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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.
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. 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 2024
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, 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:
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Human Resources |
At Durham our Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost Professor Mike Shipman is responsible for supporting the Vice-Chancellor in delivering the University’s Academic Strategy, working to recruit, sustain and develop an academic staff body and environment that is exemplary in all aspects and integrating equality, diversity and inclusion into strategic planning. He has responsibility for operational sustainability. This includes work on biodiversity; energy; environmental compliance; travel; waste and recycling; water; and sustainability engagement with staff, students and the wider community, as well as lead responsibility for the University's Strategic Performance Indicator on Total Gross Emissions. He sits on our Senior Leadership Team alongside others, including Professor Claire O’Malley who is responsible for the strategic leadership and implementation of the University’s international agenda. This includes chairing the Global Strategy Group to which Durham’s Sustainable Development Goals Group reports.
As well as our dedicated Energy and Sustainability team, 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, including Environmental Sustainability Strategic Group (ESSPG); Sustainable Procurement Working Group; Integrated Sustainable Travel Plan Steering Group (ISTP SG); Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) group; Waste Reduction Working Group; and the Durham Bicycle User Group (DBUG) among others.
The Sustainability team has a dedicated engagement function. Staff members work on a range of initiatives to engage staff in improving environmental performance, including: - our Environment Champions forum which brings 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.
All staff and students are eligible to use Durham University’s Greenspace App. This behaviour change platform, developed in partnership with Team Jump, tracks and rewards eco-friendly actions with monthly winners awarded vouchers and termly team winners nominating charity donations. Actions are linked to our Greenspace Calendar and to other sustainability initiatives in the University. The Sustainability develops content monthly for this and tracks sign-ups and action impacts across staff and students. University members can sign up using their Durham.ac.uk email account at https://mygreenspace.teamjump.co.uk
Staff from any service area are eligible to submit an application to our Ringfenced Carbon Budget. To date we have funded 128 projects, which demonstrate measurable carbon savings — past examples include installing energy-efficient cooking equipment, timer switches, water-saving devices, and water-efficient research equipment.
Greenspace offers an Environmental Sustainability Online Training Module for staff as a campus-wide initiative to embed sustainability into everyday practices. It covers: - The university’s sustainability goals, including its Net Zero by 2035 target. - Practical actions staff can take to reduce energy use, waste, and carbon emissions. - How departments can support biodiversity, ethical procurement, and sustainable travel. - The role of staff in promoting a culture of environmental responsibility.
All staff are welcome to contact our dedicated sustainability mailbox to raise any concerns or suggestions about the university’s sustainability performance: greenspace.staff@durham.ac.uk |
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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. |
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Ethical Investment and Banking |
Durham University has an active Ethical Investment Policy which applies to all our investments and is publicly available and has been signed off by University Executive Committee. It is available at Ethical Investment Policy 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. Durham University’s Annual Report includes a financial review as well as financial audit findings, including against 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 2024 From September 2025 the Ethical Investment Policy will be reviewed by the new Investment Sub-Committee, which is a sub-committee of Finance . 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. |
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Ethical Careers and Recruitment |
Durham University’s Careers and Enterprise centre 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 - they are not part of a combined careers service but does work with GTI and Jisc to support the career activities of students and graduates. The Careers Service has an active and publicly available policy – see Vacancy-Advertising-Policy---2025.pdf (reviewed June 2025). This covers the criteria which must be met in order for the careers service to work with third-party employers. |
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Carbon Management |
Durham University’s first Carbon Management Plan was created with the Carbon Trust in 10 and set targets in line with Government and HEFCE (for 2013/14 and 2020).
Our current, publicly available Carbon Management Plan 2025 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.
As well as our wider funding for delivery of decarbonisation and energy conservation, including dedicated staff members, the University allocates a Ring Fenced Carbon Budget of £100,000. This is referenced in the CMP and this year 14 projects were funded.
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.
The Energy Conservation Working Group, responsible for implementing energy conservation measures and best practice, is chaired by Deputy Provost, Stefan Przyborski and reports to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, Mike Shipman who sits on University Executive Committee.
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. Responsible colleagues’ and committees are also included in the CMP, as is a section outlining monitoring and reporting mechanisms for progress on the CMP objectives. These objectives are monitored directly by the Energy & Sustainability team 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 also covered in our internal/external Energy Management System audit (EcoCampus) and Environmental Management Review annually. 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, waste water 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:
- Capital goods - Waste - Business Travel - Staff commuting - Student Accommodation, including externally managed on University estate. The Carbon Management Plan also includes scope 3 emissions targets for Waste, Business Travel, and Staff Commuting.
The University has an Integrated Sustainable Travel Plan which “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). In preparation for the drafting and adoption of a new travel plan from 2026, the ISTP has been updated to include key developments and policy changes as well as progress (2025). 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. 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. Our new Business Travel Policy 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.
The University calculates and reports Carbon emissions arising from our internally-managed colleges. We also report emissions for independent Colleges. 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.
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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-19052022.pdf
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 (valid until 31/07/2026). The University delivers a range of Fairtrade activities and initiatives every year – in 2024/25 we have 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 have also undertaken a survey in spring 2025 amongst staff and students to understand how they would like to engage and drive Fairtrade activity forward and are using this to inform our 2025/26 activities. We continue to host events on Fairtrade, including most recently at our Greenspace festival in June 2025, where Emertius Reader at the Durham University Business School, John Hirst delivered a session entitled ‘Fairness in Trade: Why It Still Matters’ to staff, students and members of the wider public.
