SUSTAINABILITY PLAN
Annual Report 2024 - 2025
FOUR YEARS OF PROGRESS.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES.
Welcome to our latest Sustainability Plan Annual Progress Report. As we reach the halfway point of our Sustainability Plan 2021 – 2030, we’re taking a moment to celebrate our progress so far and to look ahead to what’s next.
Our Sustainability Plan sets out how we as an institution are responding to the urgent challenges of our time and contributing to a more sustainable world. Now at the mid-point of the Plan, we’re showcasing the significant progress made towards our goals and objectives.
This year’s report highlights key milestones we’ve achieved since 2021 as well as the priorities we’ll focus on in the years ahead. We’re also shining a light on some of the inspiring work from the past year - from new guidance to help researchers embed sustainability in their work, innovative student projects in the Sustainability Clinic and the exciting announcement of our on-campus Deep Geothermal Energy project.
Read below to find out what we're been doing and how you can get involved.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
DEEP GEOTHERMAL ENERGY PROJECT LAUNCHED
Successful £35 million government grant awarded to explore geothermal solutions as a transformative step towards Net Zero.
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR SUSTAINABLE RESEARCH
Launch of guidance on how our researchers can integrate sustainable practices into their work.
COMMUNITY UNIVERSITY OF THE YEAR
In celebration of our annual York Festival of Ideas. Empowering individuals and enriching lives, from our campus to across the globe.
RESPONSIBLE FUTURES PROGRAMME LAUNCHED
Our commitment to embedding sustainability in the curriculum and empowering our students to act on the climate and ecological crises.
GREEN IMPACT LAB ACCREDITATION LAUNCHED
Supporting research wet labs to achieve an approved sustainability accreditation as part of our Green Impact scheme.
ENERGY SAVING CAMPAIGN
Small change, big impact - use energy wisely. Driving meaningful strides in energy conservation.
STORIES
FROM THIS YEAR
Spotlighting projects, people and progress from 2024/25.
Digging deep for a greener future: Geothermal Energy Project
Our Deep Geothermal Energy Project launched this spring — a first of its kind for a UK University. Alongside solar installations, roof upgrades and LED rollouts, it marks a major step in our decarbonisation journey.
In April 2025, the University launched an exciting deep geothermal energy project as a transformative step in its journey to Net Zero. The project aims to cut our fossil fuel consumption by 78% as part of our Sustainability Plan 2030 targets and make a substantial contribution to reducing the City of York’s overall carbon footprint.
The first 3-year stage has already secured funding, supported by a £35 million government-funded grant from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Since its launch, the project has seen lots of activity, including engaging our community about the project through open days, developing a geothermal research network, and upgrading our lighting across campus to energy-efficient LEDs.
As a next step, we are working closely with our delivery partners, Echo Geo, to deliver a seismic survey on Campus East and surrounding areas. This essential early-stage work will provide a detailed understanding of the geology beneath our feet, helping to inform the project’s feasibility and planning.
The Sustainability Clinic in action:
Student-led projects
Students on the Sustainability Clinic module have been leading real-world projects, tackling everything from green urban spaces to sustainability in sport. This year, Clinic collaborations expanded to schools, libraries and community groups, proving the power of learning through doing.
The Sustainability Clinic is an elective York Interdisciplinary Module (YIM) that brings together students and our local community to tackle pressing sustainability issues. Working in interdisciplinary teams, students are given a project brief that has been co-produced with an organisation, business or charity, focusing on a sustainability challenge.
Throughout 2024–25, our student teams have made a real impact - from developing sustainability storytelling sessions with local libraries and supporting sustainable land management on local farms, to empowering primary school pupils to lead their own Healthy Living campaign.
This year, the Clinic’s influence has reached even further; supporting University-wide initiatives like York Festival of Ideas, and becoming an active hub for sustainability and environmental events across campus.
Read the full Sustainability Clinic Highlights Report 2024-25 to find out more about the module’s success and impact.
Play for the Planet:
Creativity meets climate change
The Play for the Planet conference and monthly climate play sessions are reimagining sustainability education and research through creativity and collaboration.
Play for the Planet is a York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI) network. In April 2025 the network, in collaboration with Environmental Sustainability at York (ESAY), celebrated Earth Day in King's Manor with its second Play for the Planet conference. This event brought together educators, researchers and game designers from different institutions to talk about climate and environmental issues through games.
The day was filled with playful interactions and building connections with like-minded individuals. The programme included 3-minute research blasts to hear about current projects, a World Café to discuss important questions, a rematch of the previous year's Lego challenge and a "speed meet a game" to try people's games and get feedback.
