Sustainability at The University of Bristol
Sustainability is central to everything we do at the University, including our buildings, our teaching, our research and our work in the community.
Our teaching:
We’re committed to embedding discipline appropriate sustainability into all of our courses. For example, in Business students learn about the social, ecological, and economic impacts of business, and in Law students learn about law related to selected environmental sectors such as climate change, nature conservation and water pollution. Across the University, student sustainability champions are working alongside course leaders to review and adapt the curriculum to address the climate and ecological emergency,
If your course includes an open unit option, you may decide to take our unit on Sustainable Development. On this unit you will gain an insight into the concepts behind the challenges of Sustainable Development and learn how different disciplines and interdisciplinary approaches can be used to provide insight and ways forward.
This is one of our innovative and interdisciplinary Bristol Futures open units, you can find out more about these here: Bristol Futures Open Units.
Our civic activities:
Bristol SU groups take part in lots of volunteering for social and environmental causes, you can see what is available on the SU website: Join Student Led Projects.
The Sustainability Network is a student-led initiative that brings together students and societies who are passionate about sustainability and aims to develop a strong sustainability community here at Bristol.
Our staff sit on several important committees such as Bristol's One City Environmental Board and Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change.
Our campus:
Our pledge to become a net zero carbon campus by 2030 means making significant and rapid changes to reduce carbon emissions to the lowest amount – and offsetting as a last resort. Every School and Division across the University is developing and implementing bespoke Climate Action Plans to outline the steps they are taking and will take to cut their carbon footprint.
Our Sustainability Team comprises of Transport, Circular Economy, Energy and Sustainable Science sub-teams, who work towards reducing carbon emissions across all of our operations and buildings. The Team also runs a campaign called 'Be the Change' to support staff and students to make sustainable choices.
Our catered halls and campus cafés offer a wide range of sustainable, locally sourced food. Plant-based food has a significantly lower carbon footprint than animal products and we offer a wide variety of plant-based options. Learn more about our plant-based food offerings (PDF, 2,875kB). You can also help reduce waste and save money by bringing a reuseable cup when buying hot drinks in our Source cafes - disposable cups cost 20p.
Our research:
The Cabot Institute for the Environment is a diverse community of 600 experts, united by a common cause: protecting our environment and identifying ways of living better with our changing planet.
We work with academics, students, and research partners, as well as local and international communities, governments and individuals, to help solve the biggest global environmental challenges.