Sustainability in higher education

Why one-way university outreach falls short

If outreach work is only about disseminating knowledge and not about listening, universities risk reinforcing their ‘ivory tower’ reputation. Real impact comes from co-creating knowledge with communities. Pipiet Larasatie explains

Pipiet Larasatie

Virginia Tech

Latino female researcher taking notes in a laboratory

Shared effort for measurable impact: building sustainable labs through partnership

Concrete steps in the research lab can lead to larger-scale change when pursued in collaboration with university leaders

Shweta Biliya, Drew Cutright

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Listen to Esther Papies, professor of social and cultural psychology at Radboud University, on how to nudge people towards greener choices on our latest podcast.

Campus Talks: How can universities nudge students and staff towards greener choices?

A behaviour change expert explains what is required to shift a whole campus community towards more environmentally sustainable habits

Esther Papies, Miranda Prynne

Radboud University

How experiential learning can build sustainability skills and spark change

Experiential learning projects that push students outside their disciplinary comfort zones can prompt real-world change. Learn why co-creation, interdisciplinarity and real-world relevance are key

Lory Barile, Bo Kelestyn, Bret Willers

The University of Warwick

Greener lab practices for higher education

Greener lab practices in higher education

Advice on how to make university laboratories more environmentally sustainable

Campus contributors, Kiera O’Brien

Campus

A vial of green liquid sits on a sheet of reaction formulas

Tips to integrate sustainability into day-to-day university lab practice

Sustainability doesn’t have to be a big project. Instead, make it a part of what science departments do daily, writes Deirdre Black

Deirdre Black

Royal Society of Chemistry

A robot uses a microscope in a laboratory

A surprising ally in the fight to make chemistry greener – AI

While making chemistry more sustainable is paramount, tiny changes to lab materials and conditions can have significant effects. Can AI’s data-crunching abilities help?

Jonathan Hirst, Joe Heeley

University of Nottingham

A close-up of a lab worker looking through a microscope

Turning research sustainability from a tick-box exercise into ‘the way we work’

Sustainability can feel like yet another task for busy researchers. Here are ways to make greener research practices easier – and more memorable

Andrea Hodgetts, Caitlin Broadbent, Hong Zhang

UCL

A scientist stands in a greenhouse with a tablet

Environmental researchers know the impact of AI – so why do they still use it?

Academics are increasingly using AI for research, despite being aware of its environmental footprint. But is it their fault – and what can be done?

Sarah Hartley, Emily Robinson, Mayra Rodriguez

The University of Exeter

A green liquid is dispensed into a petri dish

Take action to make sustainable labs a reality

Eliminate waste, reap the benefits of a circular economy and aim for ambitious targets for greener laboratories, with these tips

Jenna Lowe

University of Liverpool

Two masked scientists fillin test tubes in a lab

From experiment to impact: reducing waste in teaching labs, part 2

How to move beyond basic waste reduction to teaching students responsible decision-making in experimental work

Rebecca L. Jones, Sara Thayammal, Fatema Khatun, Roberta Stinga

Imperial College London

A group of students conducting an experiment in a lab

From experiment to impact: reducing waste in teaching labs, part 1

From cleaning glassware to choosing cooling systems, learn how small teaching interventions can help students experiment more sustainably

Rebecca L. Jones, Sara Thayammal, Fatema Khatun, Roberta Stinga

Imperial College London

The hidden environmental cost of cold storage in laboratories

Ultra-low-temperature freezers in laboratories can use as much energy as two UK households per year. Here’s how to make cold storage as efficient as possible

Marcelo Salierno

King’s College London

Greener labs don’t need bigger budgets – just better habits

When it comes to improving green practices across a university’s laboratories, meaningful change doesn’t always require major investment or new infrastructure. Small but intentional practices can yield substantial results

Autumn Timpano

Virginia Tech

Biomaterials workshop at Arts University Plymouth

Enter the circle: teaching circularity in practice from the ground up

Creative universities need to move students’ practice from a linear ‘take, make, waste’ ethos to one co-authored with nature. Stephanie Owens explains how to foster a culture of circular innovation

Stephanie Owens

Arts University Plymouth

How we cut daily lab deliveries by 94 per cent

By cutting down deliveries, you can lower your lab’s carbon footprint, reduce clutter and admin and free up researchers to focus on discovering new cures and treatments. Learn how

Kully Sunner, Stephen Shine , Kelly Newman

UCL

Make laboratory teaching greener with VR

Virtual reality should not replace hands-on laboratory teaching. Used well, it can make practical science more sustainable by reducing avoidable waste and helping staff use real laboratory time more effectively

