Nicole Rossiter, an Associate at Arup, shares her reflections on the GW4 Systemic Sustainability Change Workshop, facilitated by Arup in Bristol.
Sustainability leads across the four Universities (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter), along with GW4 representatives, attended a workshop at the Arup offices in Bristol in December 2024 to discuss respective progress in delivering sustainability focusing on objective one of the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice.
All four GW4 Alliance universities have signed the environmental sustainability concordat which has been co-developed by the UK research and innovation (R&I) sector and aims to accelerate progress towards a more sustainable R&I sector.
The session provided an opportunity to discuss how the four institutions could leverage their collective power as GW4 members to lobby and advocate for broader systemic change across the sector.
The first Concordat objective looks at how far sustainability is embedded into the institutional system, alongside the effective leadership of this. This includes reviewing how well critical layers of operations are aligned to sustainable outcomes and the interdependencies between them. For example, how well sustainable development goals are embedded into the overarching vision, strategy and objectives, whether the right decision-making frameworks are in place, with the relevant empowerment to make these, aligned to sustainable outcomes. By using the lens of the institutional system and leadership, we are better able to create sustained changes that will have real impact and drive a culture that values and rewards sustainability in partnership with research and educational outcomes.
In the workshop session, sustainability leads discussed the progression made within their institutions across different levels including strategic direction, embedding sustainable business practices and ways of working, and implementation. The group shared knowledge and lessons to support progress and identify where they might be able to further support each other going forward. It was recognised that this is particularly important in the context of scope three decarbonisation strategies which are often anchored around supply chain and travel related carbon, which the Universities have less individual control over.
The workshop resulted in an initial action plan for the Universities and GW4 to take forward, paving the way to work together more closely on achieving their Net Zero goals and broader Sustainable Development outcomes.
