Reporting and data

We report our data voluntarily to the HESA Estates Management Record. This data is reported without context and it can be difficult to assess universities’ performance without factors such as size, research intensity, construction activity and student accommodation ownership being taken into account.

The data reported below includes our HESA submission, but also additional information to help contextualise figures in the activity of the University.

Scopes 1 and 2 carbon emissions

Scope 1 emissions are those that we are directly responsible for, for example the emissions from our fleet of University vehicles and the gas we use in our boilers for heating buildings. Scope 2 emissions are mainly those produced through the generation of the electricty we use on campus.

Scopes 1 and 2 emissions are usually reported together.

Total emissions

Reporting through the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) requires the use of gross emissions using UK grid average carbon intensity.

Because the University purchases 100% renewable electricity, the gross (ie, grid-average) figures do not accurately portray the carbon intensity of our electricity supply. The net figures therefore highlight the contract-specific emissions associated with the University’s procured electricity. Over time (from when the contracts started in 2020), the gross and net figures reported will diverge so we include both figures to show the impact of our electricity purchasing choice on our carbon emissions.  

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Gross (kgCO2e)	35,549,360	31,945,444	26,265,981	22,530,886	24,529,410
Net* (kgCO2e)	35,549,360	31,945,444	26,265,981	22,530,886

Emissions per/m­­²

The University’s internal floor space has grown in recent years, but our emissions per/m­² continue to be one of the lowest in the Russell Group.

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
M­­² internal space	539,405	539,787	541,966	540,037	541,216
Emissions per/m­² (kgCO2e)	66	59	48	42	45

Emissions per/£ income

The University’s research and teaching activities have continued to grow, but our emissions have fallen even while we are doing more.

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Total Income (£)	623,563,000	691,755,000	715,700,000	737,556,000	744,013,000
Emissions per/£ income (kgCO2e)	0.057	0.046	0.037	0.031	0.033

Emissions per person

Our University community continues to grow, but we are emitting less carbon per person.

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Total Students	25,100	25,665	26,175	26,455	27,160
Total Staff	6,620	6,625	6,845	7,200	7,020
Total students and staff	31,720	32,290	33,020	33,655	34,180
Emissions per member of University community (kgCO2e)	1120	989	795	669	717

Scope 3 emissions

Scope 3 emissions are all the other emissions produced indirectly as a result of our activity. There are 15 catagories of Scope 3 emissions identified by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The University is working to assess and measure these, but does not yet have data for all 15 categories.

Categories 1 and 2: Purchased Goods & Services and Capital Goods

Supply Chain Emissions; Categories 1 and 2 of annual Scope 3 emissions (tonnes of CO2e)
 

	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22
Business Services	26,012	33,450	16,779	35,900
Paper products	232	152	492	604
Other manufactured products	6,477	4,657	4,329	8,377
Manufactured Fuels	178	199	197	343
Food and catering	2,420	1,590	458	1,071
Information and communication	19,783	16,367	20,708	25,709
Medical and precision instruments	50,430	35,738	47,489	55,743
Other procurement	580	469	282	598
Construction (Category 2)	21,448	12,134	9,587	21,934
Annual Total	127,560	104,756	100,320	149,842

Category 6: Staff and Student Commuting

Staff commuting emissions (tonnes of CO2e)

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Tram	56	56	181	181	-
Train	141	141	63	63	-
Bus	186	186	353	353	-
Car	2,355	2,335	1,635	1,635	-
Total	2,738	2,718	2,232	2,232	-

Student commuting emissions (tonnes of CO2e)

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Tram	186	186	21	21	-
Train	533	533	363	363	-
Bus	161	161	439	439	-
Car	1,759	1,759	1,128	1,128	-
Total	2,639	2,639	1,951	1,951

Waste and recycling

The University produces a wide variety of waste, from normal office and commercial waste associated with most large organisations, to residential waste at our residences, food waste from our commercial outlets, and hazardous, clinical and radioactive waste related to research. These figures are for waste and disposal by tonnage; for Scope 3 emissions relating to waste, please see above.

Waste totals

Waste by source (tonnes)

We are committed to reducing the amount of waste produced from our activities and increasing the percentage of waste that is reused and recycled.
 
We collect and report on waste produced as a result of University activities holistically:

• Waste generated directly from our activities, for example waste generated on campus, at the AMRC, and from our commercial activities. Waste generated by the Students Union is also also included in this total.
• Waste generated indirectly from our activities, for example waste generated from residents at University managed accommodation and the waste generated by our construction activities.
• Other works waste is waste arising  from capital works, for example construction activities. These works can have a large impact on our waste arisings and the years where we have undertaken significant capital construction and refurbishment projects result in a significant increase in waste arisings. We only report these waste arising in the Other Works category.

