Section
Signpost
Policy
Durham University’s Policies and Procedures are available on our publicly-available Policies, Plans and Procedures page.
Our overarching Policy is the Environmental Sustainability Vision, Policy and Strategy and was signed by University Executive Committee . This was updated in 2023 and approved by University Executive Committee.
Our Sustainability Ambition Statement sets out our vision, aims, and key ambitions to ensure that Durham University delivers its mission of excellence in education, research and wider Student experience in the most sustainable way possible and was signed by University Council in 2023.
The University provides updates on the strategic sustainability aims annually as part of our Annual Report, alongside key achievements and progress against targets, including emissions data. It links to the relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) throughout, including its reviews of ‘Research and Engagement’ and of ‘Educational Excellence’ and ‘Wider Student Experience’. Last year’s annual report is available at Durham University Annual Report 2025
We have set specific, measurable targets for many of our sustainability policies and our ambitions include clear actions and timelines for a range of sustainability themes such as Biodiversity, Energy Management, Construction, Sustainable Procurement, Sustainability Engagement and Communications Travel, Waste, and Water.
Our Carbon Management Plan includes targets on energy, business travel, commuting, waste and water.
Our Sustainability Actions and Indicators dashboard includes targets and progress on policy areas including:
· Biodiversity
· Carbon Emissions
· Catering
· Community
· Energy
· Engagement
· Governance
· Leadership
· Procurement
· Research
· Sustainable Construction & Buildings
· Teaching
· Travel
· Waste
· Water
Staff & Operations
At Durham the role of Chief Operation Officer (COO) was created last year and Stewart Ross took up this role in August 2025. He plays “a critical role in making sure the physical and digital infrastructure is in place to support the delivery of the University Strategy, working collaboratively with colleagues across the University to ensure sustainability, continuous improvement and effectiveness within the professional services.” The COO sits on University Executive Committee and Senior Leadership team. He has also taken the Chair of the university-wide Environmental Sustainability strategic Planning Group (ESSPG) since March 2026, which brings together senior decision makers.
The Estates and Facilities Directorate, in which the Sustainability team sits, reports within the COO portfolio and is responsible for managing the University's campus infrastructure, buildings, utilities, biodiversity, waste management, and environmental sustainability programmes.
Other Executive Committee and Senior Leadership Team members include Professor Claire O’Malley who is responsible for the strategic leadership and implementation of the University’s international agenda, including chairing the Global Strategy Group. In 2026, a new role has been created at Durham University: Associate Pro Vice Chancellor (Sustainability) – this is held by Professor Petra Minnerop - Durham University, who reports directly to Professor O’Malley. Professor Minnerop is also the longstanding chair of Durham’s university-wide Sustainable Development Goals Group, which reports to the Global Strategy Group.
As well as our dedicated Sustainability Team responsible for leading on implementation of our strategies and work towards our institutional sustainability targets, many staff across the University are working in dedicated sustainability roles, including:
Details are available here: The Team - Durham University
To maximise our potential environmental performance, the University welcomes the engagement of any and all staff throughout the organisation. Staff from all departments, colleges, schools and service areas are included within our sustainability governance groups.
Our Environmental Sustainability Strategic Group (ESSPG) ;is Chaired by COO Stewart Ross and secretariat for the committee is provided by the Senior Sustainability Manager and wider team – membership can be seen at ESSPG Membership 25-26. The group meets at least termly and Terms of Reference can be seen at ESSPG ToR.
Other subgroups to ESSPG meet regularly and draw wide membership, including our Sustainable Procurement Working Group; Biodiversity Delivery Group and Biodiversity Sub Group, Integrated Sustainable Travel Plan Steering Group (ISTP SG); LEAF Task Group, and Waste Reduction Group; among others. Some of these have working parties which focus on specific topics, such as our and Durham Bicycle User Group (DBUG), our Greenspace Student Engagement Group and our Staff Environment Champions, which bring together over 100 members of staff from all service areas, departments and colleges across the university. The network meets at least termly and is enabled to share suggestions for new sustainability initiatives which the team can take forward as well as to consult on programmes of activity and to take information back to their service areas.
Other Sustainability Committees which focus on academic sustainability and research respectively include
our Working Group on Environmental Sustainability in Research (WGESR), which oversees Durham’s work to make research and innovation more environmentally sustainable and sites behind our implementation of the Concordat for Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice – see Environmental Sustainability in Research - Durham University. It brings together colleagues from Research and Innovation Services, Estates and Facilities, Procurement, Academic departments and faculties and other professional services teams to work on programmes from LEAF accreditation to training, research practices, waste minimisation, procurement and business travel.
At Durham University one of our six enabling strategies is Our Digital Strategy - Durham University. Within this we reference details of the specific measures taken to reduce the emissions of our digital infrastructure, including using “advanced air-cooling technologies within our datacentre facilities, to lower energy consumption and reduce electronic waste” and the fact that “we have used £1m of grant funding from UKRI to install Solar Photovoltaic systems on our estate, saving c.161 tonnes of CO2 per year.”
