UCL paves the way in higher education sustainability
University College London announces its goal to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Source: UCL Imagestore
It seems that the UCL campus will be turning greener and greener in the coming years. On November 9, Sustainable UCL announced that, as a result of their #PositiveClimate campaign, UCL has pledged to become a net zero carbon institution by 2030. UCL’s new commitments to sustainability have earned UCL the highest score in the University Carbon League Table out of 519 other institutions.
The creators of the league table, Students Organising for Sustainability United Kingdom (SOS-UK), are “an educational charity created by students and staff at the NUS (National Union of Students) in response to the climate emergency and ecological crisis.” Along with the National Union of Students (NUS), the University and College Union (UCU) and People & Planet (P&P), SOS-UK “are calling for ambitious reduction targets to take action on the climate emergency and ecological crisis.” Their scoring methodology consists of targets based on ambition, which aims to compare the carbon reduction goals of UK universities and colleges.
In answer to the question “How ambitious is your institution?”, UCL scored 95/100. This is the highest score awarded to any institution. In the score breakdown, it is explained that UCL, in its target to become a net zero carbon institution, will address and reduce emissions from direct activity by the institution, indirect emissions from energy generation, and all other indirect emissions. UCL has gained points for both having a “science-based approach” to its new goals, which “will mean the target and accompanying action plan are achievable and effective.” UCL also scored highly as a result of its comprehensive “Action Plan” accompanying the carbon target, which “helps ensure that this target is met.”
Other institutions are congratulated for their carbon targets. The University of Cambridge amassed a score of 77/100. The university lost points as it aims to be carbon neutral by 2048, which according to the scoring system is not ambitious enough. Similarly, King’s College London, despite achieving a score of 90/100, fails to have a science-based approach to their mission and therefore drops some marks.
Sustainable UCL, who strive to “bring together academics, staff and students to solve global sustainability challenges and make UCL more sustainable”, have made tangible headway in their aim to make the institution more eco-friendly. According to their website, Sustainable UCL has six “Headline Commitments for 2024”, including to be a single-use plastic-free campus and to create 10,000 metres squared of more biodiverse green space on campus.
Joanna Marshall-Cook, UCL’s Senior Sustainability Manager at Sustainable UCL, told Pi Media that they have “been working towards the net zero commitment for some time.” Marshall-Cook revealed that UCL exceeded its target to reduce carbon emissions by 15 per cent by 2020, but nonetheless recognised that “we need to go further than this to address the climate emergency issue.”
Across the university, UCL departments are also taking their own steps to be more sustainable. UCL Chemical Engineering announced in August 2020 their “Sustainability Travel Policy to be Carbon Neutral by July 21/22”. In their announcement, the department recognised that their “activity and operations can result in impacts on the environment.” Consequently, they are now working to reduce the harmful impacts of their work. UCL Chemical Engineering aims include “reducing the need to travel for work and study, where appropriate, through its use of information and technology” and “offsetting the remaining carbon emissions for travel where a less efficient method is unavoidable.”
On November 12, UCL announced that it is “playing a leading role in three out of five new circular economy research centres funded by the UK government to help reduce waste, energy and pollution in UK industries.” The Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre for Mineral-based Construction Materials is led by Professor Julia Stegemann, from the Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering Faculty. Professor Stegemann explained that “The UK extracts more than half a million tonnes of construction materials each day, and generates 154 million tonnes of mineral wastes annually … we need to find a way to be more efficient.”
UCL has made it clear that sustainability is being taken seriously, and that they will endeavour to make our campus and learning experience increasingly eco-friendly as a result of the new measures and targets.