Governance
The Council monitors how we are responding to climate-related risks, identified through the University’s risk management processes and supported by the Audit and Risk Committee.
We have implemented changes to our governance structure with the introduction of the Sustainability Strategy Committee, a sub-committee of the University Management Board (UMB). The Committee is responsible for overseeing the goals, priorities and implementation of the Sustainability Strategy at Imperial, reporting back to UMB each quarter. In addition, all Board papers and business cases must now routinely set out their sustainability implications.
This Committee includes a representative from every faculty, as well as from relevant operational teams, and students’ union, trade union and education representatives.
It is supported by working groups, including an academic expert group to bring our expertise to bear in support of sustainability of our operations. Individual faculties also have their own sustainability committees of departmental representatives to drive sustainability locally.
During 2022–23 the Committee focused its work on the following areas:
- strengthening the sustainability programme
- developing the proposed sustainable travel policy
- reviewing emerging plans for decarbonising the University estate
- updating the climate risk assessment
- supporting the development of faculty sustainability committees
- developing the Imperial College Carbon Budget Model
- driving up Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) take-up across the faculties of Medicine, Engineering and Natural Sciences, to reduce carbon footprints and improve sustainability of individual labs
Further information on the University’s approach to climate-related risk can be found in the Risk Management Framework.
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