Durham University has announced an exciting partnership with Microsoft to help shape the future of AI skills, education, and opportunity – more information can be found at Durham and Microsoft partnership to support AI skills and future opportunities - Durham University. At the heart of this work are plans to establish an AI Skills Centre of Excellence at Durham - the first of its kind - creating new opportunities for staff, students, graduates, businesses, and the wider public sector. The Centre will bring together expertise, tools, and support to help people build confidence using AI in a way that is practical, responsible, sustainable, inclusive and relevant to real-world challenges, supporting broad access across our university community. The focus is not just on technology, but on people - supporting staff and students to develop skills and engage with AI in ways that are accessible, inclusive, and relevant to their work and studies. By working with Microsoft, Durham will also contribute to broader efforts to support AI capability and skills development across the UK, helping shape how AI is understood and applied in education, research, and beyond, while supporting inclusive access to these opportunities.
Earlier this academic year we hosted training on ‘Mindful Tech’ as part of the University’s Sustainability engagement programme - My Greenspace app Michaelmas competition - Autumn 2025. It started with the information that “From streaming the latest shows to backing up files and using AI tools like ChatGPT, our digital lives are bigger than ever. But behind every click is a hidden carbon cost. Global data centres now use more electricity each year than most countries (IEA, 2025)” and offered information and advice to any university member on how to reduce the impact of usage.
We host advice on our pages, including tips such as:
To support colleagues to use AI effectively and to minimise energy consumption, University members can access the training on using AI that CIS offer - this can be found at CIS CoPilot Training Webinars
Students can also access an online course - A student guide to generative AI - Overview - that discusses ethical, social and environmental dilemmas associated with the use of generative AI.
Staff and students at the University all receive guidance on printing in order to ‘reduce our environmental impact’ and how we work to make ‘real progress toward our gaol of net zero emissions by 2035’. This page, available to all University staff and students, notes that “Between October 2022 and January 2025, the University printed and copied over 8 million sheets of paper - that’s the equivalent of over 960 trees. Thanks to a collaborative effort led by CIS, we're now rewriting the story on unnecessary printing.”
“From April until June, CIS held 39 consultation meetings with departments across the University. These conversations led to the removal of 65 printing, copying and scanning devices. Some devices were relocated to more accessible locations, reducing duplication and improving convenience. The result? A £120,000 saving - a major success for both environment and the budget”. Recent changes include ensure all printers and copiers are certified with HP’s Carbon Neutral award, recognising our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint. We’re also reviewing how we purchase paper, exploring more cost-effective and sustainable options to reduce our footprint even further.
Tips provided to staff include:
Our Digital Champions programme includes 4 campaigns each year. This year 180 Digital Champions from over 60 departments represented, 96% satisfaction with the trainer and 92% satisfaction with the training content provided
As well as training, support for students is also available, for example guidance such as: Guidance on AI Usage:Generative AI in Learning, Teaching & Assessment at Durham University - DCAD: Educational Development Resources.
This is a growing area of priority for Durham and our CIS service has committed that:
“We will be engaging further with staff and students during academic year 2026/27 to further mature our approach to GenAI across teaching, marking, research and assessment.
We also work on ICT procurement, for example through inclusion of sustainability elements in tenders and agreements to ensure server providers are well aligned to our sustainability ambitions. Further details can be seen at Sustainable Procurement Policy - Durham University
The University is a member of the North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC). Sustainability expectations are embedded within the framework and included in tenders. Specific accreditations (e.g. ISO 14001, ISO 50001, EMAS) are assessed but not mandated as fixed requirements.
The Servers, Storage and Solutions Notional Agreement requires suppliers of Digital Infrastructure to:
As well as outlining how we procure items, this page summarises initiatives including our IT amnesty to ensure best use is made of existing equipment, including reuse and redeployment and extending the refresh period for our devices to follow Hardware Refresh Guidelines, including ensuring clear refresh eligibility criteria and our Hardware - Lifecycle Process provides further detail.
Hardware deliveries arrive only on 2 specific days of the week and to specified campus locations to minimise transport emissions. They are delivered to locations where CIS Field Teams are based, so usually then distributed on foot, or via electric vehicle for buildings out of walking range.
Reuse and Disposal of Equipment with Data Storage is detailed on our internal hub – summary details can be seen at Sustainable Procurement Policy - Durham University, as can information on our new data storage solutions which significantly reduce power consumption by replacing two full server racks per data centre with two small appliances running solid state drives without motors.
Academics are the University are also conducting research in this area, including Dr Karen Lai, who’s work on Reducing the impact of our data centres specifically addresses the sustainability of data centres and digital infrastructure and links this research to Durham University's sustainability strategy.
Jointly organised by The Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy at Durham University and the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore, a seminar is taking place in July 2026 to examine how international law and technology regulation can respond to the climate, environmental, institutional and social impacts of artificial intelligence. The online session is also connecting with the work of the UNESCO Chair on Artificial Intelligence Law and Sustainability, including its focus on responsible AI governance, sustainable development, international legal cooperation and capacity building.
Auditing and EMS
After achieving the EcoCampus Gold Award in June 2020, Durham University gained Platinum accreditation status in December 2020. This was renewed in December 2021, 2022, 2023 and, most recently, in May 2025, following comprehensive external audits.
