Want to know more about sustainability at Bath Spa? We recognise and cherish the unique spaces in which we learn and work. Discover our sustainability strategy, our Climate Pledge and more in these pages.
Our purpose is to make the world a better place, one student at a time. We do this not only through our education and research, but also in everything we do as a business. We recognise that this is a process of continual improvement and we're learning as we go.
Our Sustainability Policy sets out the aim to minimise our impacts and continually improve our environmental performance, and our Sustainability Strategy shows how we'll deliver this focused on seven key themes.
Our most recent annual report outlines recent progress and how we're doing across the board.
On 27 February 2020 Bath Spa University and Bath Spa University Students' Union jointly declared a climate emergency. In support of this, the University signed a fossil free pledge in November 2020.
Find out more about our plans in our Carbon Reduction Management Plan.
Sign our climate pledge
We're a recognised Hedgehog Friendly Campus having been awarded a Gold Accreditation by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
For more information and to join in with activities, you can follow the Hedgehog Friendly Campus team on Instagram and Facebook.
If you'd like to find out more about how we manage our estate with biodiversity in mind, take a look at our Biodiversity Management Plan.
We've partnered with Too Good To Go in the fight against food waste. You'll find The Refectory and the Students' Union Shop and Bar on the Too Good to Go app. We're encouraging all our students and staff to fight food waste with us and rescue a magic bag today.
Get involved by downloading the app and adding our outlets to your favourites.
In 2010 we embarked on our ten-year carbon and energy reduction plan which was completed in full in just eight years. So far it's led to the avoidance of over 14,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions (2020).
We've published our new Carbon Reduction Management Plan describing our journey to date and setting out our plans for our target of net zero emissions by 2030.
The Students' Union at Bath Spa also has a strong sustainable and ethical ethos. The Students' Union is owned and run by the University and is covered by the Carbon Reduction Management Plan.
The Sustainability team at Bath Spa focuses on delivering the Sustainability Strategy across the University, but sustainability is part of every staff member’s role. Additionally, several Bath Spa colleagues are tasked with driving the University’s sustainability goals forward.
Our Careers team's ethics and sustainability position statement outlines our approach to engaging with different industries.
We manage our environmental impacts through the internationally recognised standard ISO14001, which specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system (EMS) covering all activities and sites. Our environmental manual sets out the intended outcomes of the EMS and how we ensure compliance with the standard. Our environmental planner sets out our objectives, targets and responsibilities.
In July 2020, we became one of a small handful of UK universities to have been awarded the International standard for energy management ISO50001. This gives us confidence that we're managing our energy consumption and carbon emissions in the best way we can and supports our Net Zero Carbon 2030 target.
We support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and are signatories to the SDG Accord, a worldwide collaboration of universities, committed to delivering the Goals.
As part of our support for the SDGs, we're mapping our curriculum, research, business practice and partnership-building against the Goals, in order to understand where we're doing well and where we can improve. This is our first SDG report on progress so far. It's a huge task and there will always be much to do but it's helping us to play a meaningful role in making a better world.
We've taken a number of actions on single-use plastics, and have produced a rationale for why we have taken these steps.
Since 2016, all our electricity has come from certified renewable sources. 20% of our electricity is purchased under a power purchase agreement (PPA) directly from a UK wind farm. The other 80% is purchased from the REGO scheme. We're working with our energy provider to secure 100% electricity directly from new wind and solar.
The Bath Spa Biodiversity Network will be made of representatives from academic and facilities staff, as well as students and the Students Union, with the following aims:
The network will achieve these long term aims through the following tasks:
The network will be facilitated by the Sustainability Coordinator with direction from the Grounds Manager. All students and staff will be welcome to join and contribute to the network.
The network will meet every 3 months for a general meeting, with following meetings and planning sessions being scheduled when appropriate.
General questions for the network should be directed to environment@bathspa.ac.uk
This is a staff scheme to ensure integration of the Sustainable Development Goals throughout the University and provide the opportunity to share new policies and ideas. Key responsibilities are to:
Any staff member with a passion and drive for sustainability is welcome to join the Environment Champion Network. We aim to have at least once representative from each department and school across all Bath Spa campuses.
4 November 2024
16 November 2023
6 October 2023
18 September 2023
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or email us on environment@bathspa.ac.uk.
17th greenest UK university
Green Gown Award Finalist 2023
Social Enterprise Gold Mark
Fairtrade University
