University of Leeds Sustainability Service

The University of Leeds were the hosts of the 2015 EAUC Conference (23-25 March). The conference included summits such as the Student Sustainability Summit (EAUC, NUS and People & Planet in partnership), the Further Education Sustainability Summit (EAUC and AOC in partnership) and the Transformational Leadership Summit.

The University of Leeds takes its responsibility for social, environmental, economic and cultural impacts very seriously. It does this by integrating sustainability in student education, research, innovation and operations.

They’ve recently launched a sustainability strategy in order to achieve these aims across the institution. The strategy focuses on four themes: 'Embedding sustainability through collaboration', 'Building knowledge and capacity', 'Being a positive partner in society' and 'Making the most of resources'. With the launch of the new strategy, they're looking to ensure that the University of Leeds has an overall positive impact on the local and global community.

"Our aim is to become a University with a reputation for outstanding performance on sustainability; a University that challenges the status quo and is renowned for its open, welcoming environment.” Alan Langlands, Vice-Chancellor.

The campus, located next to the city centre, is a living lab for sustainability and has features such as the Sustainable Garden where students and staff can help grow and pick produce, rainwater harvesting systems for teaching and research, wildflower meadows, beehives and more. They regularly hold monthly forums on sustainability, as well as events and lectures to engage staff and students with the agenda.

Find out more about Leeds' new sustainability strategy and more at sustainability.leeds.ac.uk.