A sustainable university

Minimising energy and water consumption

Promoting sustainable transport initiatives

Ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation and obligations associated with our activities

Reducing our contribution to global climate change by making year on year reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions

Undertaking to prevent the pollution of the natural environment

Bangor University aims to be a university of choice for those who want to make the world a more sustainable planet. We want the University to be synonymous with sustainability and our commitments support aspirations laid out in the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act, and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our scientists are tackling climate change and addressing some of the planet’s greatest environmental issues on land and sea, such as the overuse of single–use plastics, and protecting the variety of species and ecosystems through biodiversity conservation research.

The University has been recognised with awards for its commitment to sustainability, including being the top university in Wales and 11th in the UK in the Times Higher Education 2022 Impact Rankings.

We are at the forefront of tackling key global challenges through research into issues including climate change, conservation and ecology, power generation and energy use, sustainable local cultures, food production and water security, loss of biodiversity and pollution. Our research also contributes to sustainability challenges closer to home, working in partnership with organisations in North Wales to help improve the quality of our environment and peoples’ lives.

Our ambitions are based on robust, multidisciplinary evidence, drawing from the University’s considerable academic and other expertise, across all aspects of sustainability. The knowledge of these experts is already being published in scientific journals and reports and individual staff and departments are embedding positive sustainability–related actions across the University. As well as ensuring that sustainability is explicitly addressed as part of the University’s strategic and business planning processes, the University is establishing a network of sustainability champions and working with the Students’ Union to further champion sustainability for the student community.

We are committed to improving the sustainability of our campus through a range of specific policies covering travel, waste and recycling, energy and carbon, construction, biodiversity, procuring all food from sustainable sources and being a Fairtrade university. In addition to upgrading electrical and gas infrastructure systems and the installation of more energy efficient equipment, the Campus Services team is integral in supporting the University’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 25% by 2025. Our overall aim is that sustainability becomes so embedded at Bangor that it simply becomes ‘the way we do things here’.

Embedding sustainable development and awareness of environmental issues in our curricula across the university

Promoting and increasing biodiversity conservation and improvement across the university estate

Raising environmental awareness and awareness of the sustainable development goals amongst staff and students through improved communication and involvement

Embedding sustainability within the procurement procedures

Establishing environmental objectives and targets and report progress on an annual basis

Managing waste through reduction, re-use, and the promotion of recycling