Outside the conference, the network has been hosting monthly Climate Play Sessions in the Sustainability Clinic, bringing together staff, students, and the wider community to explore new games and discuss key themes around play and climate.
Sustainability support for our researchers
Over the past year, we've introduced new support, guidance, and tools to help researchers embed more sustainable practices into their work.
Code of Practice for Sustainable Research
At the start of 2025, the University launched a new Code of Practice for Sustainable Research, designed to help researchers integrate sustainability into their work and align with our goal of achieving carbon net-zero by 2030. The code offers support, guidance and tools for researchers, including a Sustainability Conversations podcast series.
The Code reinforces the University’s commitment to the UKRI’s Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice, which reflects a shared ambition for the UK to continue delivering cutting-edge research in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable way.
Green Impact Lab Accreditation (GILA)
New for 2025, the University’s Green Impact Lab Accreditation (or GILA) has been created specifically to support research wet labs to achieve an approved sustainability accreditation in order to apply to certain funding bodies.
Each participating laboratory completes the necessary actions, is audited, then receives a nationally standardised GILA certificate. The certificate demonstrates that our labs are not undertaking research on sustainable topics but are practically carrying out the research through sustainable processes.
Funding staff and student sustainability projects
Funded by the University’s Latte Levy, the York SU Sustainable Development Grant offers funding to staff and student projects that aim to address at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals within the York Community. With 17 Goals to choose from, this means the Grant funds a broad range of innovative, inspiring and impactful initiatives.
Over the last year, the Sustainable Development Spotlight Stories series has celebrated the work delivered with the help of the Grant by interviewing successful applicants to find out more about how they used the Grant funding to realise their ambitions and have a real impact in the York community.
Explore the full series below and read inspiring stories from our University community:
- Supporting Creatures on Campus - Find out how the volunteering group Creatures on Campus is using the grant to help protect wildlife on campus.
- Women’s Rugby Union changes the game on waste - Find out how the Women's Rugby Union is using the grant to reduce the amount of waste they produce as a club.
- Putting sustainability into the heart of teaching and learning - Here about how the grant supported a Schools Sustainability Day which saw students coming to campus from across the local area to learn about sustainability.
- Climate Board Game Development - Hear about Prasad's PhD research and how he used the grant to help him deliver work on climate action through role-playing games.
- Tech Society’s Battery Project - Hear how the Technical Theatre Society used the grant to take a step towards their zero waste goal.
Inspired by these stories? Interested in developing a sustainability project but need funding? Find out how you can apply for the SU Sustainable Development Grant.
LOOKING BACK,
MOVING FORWARD
Celebrating our achievements over the last four years,
and looking ahead at what's still to come.
LEARNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
We’ve created formal and informal education opportunities that empower our students and staff to act on the climate and ecological crises.
- New courses and programmes, including MSc Environmental Sustainability Education and Communication and MSc Renewable Energies and Technologies.
- Launch of York Interdisciplinary Modules (winning a CATE Award for Teaching Excellence).
- Launch of the Sustainability Clinic module (winning a Green Gown Award for Student Engagement).
- Introdution of Carbon Literacy Training and Climate Fresk workshops, with additional opportunities for staff and students to become facilitators.
- Launch of Responsible Futures programme as a model for embedding sustainability in the curriculum.
ACCELERATING OUR SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH
We’ve been working on developing interdisciplinary understanding and striving to become a global leader in sustainability research and sustainable development.
- YESI Fellows Scheme (launched in 2022) includes Discipline Hopping, Knowledge Exchange, and YESI International Fellows. Shortlisted for the THE Awards 2025 in the Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership category.
- Established new research networks in environmental sustainability, such as Play for the Planet, York CliConnect, and InTREEgue.
- Support, guidance and tools to help researchers be more sustainable, including the Code of Practice for Sustainable Research, the Green Impact Lab Accreditation (GILA), and the Sustainability Conversations Podcast Series.
- Signed the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice, representing a shared ambition for the UK to continue delivering cutting-edge research in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable way.
STRIVING FOR
NET ZERO
We’re implementing ambitious projects to reach our goal of becoming Net Zero.
- Published our Infrastructure Decarbonisation Plan 2025 - 2030, setting out a pathway for reducing our direct carbon emissions.
- Institute for Safe Autonomy (ISA) Net Zero Project, aiming to diversify our on-site energy production through installation of solar arrays and acting as a ‘living lab’ where researchers develop AI and robotic systems in renewable energy.