To view our certificate and EcoCampus Procedures please visit our Environmental Credentials page.
Ethical Investment and Banking
Durham University has an up-to-date (re-approved 2023) Ethical Investment Policy which applies to all our investments. It is publicly available and has been signed off by the University Executive Committee. It is available at Ethical-Investment-Policy-July-2023.pdf
This policy seeks to support the University "to pursue an ethical approach" and to go beyond enabling investments "in any public company operating clearly within the law". It states that “the University has committed to sustainable investment by positively supporting investments in sustainable companies and through establishing restrictions on some types of investments. More specifically the University will not invest in companies that generate revenue from the manufacturing or production of tobacco, armaments or fossil fuel extractive companies". The University continues to work closely with its banking and investment partners to ensure that the University remains compliant with its Ethical Investment Policy at all times.”
The policy also states that: “In 2018, the University announced its divestment from all companies that are involved in the extraction of fossil fuels. These high-level principles will be reviewed annually and the University will consider representations from stakeholders in relation to amendments to the list.”
Durham University’s Annual Report includes a financial review as well as a report on the findings of the independent financial audit, which is conducted in accordance with the FRC’s Ethical Standard. It outlines the members of the Finance Committee, which includes student representation via the Student Union, as well as its work. Last year’s annual report is available at Durham University Annual Report 2025 and also summarises the University’s total investment income, categories of financial assets, treasury management information and accounting notes on endowments and reserves.
It notes:
“As a charity, we operate for the public benefit through providing education and enhancement through research for the wider community, in line with our purpose and values.
We are a public benefit entity, as described by the Charities Act 2011, our trustees review our aims, strategy and activities on an annual basis to ensure they remain focused on our charitable objectives. In this review, we have due regard to the Charity Commission’s published guidance on public benefit. We conduct our business in a fair, proper, transparent and ethical manner; in accordance with the seven principles identified by the Committee on Standards in Public Life. We have adopted the core values and six key elements in the Committee of University Chairs, Higher Education Code of Governance (2020).
In line with our responsibilities under section 13 of the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016, we make the following disclosures in respect of our fundraising activities:
Information on our governance can be found at Council - Durham University and details of Council’s Finance Committee are available at Finance Committee, including Terms of Reference, Operation of the Committee and Membership – this is the committee which oversee investments.
The University regularly reviews its Ethical Investment Policy, which is approved by the Finance Committee. Students' interests will continue to be represented on this and there will continue to be opportunities for the wider university community to engage with the policy.
The University developed, alongside partner European Universities of the Coimbra network, the Durham Declaration on Climate Change and Sustainability in which signatories “commit as investors to leading by example to transform our campuses and facilities for a net zero, nature positive world and to ensure that we act responsibly and sustainably”.
Ethical Careers and Recruitment
Durham University’s Careers & Enterprise works to help students, staff and alumni make career plans and take the next steps to getting where they want to be. Information on the service and staff is available at Meet the team the team does work with GTI and Jisc to support the career activities of students and graduates.
Durham University Careers & Enterprise has an active and publicly-available policy – see Vacancy-Advertising-Policy---2025.pdf (reviewed June 2025). This covers the relationships and criteria which must be met in order for the careers service to work with third-party employers.
This notes that:
“The University reserves the right to not publish the following vacancy adverts:
- unpaid opportunities that do not meet our recommended guidelines, or those which do not meet the National Minimum Wage standards
- adverts which break UK equality legislation, where the University has a legal responsibility not to advertise vacancies which may be construed as discriminatory.
The University may contact employers, where appropriate, to clarify wording and details of adverts, or to obtain reassurance of exemptions from equal opportunities legislation.
- adverts posted by recruitment agencies which do not declare the third-party organisation, either in the advert or when requested
- opportunities that contravene our institutional policies and EDI objectives.
When vacancy adverts are selected, “we review the content of the opportunity with the above criteria in-mind, prior to publishing it for our students and graduates.”
Carbon Management
Our publicly available Carbon Management Plan 2026 (CMP) includes a Carbon Emissions baseline for 2018/19 and a science-based carbon reduction target for scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035. It also proposes a milestone reduction target of 46% by 2030 leading to our primary Net-Zero target of a 73% reduction by 2034/35, exceeding the requirements set out in the Paris Agreement.
Our Carbon Management Plan cites our Sustainability Ambition Statement and notes that “The Net Zero target has been developed using Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) methodology and addresses all scope 1 and 2 emissions and some scope 3 emissions […] Alongside realising our Net Zero 2035 target will be actions that tackle, as quickly as possible, our Scope 3 emissions – with a long-term objective of striving to achieve Absolute Zero emissions by 2050.”
The Estates & Facilities Senior Leadership Team is responsible for implementation of the Carbon Management Plan across the University estate and for delivery on our Strategic Performance Indicator on Total Gross Emissions and is led by the Director of Estates & Facilities, Ian Rooney.
Responsible colleagues’ and committees are also included in the CMP (page 16), as is a section outlining monitoring and reporting mechanisms for progress on the CMP objectives. These objectives are monitored directly by the Energy and Sustainability teams and the Estates and Facilities Senior Leadership Team and are reviewed by the University Executive Committee. Progress towards targets is reviewed at the Environmental Sustainability Strategic Planning Group (ESSPG) which meets quarterly and is chaired by Chief Operating Officer and UEC member, Stewart Ross.
