Reading students live at COP29

By jackiesimpsonNov 27, 20240 Comments
The Walker Institute has facilitated University of Reading students attending international climate negotiations for many years and this year we were lucky enough to hold a special event during Green Festival lives from the COP (Conference of Parties) 29. This event had insightful inputs from: students that attended the first week of the COP29 conference, students live in the COP (Conference of Parties) Climate Action Studio in Agriculture and with students actually at the conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. The chance to experience international climate conference is a unique experience for them, which they all agreed was incredibly valuable to see…
Energy and Water
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We loved sustainability at Green Festival 2024!

By jackiesimpsonNov 27, 20240 Comments
We celebrated sustainability at our Green Festival from 19-21 with a series of different events, workshops and drop in sessions. Over 500 staff and students attended throughout the festival, which is an amazing turnout. Thank you to everyone for giving up their time to show their commitment to sustainability and to all the event organisers for their enthusiasm. It’s difficult to pick out some highlights, but our team really enjoyed: The Introduction to Carbon Literacy workshop with Jen Gale from Sustainable (ish). This session was informative, impactful and inspiring. Jen illustrated brilliantly the scale of the climate change challenge, but…
Behaviour Change
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Library bike store security upgrade

By jackiesimpsonOct 31, 20240 Comments
Cycle theft is a significant concern on many campuses across the UK, and the University of Reading is no exception. To address this issue, we are committed to enhancing available infrastructure as part of an important project, with the purpose of improving cycle security across Whiteknights Campus. As part of our University Travel Plan, we want to encourage staff, students, and visitors to travel sustainably, ensuring everyone feels confident cycling to campus and knowing their bikes will be stored securely. Currently, we offer 4,239 cycle parking spaces throughout campus, including five secure bicycle sheds at Whiteknights and additional secure storage…
Travel and Transport
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The first aspiring energy conscious University!

By jackiesimpsonOct 23, 20240 Comments
University of Reading Becomes the First EnCO Aspiring University and Finalist for edie Net Zero Awards The University of Reading has taken a significant step forward in its commitment to sustainability by becoming the first EnCO aspiring university. The Vice-Chancellor has proudly signed the EnCO pledge, reaffirming the institution's dedication to reducing energy consumption and promoting energy efficiency across all areas of campus life. In addition to this achievement, the University has also been nominated as a finalist for the prestigious edie Net Zero Award under the Behaviour Change category, for its 'Our Future First' programme. This recognition highlights the…
Energy and Water
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Brand new University bus service!

By jackiesimpsonAug 22, 20240 Comments
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new bus service coming to Whiteknights campus from 21st September! The White Knight 20, developed by Reading Buses, has been tailored to University life and will provide an express service between Reading Town Centre and train station and campus during term time. The White Knight 20 will run up to every 10 minutes during term time peak periods with a travel time of 15 minutes or less between campus and the station. During the first half of Semester 1 (until October half term) the service will be enhanced, running up to…
Travel and Transport
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Goodbye to Doing UoR Bit

By jackiesimpsonAug 22, 20240 Comments
The University of Reading has used the Doing UoR Bit platform for a number of years, allowing staff to take simple actions to reduce their impact on the environment and be rewarded. The platform has been a successful programme, providing many people with new and different ideas of ways they can be more sustainable and helping the University to succeed with its sustainability ambitions to embed greener behaviour across our staff community. As the University approaches its centenary and we move towards being within 5 years of becoming a Net Zero institution it is vital to raise our ambitions and…
Behaviour Change
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We have a new 5 year Travel Plan!

By jackiesimpsonJul 24, 20240 Comments
The University has now published its new five-year Travel Plan (2024-2029) What is a Travel Plan? A Travel Plan is a document that outlines the University’s commitments to changing travel behaviour by staff, students and visitors over the next five years. Why do we need one? The way we travel affects, and is affected by, our day-to-day lives. Whilst we understand the environmental and congestion related impacts of polluting forms of transport, our choices are often dictated by personal circumstance. It is vital that a plan is in place to manage the way that travel can be: As sustainable as…
Travel and Transport
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Rising to global challenges

By jackiesimpsonJun 13, 20240 Comments
The University of Reading is committed to supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which is evidenced in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) Global Impact Rankings for 2024. We are now joint 28 in the world, out of 2031 participating institutions. This is up from 61st place in 2023. This shows our commitment to addressing the challenges that the goals set out such as hunger, poverty, equality and the environment. We are absolutely delighted with this results and were within the top 30 globally in 5 SDGs, which were: 3 in SDG12 - Responsible production and consumption 16 in SDG15…
Awards and Achievements
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Green move out

By jackiesimpsonMay 22, 20240 Comments
Many of you will soon be leaving your halls or student accommodation to go home for the summer and you may have items that you wish to get rid of. We have put together some Green Move Out tips to help you: Use it again and again. Think about whether you can use the item again, do you really need to get rid of it or can you use it for something else? Repair and Mend. If the item is broken, can it be repaired or mended to give it a new lease of life? Rehome, share or donate. Can…
Energy and Water
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Student results from 2024 Travel Survey

By jackiesimpsonMay 22, 20240 Comments
Thank you to all 500+ of you who completed our 2024 Travel Survey, and congratulations again to the winners of our prize draw, who in total received £500 of supermarket vouchers! We had some great results this year. Importantly, the survey showed that our students are already travelling sustainably wherever possible, with an average of 90.5% of journeys to and from campus already made by sustainable modes (including walking, cycling and public transport). You can read the full results here. The survey gave the opportunity for our students to have their say on potential future improvements to sustainable travel. We…
Travel and Transport
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