Stephen Hilton, Blanka Hilton

UCL, University of Kent

Combat sustainability burnout by giving students the tools to act

Students care deeply about climate change – here’s how to design teaching to prevent them feeling powerless as a result

Soheil Davari

University of Bath

A scientist filling a test tube in a lab

Practical ways to embed green chemistry into a packed curriculum, part 2

Find out how targeted teaching, skills-based projects and real-world context equip students to think critically about environmental and human impacts while developing as responsible scientists

Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot, Euan D. Doidge, Rebecca L. Jones, Laura Patel

Imperial College London

Two chemists in a lab consulting a training manual

Practical ways to embed green chemistry into a packed curriculum, part 1

Learn how small, intentional curriculum changes can help students connect chemistry with health, environmental and social impact and sustainable development

Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot, Euan D. Doidge, Rebecca L. Jones, Laura Patel

Imperial College London

The long game: gamifying sustainability education

To integrate sustainability into the business school curriculum, why not try an interactive game? Here’s how to immerse students in real-world challenges

Cecilia Primogerio , Maria Fernanda Figueroa Herrera

Universidad Austral

From theory to judgement: using role play to assess students’ decision-making skills

Students can explain theories. But can they challenge them? A structured role-play approach helps assess critical thinking, professional judgement and decision-making – skills that traditional assessments often miss

Angela Christidis

The University of Exeter

How business schools can turn AI from ‘threat’ to ‘sustainability enabler’

Business schools can move beyond seeing AI as a sustainability risk by embedding it across teaching, strategy and collaboration, says Meelis Kitsing

Meelis Kitsing

Estonian Business School

Awareness to action: how to embed sustainability in university teaching

Almost every educator is already teaching aspects of sustainability, whether or not they name it as such, writes Esther Canónico. Here, she shares ways to include the SDGs in curricula so the learning is meaningful for students and their future careers

Esther Canónico

Imperial College London

Details of hands playing different games

A game-making workshop to bring complex systems to life

Board games offer a powerful teaching tool to deepen understanding of complex dynamics such as climate. This analogue group task fosters the skills of systems thinking: setting boundaries, seeing multiple perspectives and holistic analysis

Adam Procter, Matteo Menapace

University of Southampton, Manchester Metropolitan University

Book, scales, gavel, fuzzy globe, environmental justice concept

Teaching ethics and sustainability through fiction

A novel offers practical ways for students to consider how theory and practice can come together in addressing climate challenges. Here, Denise Baden offers exercises across humanities and social sciences disciplines

Denise Baden

University of Southampton

A group of students in a classroom working on a live brief

From buzzwords to business plans: making the SDGs matter to students

How to help students apply SDG thinking in practical, business-focused ways using local case studies, live briefs, internships and feedback

Robyn Griffiths

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Doing outreach with children? Start with bricks, questions and storytelling

When the climate crisis dominates headlines but often feels too large for meaningful action, how can university researchers invite the next generation to engage, imagine and lead? Here, Nadera Assim shares insights from a workshop on composting

Nadera Assim

University of Southampton

The case for arts and humanities spotlight guide

Making the case for arts and humanities

The arts and humanities are often dismissed as an unaffordable luxury, when these disciplines underpin vital human skills. This collection explores how arts and humanities can be harnessed for the benefit of all – students, universities and wider society

Campus contributors, Eliza Compton

Campus

Looking for our environmental future in the poetic past

How can studying a poem or writing a story give students the skills to imagine a healthy planetary future? Stephanie Jones explains the link between literature and environmental literacy

Stephanie Jones

University of Southampton

Students recycling at a local community centre

Tackle one concrete problem to advance the SDGs: campus recycling

A focus on recycling offers universities a realistic, high-impact way to strengthen sustainability and make measurable progress toward the SDGs

Germán Anzola

The University of Applied and Environmental Sciences (UDCA)

Hands holding up a sign that says "reuse", "recycle" and "reduce" with accompanying icons

The future of sustainable universities is circular

With growing pressure to reduce emissions, costs and waste, now is the time for universities to reimagine their role in the resource life cycle, says Darren Wilkinson

Darren Wilkinson

Lancaster University

Students discuss their work round a table

A co-curricular approach to SDG education

To accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals, students need to be equipped to tackle real-world issues across disciplines. Here’s how it can be done

Michelle Cheng Wing Tung

The Education University of Hong Kong

A healthy array of vegetables and pulses

Put food sustainability on your university’s menu

Steps for embracing food sustainability and fostering behaviour change across campus, which any higher education institution could take