Carbon Management is also covered in our internal/external Energy Management System audit (EcoCampus) and Environmental Management Review annually.
The University Executive Committee, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, Karen O’Brien, has overall responsibility for university performance, including environmental objectives such as our Net-Zero and carbon reduction targets outlined in our Sustainability Ambition Statement.
The University has had an Integrated Sustainable Travel Plan since 2009 – this has sought to manage travel to, from and around the University campus, minimising its environmental impact. This will help us to meet the commitments we have made as part of signing the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice The University’s approach to travel is integrated with the local authority, Durham County Council.
Our new 2026-2030 travel plan has been drafted and through stakeholder engagement and governance, such as the Integrated Sustainable Travel Plan Steering Group and Environmental Sustainability Strategic Planning Group (ESSPG) and is due to be published next term 2026. It will include our current data on travel, including commuting emissions. The 2024/25 data will be used as a new baseline for these emissions. The new travel plan is also expected to set Carbon-related targets for these emissions, and interim SMART targets. The 2020-25 plan has been extended in the meantime to guide travel activity of staff, students, contractors and visitors. It “includes a set of aims, objectives and actions, delivered and designed by the University, to encourage and enable sustainable travel for employees, students and visitors […] this will also reduce both local and national Carbon emissions and pollutants” (p. 8) and outlines measures to support staff and students to make informed travel choices and commits to measure the impact of travel as well as setting targets.
Within the ISTP is included a Business Travel Hierarchy, which requires staff to consider whether business can first be carried out online without travel as well as a hierarchy when booking business travel to promote the most sustainable option. The Travel Hierarchy is also outlined in our Carbon Management Plan, alongside our current emissions from commuting and business travel.
Since 2025, all business travel must be booked through the University’s Travel Management Company, Key Travel. This ensures that eco fares are shown and carbon reporting is accurate. Key Travel has itself achieved Carbon neutrality and holds ISO14001 accreditation.
The Integrated Sustainable Travel Plan includes commitments to measure and report business travel as part of our scope 3 Carbon emissions, as well as the introduction of a Business Travel Policy, which is being developed with Key Travel to ensure that our systems and processes enable our staff to make the least Carbon intensive travel choices, where it is necessary. This has been discussed at governance groups including Integrated Sustainable Travel Plan Steering Group, Environment Champions and the Working Group for Environmental Research in Sustainability.
The University calculates and reports Carbon emissions arising from our internally managed colleges. We also report emissions for independent Colleges – these are externally-managed residential accommodation. Emissions data for colleges owned and operated by Durham University are included within our Scope 1 + 2 emissions data.
Independent college emissions are reported within our Scope 3 emissions data.
Both sets of emissions data can be found in our Carbon Management Plan.
Our Scope 3 emissions are reported to HESA annually via the EMR, which can be found here. Within this, the University reports emissions arising from water supply, wastewater treatment, waste, business travel, and procurement.
Durham University’s Carbon Management Plan reports scope 3 emissions, aligned with the Standardised Carbon Emissions Framework (SCEF).
Scope 3 emissions are reported to HESA Table 3 - Emissions and waste | HESA and are approved annually by Director of Estates, Ian Rooney.
Our most recent data is outlined in our Carbon Management Plan and include those relating to:
- Purchased goods and services
- Capital goods
- Waste
- Business Travel
- Staff commuting
- Student Accommodation, including externally managed on University estate.
Workers Rights
Durham University has formal accreditation with the Living Wage Foundation, as part of our ongoing commitment to fair pay for staff.
From 1 April 2024 a Real Living Wage Supplement is applied to the lower points on our Pay Spine to ensure that these are paid an hourly rate that is higher than the Living Wage Foundation hourly rate, with appropriate incremental steps. Further information is also available at Durham University to increase pay in line with real living wage | Article | Employee Benefits.
Details on core benefits for staff and salary scales are available at Human Resources & Organisational Development: Salary - Durham University and for more information on ‘What makes working at Durham University so rewarding?’ please visit Why Join Us? - Durham University
Details of Durham’s commitments on the Real Living Wage are found in Matrix of priorities update July 2022.
Durham University was first awarded Fairtrade status by the Fairtrade Foundation in 2007 and has actively worked on Fair Trade since then, including as part of our Sustainable Procurement Working Group. We have renewed our participation in the Fair Trade University Award in 2025 with the results expected in the summer of 2027.
The University delivers a range of Fairtrade activities and initiatives every year – in 2024/25 we set up a Greenspace Fairtrade reading list which is available from our Greenspace Linktree to texts which are all available for loan for university members from the Library - Durham University.
We undertook a survey in spring 2025 amongst staff and students and held a student focus group in 2026 to understand how University members would like to engage and drive Fairtrade activity forward; we are using this to inform future activities
We continue to host events on Fairtrade, including most recently at Durham Business School’s Sustainability Dialogue in March 2026, where a screening of the documentary RESPONSBILE was followed by a panel discussion including Paul Chandler, CEO of Traidcraft.