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 |
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Sustainable Food |
Durham University has a publicly available Sustainable Food Policy.
We also have a wider Sustainable Procurement Policy, which includes procurement of food explicitly. Our Sustainable Procurement Working Group feeds into our termly Environmental Sustainability Strategic Planning Group (ESSPG). In our annual report we update progress on goals and actions within this as well as other sustainability issues. Last year’s annual report 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. 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 tenders and contracts with external contractors, including - maximising the use of seasonal and local produce - prioritising products and services that can be manufactured, used, and disposed of in an environmental and socially responsible way - using fish from sustainable sources - selecting fair trade products.
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 1 Star (55%) for Majority Coverage in the. This covers our Colleges, canteens and retail cafes. We have a target to achieve 2 stars by 2025 and are currently undergoing re-accreditation.
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 as well as retail and events offer vegetarian and vegan meals as the first option. |
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Staff and Student Engagement |
The University has published a strategy for staff and student engagement in sustainability. This was most recently updated in 2025 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:
- 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 recently-updated data. It outlines the mechanisms for reporting the progress we track, including:
It also summarises how our Communications and Engagement Strategy is implemented, including
Durham’s sustainable engagement policies and monitoring were highlighted in our most recent environmental audit as good practice (May 2025, Platinum EcoCampus).
To ensure students are informed and empowered from the start, the Energy and Sustainability team has begun to attend Open Days to share information with prospective and future students. 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. 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 (October 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. Highlights include the Switch Off! campaign, which raise awareness about energy conservation; the City Nature Challenge, encouraging biodiversity exploration and citizen science; and waste-focused programmes such as What Goes Where and Green Move Out, which help students and staff manage waste responsibly. Sustainable travel is also a major focus, with campaigns such as Be Safe Be Seen promoting safe cycling and walking, and campaigns on discounted bus tickets supporting low-carbon commuting options. These events and resources reflect the university’s commitment to fostering a culture of sustainability and encouraging active participation across the campus.
Durham University has a dedicated Ringfenced Carbon Budget which provides funds to university members for sustainability projects. This enables practical and grassroots projects to be developed. Since 2011, the ring-fenced carbon budget has funded 128 projects. Staff and students are 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 (2024/2025) we had 25 applications and of these 14 were awarded a total of £97,227, based on a scoring matrix which considered Carbon savings per pound invested, replicability, community benefits, and payback period. Funded applications included an air-fryer trial in student accommodation, an energy efficient display case projection system, low-energy replacement hand dryers, low carbon cryocoolers, and a replacement autoclave.
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. Staff are also given the departmental induction booklets which provide links to policies, including sustainable behaviour change opportunities such as active and sustainable travel. 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.
Trade Union representatives from several unions have been included in the Integrated Sustainable Travel Plan Steering Group since its inception. 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 2020-2025 and planning a refreshed strategy for the next five-year period.
Students are actively represented on our sustainability committees, including those concerned with estates operations, planning, finance and strategic decision making. Student representatives are included as members with equal voting rights in committees, including:
- 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.
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| Education for Sustainable Development |
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. 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 Annual Report 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 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. Durham and brings together colleagues from all faculties to plan and review activity. 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. 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. The SDG group is currently working with the Durham Centre for Academic Development - Durham University (DCAD) on an initiative to provide further accessible 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:
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. 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 Progress on this work is included in the Durham University Annual Report 2024, 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. 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. At Durham we encourage our academic teaching and research staff to embed sustainability into their curriculum and research projects and to align university activities with the UN SDGs. Our Sustainable Development (SDG) Group also supports academic staff to integrate the SDGs into their curriculum and research and includes representation from every faculty. It promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and engages with local and global stakeholders to bring further support and opportunity to the university. Our Environmental Sustainability Vision Policy and Strategy outlines the University’s commitment to supporting our staff to integrate sustainability into all elements of the University’s mission. The Environmental Sustainability Online Training Modules produced by the University’s Greenspace team (2019 onwards) are free and accessible to all staff and students. The new training being developed by DCAD will offer further training which brings in social and economic sustainability as well as environmental sustainability resources. 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. 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 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 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 and Participation Plans - Durham University for this and previous academic years reaffirm our commitment to widening participation in higher education. This page is regularly updated with college and department scholarships which offer a range of support from fee waivers to living cost contributions for the university: College and Department - Durham University and wider scholarship information can be accessed at: Scholarships - Durham University. Durham is one of 80 UK universities which offer sanctuary scholarships to Undergraduate and Postgraduate students, including full fee waivers. Offers are updated annually: Student Action for Refugees - Scholarships Provided by Universities Other examples of further dedicated support include the Helen Sharp Undergraduate Scholarship in Modern Languages and the Hefin Rees KC scholarship in Law, available for 2025-26, which explicitly welcome applications from asylum seekers, refugees, care-leavers, and students of Black heritage. Durham’s EDI policies cover all protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010. We protect refugees and asylum seekers through the protected characteristics. We are proud to endorse the City of Sanctuary Charter and, as a member of the supporting organisation, we support the vision that the UK will be a welcoming place of safety for all and offers sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution: Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy. |
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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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