University launches new Sustainability Strategy

The University’s new Sustainability Strategy, which builds upon the commitments set out under the cross-cutting sustainability theme in Liverpool 2031, has been published today.

Developed in consultation with key stakeholders across the University, the strategy provides an overview of institutional sustainability plans under three pillars: research, education and student experience, and sustainable campus and operations.

It aims to build upon significant progress to date, including the launch of a Climate Plan, a 43% reduction in general waste, launch of the Sustainability in Action module, and notable improvements across several sustainability league tables including the QS Sustainability Rankings which account for 5% of the University’s overall score in the QS World Rankings.

Nicola Davies, Chief Financial Officer and Chair of the University’s Sustainability Committee said, “I am delighted to introduce our new Sustainability Strategy, which marks an important step toward achieving our goals and sets out how our whole university community can play their part in tackling the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss”. You can read more from Nicola in her recent blog post.

The strategy will be underpinned by a comprehensive action plan to help us achieve our goals. Associate Director of Sustainability, Sally Shaw, explained “this is a long-term commitment and there is still much to do, as is clear from the scale and complexity of our commitments in the new strategy”. She continued “the Sustainability Committee will play a key role in driving forward the action plan, ensuring that resources are targeted towards projects and activities that will have the most impact”.

There are plenty of ways in which students can get involved and make a difference such as visiting the Student Sustainability Hub and completing the award-winning Sustainability in Action module. Becoming a Curriculum Mapping Volunteer to align your education with the UN Sustainable Development Goals or exploring green jobs via Handshake. You can also get gardening with the Guild, join the Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme and Leave Liverpool Tidy. Or why not enhance your knowledge with our Sustainability Toolkit and contribute to our blog to inspire action across the community. Please see our webpages for more information.

Formal launch

A formal launch of the new strategy will take place during our annual Sustainability Week, which is scheduled to run from Mon 24th to Fri 28th February 2025. This will coincide with the launch of the new Interdisciplinary Centre for Sustainability Research (ICSR), led by APVC and Centre Director, Professor Katie Atkinson. The ICSR is central to our plans for sustainability research.

As part of Sustainability Week, we will be holding drop-in sessions for students, where you can find out more about the strategy and associated plans. Details of these sessions will be shared nearer to the time.

Find out more

The commitments set out in the Sustainability Strategy are explained in more detail on our webpages, and additional information can be found in the underpinning Climate Plan and Biodiversity Plan.

Download the Sustainability Strategy

If you have any queries or would like to discuss the new Sustainability Strategy, please email sustainability@liverpool.ac.uk.

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