Greening Imperial was a cross-campus and community initiative that ran from 2017-2020 and aimed to encourage the university to become a pioneer and exemplar in sustainability. The motivation for the initiative came from a realisation that Imperial was lagging behind its peers and that significant demand existed amongst students and staff for the college to improve its ethical and environmental policies, practices and performance.

The evidence for this demand came from a student and staff survey conducted in 2017 which in turn led to a report that set out three key recommendations that would achieve a step-change in Imperial’s public and professional reputation on sustainability: to appoint a senior member of staff responsible for sustainability, to set meaningful sustainability targets and to engage the Imperial community and its networks to deliver these targets.

Following the appointment of Professor Paul Lickiss as Academic Leader for Sustainability in November 2019 and the publication of the 5-year Sustainability Strategy in December 2020, Greening Imperial came to a close having achieved its key objectives. We'd encourage any Imperial College staff and students interested in Sustainability to visit the Sustainable Imperial website and get involved in the various projects to help improve the environmental and ethical performance of the university.

Ambition

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Ambition

Greening Imperial aimed to improve Imperial's performance related to sustainability and enhance its actions on tackling environmental challenges and climate change. This included reducing reputational risk and improving its global leadership standing in the world, both in research and operations.

To find out more, read our FAQs.

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Actions

The Greening Imperial team worked closely with the College to improve how sustainability and action on climate change were integrated into its operations, education, research and support to the wider community. From 2017-2020, achievements included securing the appointment of an Academic Leader for Sustainability (Professor Paul Lickiss), a formal Sustainability Strategy, removing single-use plastic glasses from catering outlets, introducing a coffee cup levy, replacing single-use cutlery with reusable wooden cutlery, participation in the SDG Teach In and the Student Switch Off campaign.

Find out more about the achievements of Greening Imperial.

 

You can read the Greening Imperial Report here: Greening Imperial - A Call for Action

Existing action on sustainability is described on the Estates Sustainability pages.

Contact us

 To find out more, email the Greening Imperial Team: 

The Grantham Institute

The Grantham Institute is Imperial College London's hub for climate change and the environment. It leads on world-class research, training and innovation towards effective UK and international action on climate change and the environment. Find out more about The Grantham Institute

Centre for Environmental Policy

Imperial's Centre for Environmental Policy (CEP) focuses on the interface between science and policy in key environmental subjects through the interdisciplinary study of science, technology and innovation. It aims to to produce the highest quality research, teaching and advice on environmental policy. Find out more about CEP

Imperial Estates

The Energy and Environment Team currently undertakes work related to sustainability in the College’s operations across the whole of Imperial College London. Find out more about Imperial Estates.