Sustainable Strategy
As a civic institution, our mission is to:
- Educate the next generation of modern industrialists, innovators, creators, entrepreneurs and leaders
- Develop the skills and knowledge needed to capitalise on the next industrial revolution
- Work in collaboration with public and private sector partners to address local and global economic and societal challenges
We recognise the global climate crisis and that climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing our society across the globe. As a higher education provider we have a major role to play in enabling our students and staff to respond positively to global challenges through their study, work and life.
Striving for a Sustainable Salford
Our vision:
By embedding sustainability in all aspects of University life, we will enable our University community to have maximum beneficial impacts for society and environment.
We also recognise our responsibilities for the direct impact on the environment; as one of the largest organisations in the Greater Manchester region offering a place of study and work to over 18,500 students and 2,200 staff across 27 buildings and around 70 hectares. We have an obligation to reduce our negative impact on our environment but also an opportunity to demonstrate environmental sustainability through our operations and using our campus as a living laboratory.
The University Estates and Facilities Division leads on the Environmental and Energy Management System (EEMS) which is certified to both BS EN ISO 14001: 2015 and BS EN ISO 50001:2018 standards covering all of our physical estates and operations. The EEMS was developed over a number of years using the EcoCampus approach with awards from bronze to platinum. Our certificates are available here: EcoCampus Platinum, ISO 14001, ISO 50001.
Our Environmental Sustainability Policy sets out the framework for our environmental objectives.
On the Environmental Sustainability homepage, you can find more information on:
- our actions to mitigate climate change,
- resource efficiency,
- sustainable campus operations,
- and education and research for sustainability.
The Environmental Sustainability Plan, and the University's Sustainability Strategy are under review following the Sustainability Team restructure. Our current thinking is outlined in the Sustainability Position Paper (please note this is an internal link).
Details on the governance of our Environmental Sustainability Plan are available on our governance page.
You can see our progress here: Annual Report 2020-2021, Annual Report 2021-2022, Annual Report 2022-23.
Sustainability is also included in the University of Salford Integrated Report 2023.
Working together for a Sustainable Salford
Inspired by Go Green Salford, in March 2021 colleagues came together for a 'Salford Conversations Go Green!' event to discuss climate change, becoming a low carbon institution and our individual roles in driving change to support and develop our Environmental Sustainability Plan.
There's been so many adjustments to how we work over the last year and many of these are positively impacting on our carbon emissions. We discussed:
- the behaviours and practices that we wish to keep;
- what more we can each do individually;
- and how we would like to influence and shape our university operations to achieve our low carbon aims.
Colleagues were keen to elevate this conversation across the university and further support our Environmental Sustainability Plan implementation. You can also check out a Reading List created by Library colleagues especially for the event theme.
Find out how you can support us be more sustainable in our Environmental Sustainability Communications and Engagement strategy.
University colleagues are also encouraged to complete the short Environmental Sustainability Induction e-learning module.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals, are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognise that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.
We are aligning our Environmental Sustainability Plan to the Global Goals by mapping each area to the relevant goals.