Environment Champion Scheme – there is a Champion for each Department, Professional Support Services and College.
More Information on the Environment Champion Network.

After achieving the EcoCampus Gold Award in June 2020, we gained Platinum in December 2020 and renewed it in December 2021 following external audits. To view our certificate please visit our Environmental Credentials page.

To view EcoCampus Procedure please visit our Policies Page.

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.

In 2011, the first Carbon Management Plan was created with the Carbon Trust, setting our targets in line with Government and Hefce targets, relating to 2013/14 and 2020. Within this plan set out a five-year plan to achieve the intermediate target of 2013/14 to review the progress of the 2020 target. We are currently in the final stages of developing a new Sustainability Strategy and Carbon Management Plan to take us to 2030. We have worked with the Carbon Trust to develop a Science-Based Target that's aligned to a pathway that limits warming to 1.5C.

Our new Carbon Management Plan contains detailed information about our carbon emissions and the actions we will take to reduce them.

• Carbon Management Plan 2023

We continue to monitor and report our carbon footprint in line with this policy. In the last five years, we have reduced our footprint by 34%.

An analysis of Carbon, Energy and Water Targets set out in the Sustainability Action Plan was undertaken in January 2020 and reported to the ESSPG in February 2020.

The University is affiliated with Electronics Watch for more information view the Modern Slavery Statement 21-22

Our Sustainable Food Policy 2021 was approved in 2021.

In 2021/2022 we started to work toward the Food Made Good rating - we have been awarded one star at 55% which covers our College Canteens and Cafes. We have a target to achieve 2 stars by 2025.

CSER Policy

A number of Colleges maintain their own allotments. 

Student Volunteering has many Environmental Volunteering Projects, including Beyond Food and Feeding Families. The Beyond Food project works with Trussell Trust’s Durham food bank to provide food parcels for disadvantaged families in the east of Durham. The food collection boxes are placed in colleges and the project leaders arrange for pickup and collection by the Trussell Trust’s Durham Foodbank.
During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Catering Team worked with local food banks to redistribute food. (East Durham Trust Article)

ESSPG and the Energy and Sustainability Team design a Calendar of awareness-raising events and activities for each academic year around each of our sustainability icons each month, on how people can take action and what the University's targets are MyGreenspace Calendar 2023-2024.

View our online campaigns:

• Greenspace Sway
• Switch off campaign
• Fairtrade Fortnight
• Biodiversity

Members of the Energy and Sustainability Team participate, and in some cases lead on, many working groups and committees that are internal and external to support and advise on local community projects and strategies, regarding the estate, travel, sustainability and engagement. This year we held our first open Greenspace Festival which showcased the work of local charities, student groups and research at the University.

Durham Energy Institute (DEI) works with communities to support local energy projects and to inform local discussions on energy issues such as fracking and heat networks. It also works with local authorities and regional bodies on regional energy projects and has a school outreach programme on energy education and encourages engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects. For more information on the DEI please visit their webpage.

Staff and Student Volunteering Teams run a wide range of projects within the local community, they work with local councils and charities to raise money, volunteer and mentoring. Our SDG Group is in partnership with the council, volunteers' teams and other members of staff to develop an interactive programme on the UN SDG's through workshops for local schools.

Student Volunteering: Hedgehog Friendly Campus, Beyond Food, Balsam Bashing and many more...

College Environment Champions and Student Environment Representatives:

• Staff - £250
• Students - £100

All staff can apply for support from the Ring-Fenced Carbon Budget for a project that will save carbon, up to £10,000 per project and a total of £100,000 is allocated to fund these projects internally.

For examples of successful fund applications please email the team.

Durham University’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has grown significantly. We have seen the greatest contribution through our research activity, with projects ongoing across our faculties and departments which feed into the overall SDG agenda. This includes research on unacceptable forms of work and protection for workers, neglected tropical diseases, and drug discovery. Durham has also created the UK’s first Global Challenges Research Fund Centre for Doctoral Training, which hosts 26 PhD students delivering interdisciplinary challenge-led projects aligned with the SDGs. We will look to build on our platform of activity in the next 12 months, with a new global strategy that incorporates the SDGs and to ensure the SDGs remain a priority for us as an institution.
Professor Claire O'Malley, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Global)

Our Full-time MBA has been ranked 7th in the world by the Corporate Knights Better World MBA Ranking 2019, which evaluates the extent to which programmes integrate sustainability knowledge and skills into business education.

Durham Business School PRME Report for 2020

For an overview of Durham University's work towards the SDGs please visit our Sway here.

In 2019-20 we developed a sub-group of the ESSPG to focus on the Curriculum. In our Action Plan, we have KPI 29-31 focused on the Curriculum. We worked with the Durham Inspired Award team to develop a short video for the online learning animations.

The Durham Business School's ‘Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability Steering Group’ (ERSSG) developed an ERS Strategy, in which they committed to support the Education and Student Experience strategy in general and to further develop the resources to support the embedding of ERS within the curriculum in particular, linking this to the Sustainable Development Goals where appropriate.

Research is mapped by Themes including Energy and Clean Growth.

Research Projects Mapped to UN Sustainable Development Goals

We are enabling students to be global citizens & leaders who will ensure the delivery of the SDGs either through their career choices or entrepreneurial ventures that will contribute to economic growth. We have developed Game Changer: a fast-paced, extra-curricular innovation programme using Design Thinking to find solutions to the SDGs. Its purpose is to foster ingenuity, creativity & innovative design to deliver environmentally, socially & economically sustainable solutions. Students work in teams to research SDGs, ideate, develop prototypes & compete in a pitching challenge. for more information visit the Game Changer Innovation Programme (un.org)

In the Durham SOFI (Soft Matter and Functional Interfaces Centre for Doctoral Training) program (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 program which reduces plastic waste by incorporating waste plastic in concrete and construction materials.

The Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy aims at advancing sustainable development through research across intersecting thematic areas.

Find out more.

Fair access and excellent education for all: We welcome students from all backgrounds with merit and potential and we have robust systems in place to ensure our admissions process is fair and transparent. Our Access Agreement 2019-20 agreed by the Office for Students (OfS) reaffirms our commitment to widening participation in higher education. We are proud to be investing £11.7million in outreach, student success, progression and evaluation activities over the year.

Access and Participation Plan 2020/21 - 2024/25 

Durham Grant Scheme:

From next academic year, home undergraduates who do not already have an undergraduate degree and who have a household income of less than £30,000 as assessed by Student Finance England (or equivalent) will receive a Durham Grant of £2,500.

Similar students, who have a household income of between £30,001 and £47,200, will receive a Durham Grant of between £2,495 and £780. For more information on financial support please visit this webpage.

Our electricity is purchased through The Energy Consortium (TEC), which certifies that 100% of our supply from EDF is backed by clean, renewable generation. To view the latest certificate, please click here (April 2021-March 2022).
An analysis of Carbon, Energy and Water Targets set out in the Action Plan was undertaken in January 2020 and reported to the ESSPG in February 2020.

Staff and Student Engagement - Energy Campaigns are run throughout the year.

This year, we ran the Switch Off campaign across our internal channels and social media. Here is an example. Please see the Energy webpage for more information.