We are pleased to announce that Richard Jackson has been appointed as our Director of Sustainability.

Richard will lead on further strengthening the University’s efforts in embedding sustainability in the University’s operations, working with key stakeholders, within and outside of the University, to deliver on opportunities that align with our sustainability agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

We have made significant progress over the past three years:

  • in 2020 the University declared a climate emergency and produced its ambitious climate action plan
  • in 2021/22, we offered Climate Literacy to all incoming students
  • this year we launched the Institute for Sustainability
  • the LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) pilot has been extended to include more than 50 labs across eight departments
  • our total carbon footprint for 2021/22 was down 1% compared to the previous year, with Scope 1 and 2 emissions down 20% in that time, and down by 47% since 2005
  • we launched our Sustainable Food Commitmentto support our community to make low carbon choices on campus
  • the Business and Travel Expenses Policy now gives carbon consideration greater priority in decision-making so that the majority of staff will now travel by train or bus instead of plane in the UK.

The University is now ready to take its work to the next level of commitment. Richard will draw on this work as well as a range of data to provide clear insights to senior leaders across the organisation; this enables us to build connections between goals in different areas, in our pursuit of our institutional commitments. He will report into Dr Ghazwa Alwani-Starr, our new Chief Operating Officer, and manage the Climate Action team.

Richard brings 30 years’ experience in the climate change and sustainability fields, most recently as Director of Sustainability at University College London. Prior to that, as Head of Environment at the Olympic Delivery Authority, he led on the development of the sustainability work on the design and construction of the Olympic Park.

Richard said, “I am really excited to take on the role of Director of Sustainability at the University of Bath. The climate crisis is one of the most significant challenges facing humanity and the work that the University of Bath has taken forward as part of its Climate Action Framework demonstrates its commitment to being a leader across the sector and the region. I look forward to working to advance delivery of the goals that the University has set.”

Dr Ghazwa Alwani-Starr said, “I am delighted to welcome Richard onto the team. Richard’s experience is outstanding, particularly in partnerships and engagement and I look forward to working with him on delivering initiatives that involve our community and key stakeholders to advance our sustainability ambitions.”

Read more on our progress in meeting our carbon and sustainability targets and find out more about our whole institution response to climate change.