Policy and performance
We will make an outstanding contribution to supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through our research and education, our engagement with partners and our behaviour on campus and in our communities. We will place a special emphasis on environmental sustainability, supporting the City of Nottingham’s desire to be a net zero carbon city by 2028 and working with partners in China and Malaysia to improve sustainability within their regions.
As a major global organisation we recognise that we have an environmental, economic and societal impact locally, nationally and internationally.
Increasingly our students, staff and local community partners recognise and expect the University to be a leading advocate of sustainability in its teaching, learning, research, decision-making and operations.
Environmental Sustainability Delivery Plan
The University has made significant progress in driving forward the environmental agenda over the last decade and is seen as a global leader in this arena.
Our Environmental Sustainability Strategic Delivery Plan 
(published in February 2021) sets out our priorities to deliver against the University strategy, with our key priorities being:
- Delivering our greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets from UK campus operations and developing a road map for delivery;
- Delivering the agreed actions from “Locking in the benefits of lockdown” action plan;
- Delivering an Environmental Sustainability Engagement Plan;
- Developing a sustainability-focussed decision making framework;
- Establishing a Research and Knowledge Exchange (KE) Environmental Sustainability Committee, reporting to the University Research and KE Committee;
- Establishing an Education and Student Experience (SE) Environmental Sustainability Committee, reporting to the University Education and SE Committee;
- Launching a Biodiversity Action Plan for UK campuses;
- Developing and publishing clear action plans for UNNC and UNM to support this strategic delivery plan.
Our programmes
Our sustainability programmes are financed by the University, although we have secured external funding from Salix Finance for aspects of our Carbon Management Plan.
We work with a number of organisations to measure and improve our performance, these include: