Energy and Water

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

From November 9th, 2023, to March 1st, 2024, the Whiteknights campus embarked on a concerted effort to conserve energy by implementing a lighting switch-off student. The initiative targeted fluorescent lights but included LEDs as well, focusing on areas with high wattage lighting consumers. The student worked from 6:30pm to 8:30pm Monday to Friday, to switch-off after class hours when buildings were typically less occupied.  A total of 21,562 fluorescent bulbs and 5,156 LED bulbs were turned off over the 64 days, which resulted in several thousand pounds worth of energy savings . There were challenges in areas with ongoing activities…

In March 2024 work will begin on the University’s first large scale heat pump retrofit which will see the existing 15-30 year old gas boilers in Sportspark replaced with two air source heat pumps. Last year the University was successfully awarded a grant of £865,000 for the project from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, which is delivered by Salix Finance. Two gas supplies will be removed as part of this project, which will be the first time this has happened in the University’s decarbonisation journey. Planning permission for the project was granted in November 2023 and the…