured in the July 2023 edition on the Building Design & Construction Magazine. The case study focused on ‘Going Green’ and Property Services’ journey to making the estate more sustainable.

  • UKGBC membership

    • Date: June 2023
    • Description: UWL is now officially a member of the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC). UKGBC is the membership-led industry network radically transforming the sustainability of the built environment. The membership enables UWL to exchange knowledge on the built environment with over 700 organisations.

  • Too Good To Go

    • Date: August 2023
    • Description: 55kgCO2e avoided by sharing surplus food from the St. Mary’s Rd refectory during AY2022-23. This is an initiative led by Elior and Property Services.

  • Reusable cup sales

    • Date: August 2023
    • Description: Elior sold 377 drinks in reusable cups through the 5p discount scheme during AY2022-23.

  • Cooking oil recycling

    • Date: August 2023
    • Description: 720 litres of cooking oil from UWL sites has been turned into biodiesel by the oil waste contractor, Olleco, during AY2022-23. This is an initiative led by Elior and Property Services.

  • Water Unite

    • Date: August 2023
    • Description: 15,486 bottles of Water Unite bottles sold during AY2022-23, which raises funds to support plastic pollution reduction projects in low economically developed countries. This is an initiative led by Elior and Property Services.

  • Coffee grounds recycling

    • Date: August 2023
    • Description: Elior, Bouygues E&S and Property Services have partnered with a local allotment organisation, the Friends of Ascott Allotments to support distribution of coffee grounds to local allotment holders. 280kg of coffee grounds has been given away for free to local allotment holders during AY2022-23. This is an initiative led by Elior and Property Services.

  • Free meals

    • Date: August 2023
    • Description: 86 free meals have been provided to students on-site during AY2022-23, as a measure to reduce food waste and supporting students during cost-of-living crisis. This is an initiative led by Elior and Property Services.

  • PSDS Phase 1 savings

    • Date: August 2023
    • Description: 560tCO2e of carbon saved in the first year following post-completion of the PSDS Phase 1 decarbonisation project, which is 6% higher than estimated. 87% of the commercial total estate floor area is heated by renewable technologies.