Sustainability Services Update, February 2021

The Sustainability Service has been very busy over the January period and there are lots of exciting things coming up.

The Service has just launched their Sustainability Report which celebrates the huge number of achievements in sustainability at the University over the past two years. Some of the biggest accomplishments have been the recognition the University has received globally for its holistic approach to Sustainability. These include achieving joint third in the UK and joint 11^th globally in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for its contribution towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. As well as being awarded the globally recognised International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) Award for its collaborative approach to embedding sustainability across all aspects of the University curriculum.

These are just a couple of the fantastic things that have been achieved, you can read the full sustainability report and watch the video on the Sustainability website.

The Sustainability team are busy finalising the University Climate Plan this month, which will articulate how the Seven Principles for tackling the climate crisis are being implemented. This has been in development, in collaboration with colleagues from across the institution, over the last year and the team are excited to soon share this with colleagues across the University. To find out about this first sign up to the Sustainability newsletter.

The team are also busy redeveloping the Management Essentials sustainability course. This is aimed at managers who want to find out more about sustainability at Leeds and how to apply this to their role. The next course will be running on the 25^th of March and can be booked through the ODPL website here.

If you are commuting by bike to campus or would like to try it, the Bike Hub is still open for all staff and students. You can hire a bike or get help with any bike maintenance needs on a Tuesday or Wednesday from 10am-3pm. Simply book an appointment on the Bike Hub webpage.

This year’s audit of the University Environmental Management System (EMS) took place on 8th-10th February. The EMS is a set of standards and procedures which enable us to understand our environmental impacts, control and improve our performance and ensure we comply with legislation. The audit is to check that our EMS still meets the requirements of the ISO 14001:2015 standard. This year the audit was a little different as it had to take place virtually, a big thank you to colleagues in Residential Services who made a video tour to use. The provisional result is that we have retained our ISO 14001 certification.