Sustainability Report 2023/24: our progressActive Citizenship for All
Everyone has a role to play in addressing environmental and societal challenges. We want our staff and students to understand and fulfil their potential to make a positive impact on the world. Our sustainability engagement work looks to provide opportunities to enable learning more about sustainable development and feeling inspired to act.
Throughout 2023-24 we ran a range of events for our staff, students, and wider stakeholders to encourage conversations, raise awareness of our research and SDG contributions, and get people actively involved in sustainability through their professional, academic and personal lives.
Below, you’ll find our key engagement highlights from the past year and examples of our work towards this ambition. You can read our full 2023-24 annual report to find out more about how we’re engaging our staff and students to become more active citizens.
Sustainability Month
In March 2024, we hosted our third annual Sustainability Month, bringing colleagues from across the University together to help increase understanding of the sustainable development goals, and the role they can play in driving urgent action across the globe.
The month featured a vibrant programme of 28 events, covering a wide range of themes including circular economy, clothes mending, education for sustainable development, workshops in geophysics, culture and climate justice, and more. A key highlight was the Sustainability Fair, organised with the Students Union, which attracted strong participation from both staff and students.
The month finished with our fourth annual Education for Sustainable Development at Strath Conference (ESD@Strath). Over 70 students attended and heard a keynote address from Heidi Sevestre, a glaciologist working at the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) and winner of the first Shackleton Medal for the Protection of the Polar Regions.
The conference and whole month of events not only showcased ongoing initiatives but also provided a valuable platform for students to share their views and suggest how we can better engage them in sustainability efforts.
Sustainability Behaviours Engagement Programme
Since its launch in 2017, participation in the University’s JUMP sustainability engagement platform has grown steadily. As of this reporting period, 595 users are actively involved, comprising 117 students and 478 staff members.
Platform engagement:
- total sustainable actions recorded: 6,957
- the 'wellbeing' theme saw the highest level of engagement, with the Step Count Challenge being the most participated-in activity.
- the 'travel' theme followed closely, with ‘Rethinking Your Commute’ as the top activity in that category
Environmental impact:
- an estimated 29,630 kg of CO₂ emissions were avoided through participant actions on the platform
Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK)
This year, 85 students engaged in our student sustainability campaign with SOS-UK, with 51 students actively participating in online competitions, masterclasses, and webinars.
In partnership with SOS-UK, the campaign trained and empowered seven student volunteers. Through their involvement, the volunteers gained a deeper understanding of how everyday actions contribute to the climate crisis and developed the skills and confidence to drive positive change. These transferable skills will support their personal and professional development in the future.
The campaign also targeted students living in the private rented sector, offering advice, training, and paid auditing opportunities to help reduce energy use and support them during the cost-of-living crisis.
Students living in University halls took part in the national Halls Competition, competing with peers from other universities to adopt more sustainable habits and behaviours.
Using our wider influence
Our staff play a leading role in putting our sustainability vision into action at Strathclyde, but also in influencing policy and action beyond the University. Our research experts in a diverse range of fields are involved in internal research centres but have also been invited to take external advisory and board membership roles with industry, governmental, public, private and community organisations.
These positions span government advisory roles (Scottish Government committees, nuclear energy advice), international policy organisations (IEA, UNEP, Science-Based Targets Initiative), and healthcare research groups. Positions in community organisations include employability trusts, housing associations, and educational charities, as well as environmental sustainability boards. This broad range of wider influences connects Strathclyde’s ecosystem with external opportunities while contributing to impactful social and societal projects with the host organisations.
UN Special Rapporteur
In May 2024, Professor Elisa Morgera from the School of Law was appointed the UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change and Human Rights. Professor Morgera works with states and businesses to adopt human rights approaches following the UN Guiding Principles to mitigate adverse effects of climate-related activities and investments.