Sustainable development: the role of higher education and HEFCE

CHES Annual Conference

6 July 2009

Joanna SimpsonSenior Higher Education Policy Adviser

Sustainable development: our vision

Within the next 10 years, the higher education sector in this country will be recognised as a major contributor to society's efforts to achieve sustainability - through the skills and knowledge that its graduates learn and put into practice, its research and exchange of knowledge through business, community and public policy engagement, and through its own strategies and operations.

Sustainable development in higher education (HEFCE 2009/03)

• Sustainable development in higher education – July 2005

• Strategic review - 2007

– Great deal has been done –

diversity of approaches

– Momentum for change needs to

continue and increase

– Confirmed that our non-prescriptive

approach is the right one

• Revised SD strategy and action plan - 2008

The journey so far…

What we can achieve through partnershipsCatalyst and facilitator

Support roles

• Engaging with stakeholders to bring about policy synergies

• Building the capacity of people

• Sharing and supporting the development of good practice

• Rewarding more sustainable behaviour

Challenges• Fulfilling higher education’s role

• What is HEFCE’s role?

• Perception that society isn’t moving fast enough, so what can HE do?

– Show leadership

– What can we as a sector do to

effectively harness and increase the

drivers?

• Lead internationally

• Vital role in helping meet Government’s 2050 climate change target

• Publicise performance

• Justify and protect investment?

Opportunities for the sector

• provides funding for all HEIs in England to support a broad range of knowledge exchange activities resulting in economic and social benefit to the UK

• not only with private sector – also public sector and charities, community groups etc

• innovation is the (only!) way to achieve an efficient, sustainable and low-carbon economy

Higher Education Innovation Fund

• £3.5 million Carbon Connections Development Fund

• supports organisations with innovative projects

• 27 funded projects

• key criteria

– carbon reductions

– innovation

– knowledge transfer

– sustainability

Carbon Connections at UEA

• Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)

– C-SCAIPE - Kingston University

– Centre for Sustainable Futures - University of

Plymouth

• Higher Education Academy

• Facilitate collaborative working and promotion of good practice

• Senior management commitment

HEFCE’s role in ESD

• University of Bradford

• aims to promote and embed learning about ESD to all students regardless of discipline

• 3 curricula model for ESD

– Formal curricula

– Informal curricula

– Physical curricula

Ecoversity: learning and skills

2008 grant letter

• All institutions should have plans to reduce carbon emissions

• Plans to reduce carbon emissions will be a factor in future capital allocations

Key Performance Target

• To develop during 2009-10 in consultation with stakeholders a realistic strategy and target for carbon reductions which are sufficient to ensure satisfactory progress towards the government targets of reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent against 1990 levels by 2050 and at least 34 per cent by 2020.

Carbon reductions

Carbon reduction strategy and target• Key deliverables

– a 1990 baseline established using scientifically

based methods

– recommend appropriate carbon reduction target/s

for the sector

– How to measure progress

– strategy for achieving this target

– guidance for institutions in developing carbon plans.

• Consultation – Summer 2009

Revolving Green Fund• Partnership between HEFCE and

Salix Finance

• £30 million over 3 years

• Recoverable grants to undertake projects which reduce greenhouse gas emissions

• Proven technologies and innovative projects

• 44 institutions have already received a share of £25 million

Building good practice

• Corporate Responsibility benchmarking and reporting programme specifically for the HE sector

• Based on the Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index

• Encourage the sharing of best practice and celebrate performance improvement throughout the sector

• University of Gloucestershire along with the EAUC and BiTC

Universities that Count

• Corporate Social Responsibility Policy

– ISO14001

– Carbon Trust Standard

• Annual CSR report

• Key objectives

– Business ethics

– Managing our environmental impacts

– Procurement

– People

– In the community

– Working with the sector

HEFCE’s own operations

Further information

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/lgm/sustain/

Joanna Simpson

j.simpson@hefce.ac.uk

0117 9317411