School of Environmental Sciences Sustainability

This page is maintained by Andy Biggin

Why is sustainability important to SoES?

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled."

— Richard Feynman, US physicist

We are now living in the Anthropocene: a period in the planet's history where human activity is profoundly affecting numerous Earth system processes and is the primary driver of global environmental change (see e.g. Rockström et al. 2009). Global warming, the loss of biodiversity, and the depletion of natural resources will, in all likelihood, present some of the greatest challenges ever faced by our globalised civilisation. These need to be faced up to today with increased adoption of sustainable practices taking place across all aspects of society.

Much of the research and teaching performed within SoES is concerned with these challenges and all of it is related to the environment that we, as humans, live in. This implies that, as an institute, we have a better understanding of these issues than most in the University and indeed, many in the world. As a school, we are therefore well-placed to lead the university by example in adopting sound sustainable practice wherever possible as we go about our business.

The university has, inline with national policies and initiatives, set itself extremely demanding targets with respect to reducing its carbon footprint.

By playing our part in helping the university in meeting these ambitious goals, we will also be helping to raise the profile of the school within the university and in the public sphere. Sustainability issues are only set to become more relevant in the future. By setting up sound sustainable practices now, we will be placing ourselves "ahead of the curve" for the years to come. This will result in direct rewards for the school in terms of generating positive publicity with potential students and funding agencies and of making any future adaptations required of us easier to cope with.

Please look here to see what we are asking from you, as a member of SoES.