Our campus - University of Reading

As part of our ambition to be known as the greenest university in the world, we are leading the way in cutting our carbon footprint – continually setting ambitious carbon-reduction targets, investing in sustainable technologies, and introducing new initiatives to lower our environmental impact.

More than a third of all energy used on campus is low-carbon, with 100% of all electricity coming from renewable sources. This year, a major investment on campus will improve solar generation, make heating buildings more efficient, and add energy-efficient equipment in labs and catering outlets.

Aerial view of the lake on Whiteknights campus.

Living sustainably

We have cut our emissions by 51% since 2009.
We have helped prevent more than half a million plastic bottles from being thrown away each year on campus by introducing refillable drinks bottle and coffee cup schemes, as well as removing plastic straws from bars and cafes.
We encourage staff and students to take action to reduce their collective emissions, through smarter energy use and greener travel. Our Sustainability Team also run a Green Festival every year, celebrating sustainability action and raising aware in the community of ways to get involved.
We are taking part in one of the first trials of fully electric waste collection vehicles in the UK.
In the interests of transparency, we publish regular campus sustainability reports.

Green investments

After securing £3.4m funding, we are set to quadruple our solar power generation on Whiteknights campus in 2021, meaning we will treble solar generation across our entire estate. Once complete, this is expected to generate 886,000 KWh annually – enough to power 306 average homes for a year.
One of the first commercial-scale ground source heat pumps was installed at the University in 2007, which extracts heat underground to heat the Carrington building.
A 'grey water system' has been set up in the Chancellor's building, which treats water from the building's hand basins so it can be used for watering gardens or flushing toilets.
All fossil fuel shares and bonds have been removed from our investment portfolio, while we now back more green schemes.

Energy efficiency

We achieved the biggest proportional carbon reduction of any research-intensive university in the UK from 2008 to 2020, and our sustainability efforts took another major step forward in 2021.
Campaign work at the University has encouraged people and organisations, including ourselves, to use changes forced during the pandemic as the basis for long-term behavioural changes to reduce carbon emissions.

Sustainable catering

Thousands more environmentally friendly, plant-based recipes have been added to our campus menus as part of our commitment as the first European university to join the Menus of Change Universities Research Collaborative.

Education for Sustainable Development

All University of Reading students have the opportunity to develop an informed understanding of the environmental and wider sustainability challenges the world faces.

In addition to key modules embedded in programmes on climate change and sustainability, we offer an optional module, Science of Climate Change, aimed at all students, not just those studying the sciences. Students can learn directly from our worldwide experts about why the climate is changing, how we can avoid the most devastating consequences, and what we can do to adapt as the planet warms.

Preparing for the future

That's just the start: we're working to embed curricular opportunities for all students, regardless of subject, to engage with transformative change to enable lifelong critical thinking and reflection on the environmental, social and economic challenges they will face, both within their programme and beyond.

A Reading graduate will have an appreciation of multiple perspectives and diversity to make well-informed, ethical decisions and to integrate social and civic responsibility. This includes the ability to collaborate effectively and adapt to different work or study contexts. We will support all our students to explore global citizenship within the context of their discipline and their future professional and personal lives.

We are driven to ensure that our students are empowered to positively contribute to finding sustainable solutions in their lives, professions and communities.

Find out more about Education for Sustainable Development