We chose to take this approach to reporting as it provides a complete account of our activities and impact.
 

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Non-residential waste	2,199	1,950	3,706	1,325	1,089
Residential waste	853	583	705	434	523
Other works waste	7,805	34,036	67,068	1,796	3,113
Total	10,858	36,570	71,480	3,556	4,727

Waste disposal

Non-residential waste: direct waste from institutional activities (tonnes)

Our policy is to only send waste to landfill when we are legally obliged, for example asbestos. The table below provides an overview of the organisation’s performance, listed in order of environmental preferability.

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19*	2019/20	2020/21
Recycled	1,520	717	669	381	371
Composted	102	72	75	79	113
Anaerobic digestion	104	113	103	47	34
Energy recovery	178	941	1,199	739	498
Landfilled	229	84	1,623	51	25
Incinerated without energy recovery	65	21	35	48	26
Total waste generated	2,199	1,950	3,706	1,325	1,089

Performance (tonnes)

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19*	2019/20	2020/21
Total waste generated	2,199	1,950	3,706	1,347	1,069
Total recycled / recovered	1,905	1,844	2,047	1,247	1,018
Total disposed of to landfill or without energy recovery	294	105	1,658	99	51
Percentage of waste recycled / recovered	86.6%	94.6%	55.2%	92.6%	95.2%

*In 2018/19 a substantial amount of asbestos was found during a building demolition, which legally has to be sent to landfill. This is why our landfill total for this year is much higher than the long terms average.

Residential waste: indirect waste from student accommodation (tonnes)

The University owns and manages residential accommodation. Our residents are provided with general waste bins, recycling bins and food waste bins, which means all the waste generated by our residents is diverted from landfill. 

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Recycled	793.1	197.1	240.4	136.5	162.1
Anaerobic digestion	22	16.7	28.0	20.4	16.2
Energy recovery	39.1	369.7	437.6	277.4	345.3
Total waste generated	854.2	583.3	706	434.3	523.6

Travel and transport

Commuting emissions avoided

Through our Betterpoints app, we reward staff and students for taking sustainable transport decisions to and around campus. Below is the amount of carbon emissions avoided by app users since its launch in 2019.

	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22
Number of BetterPoints App Users	1,782	1,014	1,349
Total CO2 avoided (tonnes of CO2e)	331	150	249
Bus Distance (miles)	113,564	47,696	149,095
Walk Distance (miles)	486,458	267,185	411,229
Cycle Distance (miles)	148,824	67,428	90,247
Tram Distance (miles)	22,281	6,428	25,206
Train Distance (miles)	234,957	100,030	382,375
Run Distance (miles)	45,324	25,373	27,709

Support for cycling 

Cycle parking spaces

We’re continuing to add secure cycle storage to our campus, such as our secure cycle hub.

2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
2,291	2,200	2,609	2,609	2,609

Cycle Hut use

Our Cycle Hut provides free bike checks and at-cost servicing and repairs for staff and students. Below are the number of repairs and services undertaken each year.

2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
741	693	782	417	297

Electric vehicle charging points

Electric vehicle charging points

2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
14	18	22	29	32

Fleet

Fleet decarbonisation

We are continuing to decarbonise our fleet through the introduction of electric and hybrid vehicles where possible.

The University operates a number of larger and specialist vehicles, such as tractors, refrigerated units and trucks with tail lifts, which it is currently not possible to replace with electric vehicles. When these vehicles come to the end of their operational life they are being replaced with Euro 6 Class (low emission) vehicles.

As of February 2023, of the 23 vehicles in the fleet not electric or hybrid, 15 have Euro 6 Class engines.

	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Total fleet	73	73	56	52
Electric and hybrid	25	31	28	29
Percent of total	34%	43%	50%	56%

Water

Water consumption

Total consumption (m³)

2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
464,574	482,209	433,739	399,151	372,808

 

Water by category (non-residential v residential)

The University of Sheffield owners and operates its own student halls of residence, meaning our total consumption can look higher than comparative institutions which do not own and operate accommodation.

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Non- residential (m³)	286,980	313,246	295,305	247,484	193,842
Residential (m³)	177,594	168,963	138,434	151,667	178,965
Total (m³)	464,574	482,209	433,739	399,151	372,808

Water consumption per head of campus population

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Total Students FTE	25,100	25,665	26,175	26,455	27,160
Total Staff FTE	6620	6625	6845	7200	7020
Total Headcount	31,720	32,290	33,020	33,655	34,180
Water consumption per head of campus population (litres per person per year)	14,646	15,026	13,135	11,860	10,907
Water consumption per head of campus population (litres per person per day)	40	41	36	32	30