Sustainability practices & achievements

Sustainability Practices, Actions, Achievements

At UWS, sustainable practices and initiatives are implemented and monitored through both our Sustainability Working Group and Shaping Communities and Society Steering group. Sustainability is considered through all investment requests. The University is making changes to ensure we are a responsible global citizen in our everyday operations.

We recognise that the world is facing a climate emergency and we all have a part to play in reducing the impact of climate change. We're investing in creating more sustainable and environmentally friendly campuses and working to reduce our emissions to meet our net zero target.

Our award-winning Lanarkshire campus, opened in 2018, was built to be environmentally sustainable. The concept and action of reducing and minimising consumption is a key driver in our capital planning processes, in our investment and in our ways of working. People of all ages around the world, including many of our students, have stood up for climate action. We believe we have an obligation to the communities we serve to act now.   

In November 2022 we launched our Green Campaign. The campaign will run across all campuses to encourage all staff and students to make everyday changes to be more sustainable.

Sustainability highlights

• 20/21 saw a 19% year on year reduction in carbon emissions and 70% drop from our 12/13 baseline year
• We have introduced chemical-free cleaning across campuses
• We have planted 349 trees through our partnership with Coffee Conscience
• UWS was runner up in the Guardian University Awards Sustainability category
• UWS is ranked within the top 200 universities in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings and:
  • 1^st in Scotland and 4^th in the UK for SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 2^nd in Scotland and 10^th in the UK for SDG 10: Reducing Inequalities