Changing our culture
Changing our culture is an important part of our journey to net zero and we are always looking for ways to engage our staff and students so they feel empowered to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint. We offer an environment and climate emergency induction to all staff, with a module on understanding our carbon and environmental footprint.
Our Green Rewards scheme, where you earn points and prizes for sustainable actions via a digital app, has been running since 2020 and recorded 153,000 sustainable actions by January 2024. In 2023 the initiative avoided 39,538kg of CO2 through energy saving, recycling and meat free days.
We have Sustainability Advocates who represent their faculty/department or campus on a particular theme to support the delivery of our sustainability commitments including our net-zero and nature positive goals. They mobilise their Climate Environment Action Plans and attend regular Advocate Climate Taskforce (ACT) meetings, led by the Provost and Senior Academics to progress challenging and transformational change agenda items.
The sustainability team on Penryn Campus run a variety of events to engage staff and students and encourage sustainable habits, from conservation volunteering with the grounds team to bike information and repairs stations.
The Future is Green
The Future is Green is a collaborative research project that delivers skills development courses and programmes to individuals across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (C&IoS) to support the development of the skills needed for the future green economy. The project is particularly focused around the high growth potential of carbon reduction strategic sectors across C&IoS including energy & power and construction & heating. The project runs from January 2024 to March 2025, funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.