Sustainability Governance and Policies

Our Commitment

The University of Chester is committed to taking meaningful action against climate change. This includes incorporating sustainability into its policies, curriculum and campus operations. It means putting sustainability into the heart of decision-making and service delivery at the University of Chester. This includes implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS) aligned with the EcoCampus and ISO 14001 frameworks to monitor and reducing our environmental impact.  

We are also committed to working closely with students, staff and community partners to make a positive difference locally and nationally.

Our Policy

Our Sustainability Policy supports the Citizen Student Strategy by creating opportunities for students and staff to engage with sustainability and guide our approach to managing our estate. The policy outlines our commitment to legal compliance, continual improvement, environmental protection and carbon reduction through a developing Decarbonisation Plan.

Some of the University’s key recent achievements include:

• Achieving Gold EcoCampus status, demonstrating strong environmental management and ongoing commitment to improvement.
• Becoming a signatory to the UKRI Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice, committing to embedding sustainability considerations in research and knowledge exchange activities.
• Delivering the annual Spring into Sustainability campaign, bringing together a range of stakeholders to facilitate eco‑friendly activities for staff and students.
• Following the successful award of Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant, the University started developing a £5 million three-year decarbonisation project covering two of its Chester city centre sites.
• Achieving the Bronze Carbon Literate Educator status.
• The Chaplaincy’s Community Hub garden being named finalist for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Green Gown Award (2025).