- Announcement of our Deep Geothermal Energy Project in April 2025, supported by a £35 million government-funded grant from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
- Carbon emission figures: Scope 1 and 2 = 12% reduction on baseline, with a 3% reduction on last year.
- Energy Saving Campaign launched in April 2024, an initiative to transform energy use across our University, aiming to make significant strides in energy conservation and cost savings.
- Sustainable IT: In October 2023 we moved our research computer cluster Viking to EcoDataCenter in Sweden. This is the first data centre to be made from wood and runs on 100% renewable energy; 75% from hydropower and 25% from wind power.
THE IMPORTANCE
OF BIODIVERSITY
We’ve taken steps to understand and enhance biodiversity on our campuses while engaging our community in the process.
- Our Biodiversity Living Lab, set up in 2021, aims to use our campus as a test bed for biodiversity solutions. Key initiatives have included a baseline ecological survey conducted by student interns; #KnowYorCampus and #NatureOnCampus social media campaigns; leading York City Nature Challenge with iNaturalist; the development of new campus bird maps; and delivering campus biodiversity walks.
- Launch of Long Biology: The Biology Art Trail, a celebration of art, science and education in the Biosciences at York, created by the Department of Biology in collaboration with the Biology Research Workshops. The trail celebrates the longest duck on the lake (Long Boi) and the outstanding research and education that goes on in the Department.
- Launch of InTREEgue, a YESI network bringing together researchers and practitioners from across the University with a common interest in how trees enhance our world.
ENGAGING OUR
COMMUNITY
We’ve fostered community engagement through events and activities that bring sustainability to life here at York.
- Launch of Sustainability Week in March 2024, hosting a wide variety of events and activities aimed at engaging our University community on sustainability and environmental topics.
- Collaborating with York Cares to deliver the Big Community Challenge for the University’s 60th Anniversary.
- Launch of Play for the Planet conferences in April 2024 and 2025, connecting game designers, researchers and educators to tackle planetary crises through play.
- The Sustainability Clinic space, opened on Campus West in June 2024, acts as a teaching space and a central hub for climate-related events and activities.
- Our Sustainability at York web pages were given a refresh in January 2025 to reflect a more holistic approach to sustainability activity across our University.
EMPOWERING OUR COMMUNITY
We’ve provided resources, support, and funding to help individuals, teams and departments become more sustainable.
- Our Green Impact Scheme has recognised and rewarded environmental practices among staff and students in colleges and departments each year. In 2025, we launched Green Impact Lab Accreditation (GILA) to support wet labs as part of the wider scheme.
- Launch of the College Sustainability Challenge (formerly Student Switch-Off) in 2024 encourages students living on and off campus to reduce their energy, water and waste through a college competition.
- The University’s Latte Levy has supported staff and student on-campus sustainability projects through the York SU Sustainable Development Grant.
- Encouraging staff and students to engage with our energy and waste reduction initiatives, such as YORCUP, Shop Save and Sustain, Latte Levy, WARPIT, and Slack channels such as #RecycleChat.
- Environmental Sustainability at York (ESAY) was launched in 2021 to help connect teaching, research, and operations to create joined-up benefits and maximise impact across and beyond the University.
MOVING FORWARD
Here's a look at what's next in our sustainability journey:
A sustainability induction module for all staff.
Establish a new Ecological Management Plan.
Responsible Futures audit to help embed sustainability in the curriculum.
Developing a plan for reducing Scope 3 emissions.
Offering central sustainability guidance and tools for researchers working in dry labs.
Producing a new Student and Staff Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
Establishing a University Sustainability Network, including Sustainability Champions embedded within departments.
Producing a Waste and Resources Plan to help reduce waste and increase recycling.
Increasing departmental engagement with our York Interdisciplinary Modules (YIMs).
TRACK OUR PROGRESS
Want to find out about our progress against the Sustainability Plan in more detail? Explore our Progress Tracker.
GET INVOLVED IN SUSTAINABILITY
We all have a role to play in reducing our impact and creating a sustainable University. We offer a wide range of sustainability-related projects and initiatives for staff, students and the wider community to get involved with, from sustainability events and joining societies to volunteering and learning practical knowledge on how to be more sustainable.
- For staff
- For students
- For Alumni
- General guidance
- Sustainability events
- Sustainability news
- Explore Sustainability at York
Contact us: sustainability@york.ac.uk | Follow us: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook
Built with Shorthand