Durham University joined Electronics Watch as a founding member in February 2015 – see details at The University of Durham, the fifth founding member of Electronics Watch .
The University is a member of the North East Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC), which is affiliated to Electronics Watch
Durham University signed the Can’t Buy My Silence pledge in February 2022.
This NDA pledge is part of our commitment to Freedom of Speech and enshrined in our Code of Practice – see the link to our statement at Durham University | Code of Conduct
Our University newspaper published this article at the time: Durham pledges against use of non-disclosure agreements to silence harassment complaints - Palatinate
Sustainable Food
Durham University has a publicly available Sustainable Food Policy which “covers all of the University’s colleges, catering outlets, services and products”.
We also have a wider Sustainable Procurement Policy, which includes procurement of food explicitly. Our
In our annual report we update progress on goals and actions in this area, as well as other sustainability issues. The Annual Report 2024 included updates on our launch of Carbon Rated Menus in partnership with My Emissions – these give information on the sustainability impact of the food served in every meal within our colleges – this academic year, our average menu rating has increased to being B-rated. Our continuing work on carbon rated menus contributed to ‘Environment’ being our top scoring pillar in our Food Made Good accreditation report in 2025; the feedback noted that this was “achieved through your clear Net Zero target for 2035 (developed using SBTi methodology), carbon-labelled menus, and strong initiatives to engage staff and students in reducing emissions.”
In our Annual Report 2025 we reported on our recent expanded food waste minimisation project as well as outlining our plans for this year to expand our approach to sustainable procurement
We provide information on this and our other catering offer at: Catering Options - Durham University
Our Sustainable Food Policy requires that sustainability standards are embedded within all tenders and contracts with external contractors, including
The policy states that we have a “responsibility to procure food in a sustainable manner” and “to work with our suppliers to promote a procurement ethos of buying products locally” as well as working “with our contracted supplier for produce to try and maximise seasonal produce and aiming for vegetables to be locally sourced where possible.” It commits to giving “preference to products and services that can be manufactured, used, and disposed of in an environmental and socially responsible way”.
In the policy we commit to “exclusively use free range eggs in all fresh products and engage with suppliers who subscribe to ethical standards of animal husbandry comparative to 'Compassion in World Farming' standards” and we outline our “approach to encouraging and influencing our suppliers to improve their sustainability practices” – this is something the Sustainable Procurement Working Group has been taking forward this academic year.
The policy also considers packaging and delivery, noting that “cardboard from all delivery packaging is recycled and we actively encourage further work being done by suppliers to reduce packaging at source. We are working with our suppliers to increase goods supplied in returnable transit packaging” and “our food packaging for items prepared on-site is biodegradable, compostable or recyclable. We work closely with our suppliers to further our sustainable food agenda” and “to reduce deliveries on campus by restricting all outlets to 3 deliveries per week where practicable”.
We are working closely with our produce supplier, Foodbuy, to provide further information to diners on food provenance and nutrition and this was noted in our Food Made Good report “We were also impressed by your carbon carbon-rated menu initiative, as well as work underway with Foodbuy to provide more information around provenance and nutrition on your menu via a QR code and app.”
Durham has used the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s Food Made Good standard as a comprehensive framework for continual improvement in sustainable food offer on campus. We were awarded 3 Stars (70.83%) for Majority Coverage in 2025. This covers our Colleges, canteens and
Durham University supports and enables students and staff to lead a variety of sustainable food projects.
These include:
Much of our work on sustainable food, including research, operational delivery, and engagement is summarised on our SDG 2 Zero Hunger page at Zero Hunger Strategy Areas - Durham University
All our providers in college catering offer a wide range of plant based options, as do our retail and events providers. Vegetarian and vegan options are always presented as the first option to minimise consumption of meat. The catering for our annual Greenspace Festival is always fully vegan and this year it was also gluten free.
Staff and Student Engagement
Whilst engagement of staff and students is included in several strategic sustainability documents, such as our Carbon and Energy management plans, the University has also published a bespoke strategy for staff and student engagement in sustainability. This was most recently updated in 2026 and can be found at: Engagement and Communications Strategy and Action Plan
It outlines the areas on which the Energy and Sustainability team engage with staff, students and the wider community, including:
- Biodiversity
- Energy and Decarbonisation
- Environmental Compliance
- Sustainable Procurement including Fairtrade
- Travel
- Waste and Recycling
- Water
The strategy describes how we measure our progress on staff and student engagement, including providing a baseline (2019) and several recently-updated data metrics. It outlines the mechanisms for reporting the progress we track, including:
It also summarises how our Communications and Engagement Strategy is implemented, including
To ensure students are informed and empowered from the start, the Sustainability team attends Open Days to share information with prospective and future students. This year we have been to university-wide events, as well as subject-specific open days.
University offer holders are granted access to university email and our internal online hub prior to arrival, where all information is available, including our Greenspace Training modules.
The team also provides sustainability materials to all university colleges, to be included in student induction packs and . All live-in and live-out students are affiliated to a college and are invited to attend induction sessions and have access to these resources.
