The greatest long-term contribution of the College to reducing carbon will be through supporting its world-class researchers and providing excellent education to the students who will shape the future.
Our commitment to sustainability
Sustainability is a critical challenge, and the College is committed to having a meaningful impact. While there is always more to do, we are taking evidence-based steps to reduce our carbon footprint. On these webpages, we have outlined some of those actions.
Rather than making broad statements or setting arbitrary targets, our focus has always been on measurable actions that deliver carbon reductions. Transparency is important, but we believe that true sustainability is about long-term impact rather than just what is publicly available online.
Students who are passionate about sustainability are encouraged to get involved. The JCR Environment Rep is a key member of the College’s Carbon Control Committee, which works closely with the College to drive change across all areas of its operations. The Committee welcomes ideas, engagement, and collaboration.
At the same time, our greatest contribution to global sustainability is through our core mission: advancing education and research. As a charitable institution, we support world-class researchers and equip students with the knowledge and skills to tackle climate challenges on a global scale.
Many of our researchers are tackling the global issues of climate change and sustainability in efforts to be part of the solution, for example working on prolonging the life of rechargeable batteries, improving the efficiency of rice crops to meet the food demands of a growing population, and increasing the survival chances of declining species.
In early 2025, the College committed funds for a new Junior Research Fellowship for researchers working on a topic within any discipline related to responding to the challenges of climate change. The duties of this post include organising an annual event related to climate change and helping to coordinate with existing activities in the College to raise the profile of research and teaching related to the climate crisis.
We are also deeply committed to making local changes within the College community. For example, the Carbon Committee works on a carbon policy and a series of carbon commitments. We have also worked to receive Fairtrade accreditation, established a working group on food to support environmental sustainability, and included sustainable considerations in our ‘masterplan’, which assesses the use of the College’s buildings over the next few years.
We will continue to share our progress through our website and social media channels.
