Our progress

Our sustainability journey

Sustainability at Sheffield is not a single project or a fixed destination. It is long-term change across how we operate our campus, how we support research and teaching, how we spend and procure, and how we work with partners locally and globally.

Key milestones in our journey include:

• 2018/19 - We set a clear carbon baseline to measure progress and guide action.
• 2020 - We published our first five-year sustainability strategy, setting ambitious commitments to reduce emissions across all scopes.
• 2020-2025 - We strengthened delivery across the estate, travel, procurement, food, waste, research culture and education, and improved our understanding of the full scale of our footprint.
• 2025-2030 - We are refreshing our approach with science-led targets and clearer, more measurable checkpoints, backed by a detailed campus decarbonisation plan and a practical implementation approach.

Universities have a vital role in responding to global sustainability challenges, but we are operating in a rapidly changing context. In the last few years, we have had to navigate:

• Rising costs and supply chain disruption, affecting the affordability and delivery pace of major retrofit and infrastructure projects
• A challenging financial environment across the UK higher education sector, requiring careful decisions about where and how we invest
• The complexity of Scope 3 emissions - the majority of our footprint comes from areas like supply chains, construction, travel, IT and food, where progress depends on partners, markets and wider policy change
• The need to balance carbon reduction with our wider mission - protecting student experience, supporting jobs, and continuing to deliver research, education and civic benefit

We are committed to being transparent about this reality while staying ambitious. Our approach prioritises real reductions and practical change that can be delivered and sustained.

Progress highlights from recent years

We are proud of the progress we have made, and we know there is much more to do. Recent achievements include:

Cutting carbon and improving energy use

• Reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% from our 2018/19 baseline (as of 2026)
• Procured 100% renewable electricity for our operations, supporting lower-carbon power across the estate.
• Continued development of our campus decarbonisation planning, creating a clearer pathway for reducing fossil fuel use in heating and power.

Building and running a more sustainable campus

• Completed The Wave, designed and delivered in line with our Sustainable Buildings Standard, with external recognition for sustainability performance.
• Continued to improve how we use and manage space, supporting lower running costs and lower emissions through better utilisation and operational practice.

Nature and biodiversity

• Planted an additional 314 trees, bringing the total number of trees on campus to around 10,400.
• Launched our next Biodiversity Action Plan to guide long-term improvement for nature across campus.
• Achieved Gold accreditation through the Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme.

Travel and commuting

• Increased active users of the BetterPoints app to almost 2,000 staff and students.
• Recorded 1.4 million active and sustainable travel journeys in 2023/24, with more than 950,000 reported as replacing a car journey.

Waste, reuse and circular economy

• Maintained a 93.84% recycling rate for non-residential waste.
• Reduced plastic milk bottle use by 25,000 through our partnership with Our Cow Molly.
• Reduced single-use cup waste through the Vytal reusable packaging scheme.

Responsible investment and leadership

• Maintained £0 invested in fossil fuels and continued to increase the proportion of positive investments.
• Signed the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice, reinforcing our commitment to sustainable research and innovation.

What comes next

Our Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2025-2030 sets out a clear plan for the next phase of delivery. It includes:

• Updated carbon targets for Scopes 1 and 2: 80% reduction by 2030, over 90% reduction by 2035, and net zero by 2038 (from a 2018/19 baseline).
• A revised Scope 3 target: net zero by 2045, with 2030 checkpoints across areas where we have the most influence (including purchasing, capital projects, travel, laboratories, digital and food).
• A focus on real reductions first - we prioritise cutting emissions at source and only consider offsetting once emissions are reduced to a minimum and only unavoidable emissions remain.
• A One University approach - embedding sustainability into everyday decisions, supported by practical tools, clear governance, and local ownership across Schools and Professional Services.