Information is also included on the publicly-available New Undergraduate UK Students - Durham University Welcome and Orientation Hub – this includes pre-induction materials with information such as on sustainable travel options on campus; what to buy / not to buy before you come (to avoid waste); opportunities for engagement in sustainability societies and initiatives.
New students are scheduled to attend the University Freshers’ Fair (September annually) and the Energy and Sustainability team hosts a Greenspace stand at every session and works alongside other student sustainability opportunities, including our several climate societies. The team also attends our Refreshers’ Fair (January) with information and opportunities for engagement as well as taking a Greenspace stand to most colleges and academic departments during first term.
Thereafter, new students continue to receive opportunities, information, training, volunteering signposting etc. alongside established students.
The Energy & Sustainability team actively promotes a wide range of initiatives throughout the academic year and launches a new Greenspace Calendar every September – this is designed to engage the campus community in meaningful sustainability practices. These initiatives are structured around key themes; including energy, biodiversity, waste and recycling, and sustainable travel—and are regularly featured in the university’s sustainability calendar. Many other sustainability events are signposted over the course of the year on our DU Event Hub and lots of information is included on our public website 2025 - Durham University – past examples can be seen at both.
Since 2011, the ring-renced carbon budget has funded 128 projects. Staff and students able to apply by submitting their project ideas – they can be anything from new energy-saving research equipment to timer switches or reusable cups for bar committees. Applications are welcome from all members of staff and students from across the University and they are supported by the Greenspace Team if they need guidance with the process.
This year (2025/2026) we had 16 applications and of these 5 were fully funded and 1 partially funded to a total of £50,000. Funded applications included 2 energy efficient lighting refits, stickers to support behaviour change when using fume cupboards and efficient drying cabinets.
Upon joining the University, all new members of academic and professional services staff receive information on the University’s sustainability strategy and policies, as well as being signposted to opportunities for engagement, as part of their Staff Induction.
New staff receive a local induction from their department which covers key policies, including the University Strategy – ‘A Sustainable Future’ is one of four transversal strategies.
All new starters are also invited to a ‘Welcome to Durham’ half-day induction at which sustainability is presented by a University Executive Member.
All new employees are required to follow the Staff Code of Conduct, including the requirement to ‘adhere to University policies’.
The Greenspace team host a stall at Durham’s annual ‘Making a Difference’ Staff Conference in September as well as delivering presentations on sustainability. Sustainability is also featured at our annual ‘Benefits and Wellbeing Fair’ in March.
All new staff are automatically enrolled to receive our weekly ‘Greenspace Roundup’ via Teams.
Training on sustainability and our core values is provided to all staff, our Greenspace Module is available to all university members, and the University has developed a new environmental sustainability training module for staff and students, planned for launch in September 2026.
All staff members are eligible to become Staff Environment Champions as part of our network which brings together staff at all levels from all academic and professional services departments, directorates and colleges.
Trade Union representatives from several unions have been included in the Integrated Sustainable Travel Plan Steering Group since its inception. This year’s membership includes Unite and UCU and can be seen at Working groups - Durham University.
This group provides the management support required to take forward the strategic decisions of the University relating to Travel Planning, including contributing to the establishment, delivery and review of the Integrated Sustainable Travel Plan.
Students are actively represented on our sustainability committees, including those concerned with estates operations, planning, finance and strategic decision making.
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Group – see membership details at SDG Group - Durham University including student representatives from two societies and a Student Union representative;
- our Biodiversity SubGroup includes a Biosciences student representative alongside internal and external colleagues.
The University includes students in our tracking and auditing of actions to promote sustainability. This includes their sitting on our Environmental Sustainability Strategic Planning Group (ESSPG).
Our Durham Students' Union (DSU) announced a Climate Emergency in November 2019. They are undertaking a sustainability audit. The Energy and Sustainability Team have supported the DSU with advice on energy, waste and water management as well as carrying out on-site audits. The Sustainability Coordinator has been working closely with DSU and has supported events and campaigns.
The Union also advocates for environmental change, including lobbying the University on sustainability policies. They are involved in university committees, including those that oversee sustainability strategy and reporting.
As part of the EcoCampus programme, the University undertakes an annual review of its activities and their impact on the environment through an Aspects & Impacts review.
This review, completed by a rotating panel of subject matter experts, is a holistic review of the University’s activities in the next academic year. This review scores our likely impact across over 30 different environmental categories. The highest scoring categories are then allocated to an appropriate working group to develop mitigating actions.
Progress against these actions is monitored through the University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategic Planning Group.
Durham University is committed to Education for Sustainable Development – this is included within our overarching University Strategy and ‘A Sustainable Future’ is one of four transversal strategies. Durham’s Environmental-Sustainability-Vision,-Policy-and-Strategy-July-2023.pdf also includes explicit reference to the inclusion of ESD within our curriculum.
Durham University has a commitment to meaningful and relevant education for all students toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) integrated within the curriculum – our offer of educational programmes on sustainability can be found here: Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability - Durham University This includes Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes, covering many subject areas (SDGs Education - Durham University), as well as free online courses and videos (Our offer of free online courses - Durham University).
Our Durham University Annual Report 2025 links to the relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) throughout, including its reviews of ‘Research and Engagement’ and of ‘Educational Excellence’ and ‘Wider Student Experience’.
