Our goal: We will set a global benchmark for university sustainability, nurturing graduates who understand and advocate for climate science, supporting our researchers to investigate and respond to planetary challenges and leading by example in our activities and on our campuses.

Now: Few issues unite our Imperial community with such determination and urgency as our desire to address the interlinked existential challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Imperial offers a wide variety of education programmes in climate-related science, finance, technologies and policy. Our research portfolio is among the strongest in the world. Through our partnerships, including the Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials, the Tata Steel Centre for Innovation in Sustainable Design and Manufacturing and the Hitachi Centre for Decarbonisation and Natural Climate Solutions, we are using our expertise and research to accelerate a sustainable transformation for industry and society.

Imperial experts are working with governments, industry and civil society to advocate for urgent change, including Professor Jim Skea, Professor in Sustainable Energy at Imperial and the current chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Next: By 2025, Sustainable Imperial will be established as an Imperial-wide strategy to deliver evidence-based solutions, embrace new technologies, challenge conventional thinking and open new debate in our efforts to solve this growing global crisis.

The Imperial Class of 2030 programme will equip all our graduates with the climate science literacy to advocate, influence and lead in the fight against climate change and its impacts. The Imperial Institute of Extended Learning will equip individuals and businesses with the skills and business models needed to deploy new technologies towards a net zero future.

With a focus on climate, sustainability and resilience, one of our new Schools of Convergence Science will create a new portal to Imperial expertise and a research community of formidable scale to imagine and test new approaches, technologies and solutions. And we will make our climate expertise accessible to a wider community of global policy makers by providing on-campus deep-dive climate Science Policy Fellowships.

The new Imperial Zero Index, along with our Socially Responsible Investment Policy, will allow us to pursue an ‘engagement for change’ ethos with fossil fuel companies – only engaging where our research is strongly aligned to decarbonisation and if our partner demonstrates a credible strategic commitment to achieving net zero by 2050.

We will make huge investments to transform our campuses and working practices. The university’s Decarbonisation Plan is a comprehensive roadmap to reach net zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040 at the latest. Alongside this our Sustainable Procurement Policy will enable us to minimise our Scope 3 emissions in collaboration with our suppliers.

Sustainable Imperial is a remarkable opportunity for the university to live its commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible climate governance within, and far beyond, our campus.

“We will deliver evidence-based solutions, embrace new technologies, challenge conventional thinking and open new debate, driven by our commitment to solving the urgent and complex challenges facing our planet.” - Professor Nigel Brandon, Chair, Imperial Sustainability Committee

Grantham Institute

Supported by the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, the Grantham Institute at Imperial is a leading authority on climate and environmental science, and a global centre of excellence for research and education on climate change. The Grantham Institute moves the world toward effective action on climate change and the environment by advancing discovery, converting innovations into applications, training future leaders and communicating academic knowledge to businesses, industry and policymakers.