Transforming Tomorrow 24 At Lancaster we know that the journey towards greater sustainability is the responsibility of our whole community. Since 2023, we have made great strides in widening the discussion to all parts of our community, inviting diverse expertise and perspectives to enrich our approach. Accordingly, we have changed how we talk about sustainability – moving away from data-heavy and often exclusive language, to a more grounded and accessible narrative that profiles and celebrates the positive changes staff and students are making. Each term we hold an increasingly popular Sustainability Knowledge Exchange to hear about positive changes in research, teaching and learning, and campus operations. Such stories are important when considering the scale of the task ahead. In 2020, we set one of the most ambitious net zero carbon targets in the sector, aiming to achieve net zero carbon from all emission sources by 2035. More than 80% of these emissions are devolved across the organisation, reinforcing why our refreshed approach to communicating and celebrating sustainability is so important. Change cannot be delivered by large, technological solutions alone; rather, they need everyone to consider the impacts of everyday decisions and choose differently. That said, we must not overlook our sector-leading investment in decarbonising our campus. We are one of the highest producers of renewable energy within the UK higher education sector: since 2005 we have reduced our electricity and heating related carbon emissions by 50%. We are building a solar farm and net zero district heating scheme that will together almost eliminate our need for natural gas and reduce our dependency on the national grid. Aiming for completion in spring 2027, these projects will provide a significant contribution to our net zero target. There is much work to be done, but we are working from strong foundations and will continue to need the collaborative support and expertise of the Pentland Centre in helping us get there. Celebrating Sustainability Stories
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