Durham’s SDG Group - Durham University ‘focuses on supporting and communicating Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) oriented research, teaching, the overall student experience and global strategy’ and is chaired by Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Sustainability Professor Petra Minnerop - Durham University. It is advisory to the Durham’s Global Strategy Group, which is chaired by PVC Global Professor Claire O'Malley - Durham University and which, in turn, is advisory to UEC, on which she sits.
In 2020 the SDG Group hired two student interns who audited the Modules across all Faculties, reviewing the learning objectives, their environmental, social, economic or cultural impact, and keywords relating to the SDGs. Audits of the Colleges involved interviews with College staff, Student Environment Officers and JCR Officers/Presidents.
Durham University is a signatory to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord, publicly committing the institution to embed the SDGs across research, teaching, operations, and reporting – see Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability - Durham University
Led by academic registrars, we are currently mapping where our curriculum impacts on the SDGs across all disciplines. This is helping us understand gaps and opportunities to embed sustainability.
Some faculties have developed further frameworks for ESD, such as Durham University Business School whose ‘Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability Steering Group’ (ERSSG) has developed an ERS Strategy, in which they have committed to support the Education and Student Experience strategy and to further develop the resources to support the embedding of ERS within the curriculum – details of their work can be found at Ethics Responsibility Sustainability - Durham University Business School. The Steering Group is chaired by Associate Dean for Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability, Laura Marsiliani's Homepage. She is also and Fellow of the Durham Energy Institute and Centre for Sustainable Development, Law and Policy and Policy and Co-Director of the Centre for Environmental and Energy Economics as well as a Member of the Durham University observer delegation at UN COP. The Business School prepares a PRME SIP Report annually – see previous reports at Durham Business School | UNPRME
Our university-wide Sustainable Development (SDG) Group includes a wide membership from every academic faculty as well as professional services, such as the Greenspace Team and links to the Environmental Sustainability Strategic Performance Group (ESSPG). It coordinates reporting and evidence gathering on the implementation of SDGs across the university and reports to the Global Strategy Group, which is chaired by the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Global) – this group advises UEC.
Progress on this work is included in the Durham University Annual Report 2025, which is linked throughout to the SDGs and reviews annually all areas of activity, including ‘Educational Excellence’.
We also regularly review and publicly report on progress around integration of all the SDGs in research, teaching, learning and action: see Sustainable Development Goals - Durham University.
This work has also been reported via our which is chaired by UEC member and Chief Operating Officer, Stewart Ross, including through our Sustainability Actions and Indicators dashboard.
As part of our participation in sustainability league tables, including People and Planet, QS Sustainability, and THE Impact, we report our progress on integration of ESD within the curriculum – see How We Rank on Sustainability - Durham University
Durham makes support and training available to help all academic staff integrate Education for Sustainable Development into the curriculum.
Staff and student training on our sustainability policies is outlined at: Our Sustainability Policies - Durham University
Beyond the work of the SDG group, colleagues from academic partners and the Sustainability team are currently working with the Durham Centre for Academic Development - Durham University (DCAD) on finalising SDG training for all staff as well as students which will ensure this work can be further embedded within the curriculum. This builds on existing offers, such as the Greenspace online modules which are available for all staff and students.
DCAD also leads the university’s mission to decolonise the curriculum, launched in November 2020 (see details at Decolonising the Curriculum - Durham Centre for Academic Development). This is a collaborative initiative which involves multiple stakeholders through institutional workshops and toolkits for teaching and learning. The Durham Students' Union (DSU) partner this work (and created a Decolonisation Hub) as do faculty representatives across departments.
The initiative is structured around:
Another space for dialogue is provided by the university-wide Working Group on Environmental Sustainability in Research, convened by Research Committee and chaired by Professor Stuart Adams. This group works on, discusses and ensures delivery of initiatives to ensure compliance with the Concordat for Environmental Sustainability in Research. The 2025 annual report on this can be found at Sustainability in Research Annual Report 2025 - Durham University
Other sessions are provided, such as ESD Workshop - The Durham Education Lab which offer workshops on integration of ESD into the curriculum and are open to all staff.
Many departments have dedicated leads for sustainability education, such as the Business School’s Associate Dean for Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability, Laura Marsiliani and Associate Professor and Director of Sustainability for Arts & Humanities and the Co-Director of the Centre for Environment and Humanities Simona Capisani as well as Professor Habib Rahman – these and other staff are allocated staff time for their roles.
Durham University actively uses its estate as a living laboratory for research, particularly in sustainability, ecology, and conservation.
When the university first developed our Biodiversity Strategy, we developed research techniques as part of the development of our Baseline Biodiversity Audit, which recorded 983 species across the university estate. This underpins our Biodiversity Net Gain target setting and action plan and reviewing and has seen several internships created for research projects. We continue to undertake research in this space including Wildflower Meadow Trials with side-by-side contrasting experimental rewilding experiments at the Botanic Garden and college grounds: Biodiversity - Durham University The wildflower meadow trial continues in 2025 and our research staff are recalculating our Biodiversity Net Score in Summer 2025 using Natural England’s 4.0 metric.