Graeme Collie

King’s College London

Wind turbines and solar panels across the horizon

Support smaller businesses’ sustainability efforts through education

For businesses to improve their sustainability, they first need to understand how. Paula Whitehouse shares lessons from a programme specially developed to educate executives in environmental strategies

Paula Whitehouse

Aston University

Build lasting partnerships with industry, from the ground up

A strong university-industry partnership can transform local communities, building confidence, skills and opportunities. Here are four strategies to help those connections thrive

Simay Sali Sevik

University of Westminster

An illustration of a green light bulb, wearing a mortarboard

How to embed sustainability in your business school

Vague symbolic gestures and greenwashing are no longer enough to show your institution is taking sustainability seriously. Here’s how to embed sustainable teaching and research

Muhammad Ikram

Al Akhawayn University

A large team working together at a table - top-down view

Interdisciplinarity in business sustainability education: how does it work in practice?

Practical lessons and tips to help you launch your own interdisciplinary sustainability initiative

Fatima Lopez Castellanos, Neha Chandarana

The University of Bristol

Four hands each with a puzzle piece that together makes up an image of the planet

Empower students as co-creators in sustainability education

Co-creation in education for sustainable development empowers students to shape meaningful projects, build practical skills and drive institutional change, as demonstrated by a collaborative initiative between two London-based institutions

Multiple authors

UCL, Queen Mary University of London

Ease student climate anxiety through nature and community

As climate anxiety grows among students, connecting with nature and building supportive communities nurture resilience, purpose and well-being, say Mireia Bes and Vivienne Kuh

Mireia Bes, Vivienne Kuh

The University of Bristol

A white-coated figure handles test tubes

Four ways to shape the future of analytical labs now

Academic labs are key to research and innovation – but they need to keep evolving. Here’s how to make a lab smarter, greener and leaner

Imtias Amir Bahauddin

Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)

A group of educators designing a curriculum

Institutions must work together to build innovative curricula

Collaboration across institutions can drive real curriculum innovation. This guide shares lessons from two east London-based institutions on building partnerships for sustainability and community-based learning

Stephanie Fuller, Rehan Shah, Anne Preston

UCL, Queen Mary University of London

How can we teach students about social value?

Students increasingly expect universities to reflect their social conscience. Business schools must go beyond profit-focused teaching, embedding social value, impact measurement and experiential learning, says Robert A. Phillips

Robert A. Phillips

The University of Manchester

A journalist interviews a man in a raincoat

It’s up to universities to embed climate literacy in the next generation of journalists

With the climate crisis intensifying, the media’s role in informing the public will be critical. Here’s how to equip journalism and media students with the tools to do so

Doug Specht, Anastasia Denisova, Morgan Lirette

University of Westminster

UC Earth Science Garden at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand

How a campus garden is tackling declining 3D spatial skills in geoscience students

Making geology more tangible can spark curiosity in the field and help students learn the skills needed to address global issues such as climate change, resource management and natural hazards. Kate Pedley walks through an interactive garden

Katherine Pedley

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Students work with plants, a model of the Earth and a solar panel around a table

Sustainability education isn’t just an add-on – it’s a foundation for the future

If universities want to nurture future leaders capable of addressing the world’s most pressing challenges — climate change, inequality, poverty – they must go beyond surface-level curriculum reforms. Here’s how to create the space for your students to grapple with these issues

Maria Jose Murcia

Universidad Austral

Competence matters more than content in sustainability education

Instead of teaching the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals head on, find the competencies business managers will need to take on the challenges of the future. Here’s how

Rhoda Davidson, Hans-Jörg Schlierer

EMLyon Business School

A lecturer observes her students reading

The subtle curriculum: how to embed ESG in business education organically

Are we marginalising environmental, social and governance considerations in treating them as optional extras? Here’s how to subtly integrate them into business courses

Daniel Muravsky

University of the West of Scotland

Campus webinar: How to embed sustainability into the curriculum

Hear experts discuss how they engage students in climate-conscious learning, build sustainability into course design and connect it to employability and wider social responsibility

Ethan Chong Yih Tng , Edson Kieu , Jo-Anne Ferreira, Daniel Yonto

Singapore Institute of Technology , Nanyang Technological University , The University of Southern Queensland , Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Forget climate anxiety – let’s foster climate confidence

Combine research and administrative duties to tap into how students are feeling about climate change – and use your findings to help them gain the skills, and confidence, to tackle it head-on

Léa Chambaudet

Université Paris-Est Créteil

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