Drake's Place
We're leading by example and creating a sustainable campus that reduces our impact on the environment – building a live learning place for staff and students. A sustainable campus incorporates everything that you come into contact with – from the food in the cafes to the lighting in the buildings and the way you get to campus in the morning. 
Students and staff are welcome to provide comment or feedback on any of the documents found below by using the email in our contact us button. 

Governance

Our sustainability strategy is led by the Sustainable Advisory Group who meet on a quarterly basis and are a subcommittee of the University Executive Group and review all sustainability policies. The chair of this board is Professor Kevin Jones, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation who is joined by other senior colleagues across our departments including, but not limited to, Estates and Facilities, Finance, and the Sustainable Earth Institute. 
Students can get involved with this group via their elected UPSU President or Student Voice
In 2022 there was the addition of sub-groups to focus on specific topics, such as: academia, biodiversity, carbon, food, procurement and waste.

Sustainability Policies and Action Plans

Sustainability Reports

ISO 14001:2015 and PAS 2060

In 2009, we successfully gained ISO 14001:2015 accreditation – one of very few higher education institutions to do so at the time. This accreditation is an international standard providing a framework – for organisations of any size – to control and improve environmental performance via an Environmental Management System (EMS). It provides practical tools for us to identify and control environmental impacts and it recognises that we have a systematic approach to environmental management – one that is externally audited. We are externally accredited to ISO 14001:2015 for our Environmental Management System, for the activities on our main campus site, including Cookworthy building, as well as Derriford Research Facility and John Bull building.
Carbon neutrality for all Scope 1, 2 and selected Scope 3 (Water, Waste, Business Travel) will be achieved by University of Plymouth in accordance with PAS 2060 on 24th February 2023, with commitment to maintain to 31st July 2025 for the period commencing 1st August 2021, NQA verified. Below is a link to our Qualifying Explanatory Statement explaining how. 

Other relevant awards, certificates and documents

Discover more

Sustainability is embedded not just in operations across the University but also in our course provision, education methods and research.

Dartmoor expedition

Sustainability courses and programmes
Plymouth offers a range of sustainability themed courses and programmes across many disciplines.

Sustainability education

Sustainability education
Discover how the Centre for Sustainable Futures works to embed sustainability across our faculties.

Aerial view from high altitude of little planet earth with small village houses and distant green cultivated agricultural fields with growing crops on bright summer evening

Sustainability research
Our Sustainable Earth Institute is about advancing research, knowledge and innovation for a more sustainable Earth.