Another example is the Rewilding and Reconnecting Durham University Estate project. This initiative, led by a Durham University Natural Sciences student in collaboration with university staff, explores how rewilding principles—like reintroducing locally extinct plant species—can be applied across university-owned wildland. It combines historical research, fieldwork, and experimental planting in partnership with the Botanic Garden to assess biodiversity impacts.
This case study focuses on permaculture principles being used on our estate: Permaculture+BioBlitz_Living Lab_Final
We also work on projects which connect our estate to natural neighbouring spaces, such as where Our scientists are supporting Durham Cathedral to bring swifts to nest - Durham University and our Pioneering collaboration will create new Green Corridors in the North East - Durham University.
Current examples of real-world learning and research on ESD through the use of the University setting include work led by our Biosciences Department on supporting Black Poplar, Britain’s rarest UK-native tree. Postgraduate students have worked with external partners to gather local seed and to grow this on within our University Botanic Garden. They have been conducting research on black poplar genomes and subspecies as well as wider ecological issues which challenge black poplar within the UK. Following successful pollination and cloning, wider University Estate with appropriate riverside conditions is being used to plant saplings, including students.
Another current project which is providing research and learning opportunities is the University’s high-performance computing (HPC) and data-centre environment, which provides campus-as-laboratory opportunities. Our HPC systems, cooling infrastructure, and energy‑monitoring platforms are used as real‑world testbeds for research, teaching, and operational innovation in:
- energy‑efficient computing
- smart energy systems and demand management
- thermal modelling and cooling optimisation
- waste‑heat recovery and low‑carbon data‑centre design.
These projects use live operational data from the university estate, enabling researchers to test new algorithms, control strategies, and hardware configurations under real‑world conditions, making the data centre a research demonstrator.
The data‑centre Living Lab also provides structured learning opportunities:
- undergraduate and postgraduate students use real HPC energy‑monitoring data for dissertations and coursework;
- students in Engineering, Computer Science, and Energy Systems engage with live datasets on power consumption, cooling loads, and system performance;
- teaching modules incorporate case studies from Durham’s own infrastructure, allowing students to analyse and propose improvements to the systems they physically study and inhabit.
As well as enabling interdisciplinary learning on systems approaches, implementation and futures thinking, this enables students to contribute to the sustainability performance of our estate.
This link provides further detail on Durham’s Immersion Cooling and Heat Storage Living Lab which is being used for experimental research and learning on cooling efficiency and water-heat reuse: Durham Immersion Cooling and Heat Storage Living Lab
This page provides detail on Durham’s ARC Hamilton SuperComputer via multi-disciplinary Advanced Research Computing. This enables students to prototype solutions, to explore novel technologies, and to work with real computational infrastructure.
The university supports and promotes research projects for Sustainable Development.
We have the dedicated Durham Energy Institute and Centre for Sustainable Development, Law and Practice, These ensure interdisciplinarity across academic activities and support sustainable policy and law-making. Since 2020 the University as had observer status to the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity: COP Steering Group - Durham University. This enables us to integrate research findings into global and national policy and law frameworks.
In addition, research in a wide a range of schools and faculties addresses environmental and social sustainability, from Biosciences biodiversity and climate research and the Geography Department’s work on climatology and glaciology (see a fuller list of Geography projects here: Durham University Geography - Research and Impact) to our Business School’s research on interactions between natural and social systems (Sustainability - Durham University Business School).
Our SDG portal includes examples of both actions and research being taken forward for each of the 17 different SDGs.
In 2022 we launched our Strategic Research Fund for sustainability projects (SRF - Durham University). This commits £18 million over four years. The four sustainability projects funded by SRF are:
In the Durham SOFI (Soft Matter and Functional Interfaces Centre for Doctoral Training) programme (a PhD program based in Chemistry and Physics which aims to inspire students to solve solutions to problems in sustainability on an industrial scale), students have the chance to develop business ideas. Low Carbon materials are a company set up by PhD students as a result of the programme, which reduces plastic waste by incorporating waste plastic in concrete and construction materials.
Durham’s Global Challenges Centre for Doctoral Training has been hosting PhD students to take forward interdisciplinary work on a range of global challenges, all of which are aligned to UN SDGs. The 26 projects, led by researchers from 15 different departments across three faculties, all involve working with partners in one of the 17 DAC nations. Details are available here: Our Projects - Durham University
Our Research Integrity Policy and Code of Good Practice - Durham University, approved by University Senate in 2025, outlines expectations for ethical conduct, including how research is designed, funded, and managed. It notes that
“Any project where any of the following may apply requires ethical review:
The university is also a signatory to the UK Concordat to Support Research Integrity which ‘asks universities, research institutes and individual researchers to commit to ensuring their work is underpinned by the highest standards of rigour and integrity’.
In early 2025 Durham University also signed the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice, both of which promote transparency, accountability, and ethical collaboration.
This page outlines our approach to Research governance, ethics and integrity: Ethics & Governance - Durham University and this page links to our PhilanthropicDonationsPolicy-Dec24-1.pdf
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Data
Durham University submits data annually via the Estates Management Record (EMR). This is made publicly available by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, HESA.
Data on which we publicly report includes:
Relevant data can be found at:
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