Sustainability [for students & staff]

• The Paris Climate agreement, drafted in 2015, saw 195 countries reach consensus on the need to keep global temperature rises this century to well below 2^oC, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5^oC.
• The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) has published a special report which indicated that limiting global warming to 1.5^oC would require ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by around 2050 (IPCC, 2018); any additional warming above 1.5^oC would significantly worsen the risk of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people, globally.
• More recently, the UNEP Emissions Gap Report stated that to meet the 1.5⁰C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, GHG emissions would need to be cut by 7.6% a year, each year, for the next decade.
• COP27 was recently hosted in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (November 2022). The conference achieved limited progress around the mitigation of GHG emissions, with participating nations unable to agree on a timetable for phasing out the use of coal and other fossils fuels. Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) or emissions reductions currently pledged are estimated to have us on a trajectory for 2.0⁰C of warming by 2050, however an analysis of existing national policies and actions suggests that 2.7⁰C of warming may be more likely, over that timescale.

• The University of Glasgow (UofG) was founded in 1451 and is a world-class learning and research higher education institution. The University’s mission is: “to bring a community of world changers together” (University Strategy – World Changers Together 2025).
• The University currently has 34,335 FTE students, 7273 FTE staff and with its main campus located in the West End of Glasgow. The University estate includes 335 buildings (>100 listed buildings) ranging from 19th to 21st century.
• Currently expansion of the University estate is taking place, with a £1 billion redevelopment underway at the former Western Infirmary site, adjacent to the Gilmorehill campus.
• Aligned with the University Strategy, both student and staff numbers and the size of the estate will continue to increase in the coming years, adding further pressure to the organisation’s carbon footprint.

• The UK Climate Change Act 2008 commits the UK government to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. This has been put into Scottish legislation through the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 which commits Scotland to an 80% reduction by 2050.
• Section 44 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 also places duties on public bodies such as UofG to contribute to carbon emissions reduction targets; climate change adaption; and to act sustainably.
• In 2015, the Scottish Government introduced an order requiring all public bodies (including UofG) to report annually to Scottish Ministers on their compliance with the climate change duties.
• In April 2019, the Scottish Government declared a global climate emergency.
• In May 2019, the Committee on Climate Change published their report ‘Net Zero – The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming’. This report recommended that Scotland adopt a target of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 2045. Subsequently, the Scottish Government amended the Climate Change Bill to set a target of net-zero emissions by 2045 at the latest.

1.4.1  University Strategy - World Changers Together 2025

The University strategy states that we will:

• Actively adopt and advance the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals.
• Create greener, healthier and more sustainable campuses within our communities.
• Evolve our operations and ways of working to meet our commitment of being a carbon neutral organisation by 2030.

1.4.2  Glasgow Green (Climate Change Strategy 2020)

The Glasgow Green Strategy sets out how the University will deliver our climate change commitments, which are to:

• Engage and empower our community; we will ensure that the climate emergency is placed at the heart of what we do over the next 20 years. We will strive ensure a whole-of-institution approach to sustainability.
• Promoting efficiency; our estate and infrastructure will be optimally organised to reduce our carbon footprint and minimise harm to the environment.
• Improve governance and policy; we will structure our governance and management and allocate appropriate resource under both capital and revenue to initiatives that make a significant impact on our carbon footprint.
• Undertake continuous improvement initiatives; we will take forward a range of initiatives which help us reduce waste and contribute to the wider sustainability agenda.
• Build resilience through partnerships; we will lead or contribute to a range of initiatives which help prepare us for the effects of climate change over the decades to come.

1.4.3  Estates Strategy (2021-2026)

The Estates Strategy commits the Estates Directorate to:

• Ensure sustainability is at the centre of all our projects.
• Engage staff and students in our environmental actions.
• Strengthen the GUEST (student intern) network.
• Plan future energy use and generation in line with our sustainability goals.
• Implement a Travel & Transport Plan which aligns to our operational needs and sustainability goals.

1.4.4  Carbon Management Plan in relation to other University environmental strategies

The Carbon Management Plan is not a stand-alone document but works in unison with other University plans and strategies, to help deliver our Climate Change Strategy, as shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1 – Environmental strategies, in relation to our Climate Change Strategy