A strategic commitment to sustainability education
Sustainability is a cornerstone of our University Strategy and is one of the four principles driving our work. Our Executive Board agreed that, as one of our priorities, we would embed environmental sustainability across both our curriculum and staff training programmes.
In 2021 the University commenced a programme to further embed sustainable development in our curriculum. Building on the work of the preceding ESD Steering, the Project Advisory Group overseeing work to embed sustainability throughout the curriculum reports to our main Teaching and Learning committee and is sponsored by one of our Pro-Vice-Chancellors (Education and Student Experience), Professor Elizabeth McCrum. It has been further strengthened by the appointment of an Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Sustainability, to oversee the universal embedding of sustainability across the taught curriculum and wider student experience.
The Project Advisory Group overseas two workstreams:
- Staff Development
- Curriculum Development
To ensure that all students of the University have a meaningful encounter with environmental sustainability within each year of their studies.
Our University Strategy drives our teaching and learning initiatives and enhancements. Sustainable development is implicit within our priorities to deliver excellence through the Curriculum Framework and its focus on developing global engagement and multicultural awareness, and the underpinning academic principles of diversity, inclusivity and global perspectives.
UoR Graduate Attributes
The UoR Graduate Attributes articulate the skills and qualities that every student should develop by the time they graduate. The refreshed Graduate Attributes, designed in partnership with our students, reflect students’ values and aspirations during their time at University and beyond. The inclusion of the attribute ‘Sustainability-minded’ places sustainability at the heart of all programmes of the University, ensuring that in practice students should:
- Consider sustainability in the discipline and its application.
- Stay informed about economic, social and environmental issues and adopt practices that reduce negative impact.
- Engage in initiatives or opportunities that contribute to a sustainable future.
Additionally, the revised Curriculum Framework expands Principle 4: Sustainable to include a statement that “programmes integrate education for sustainable development appropriate to the discipline”, which is achieved by “embedding opportunities and empowering students to engage with environmental, social and economic challenges within their programme and beyond.”
In early 2025, the University of Reading announced the next phase of development in its ESD programme, with the launch of the Global Sustainability Leaders Scholarship programme. This significant investment over the next five years will see up to 400 scholarships per year, each offering £6,000 per year of study, to high performing undergraduates across all disciplines who show a commitment to becoming future sustainability leaders.
In addition to funding, a comprehensive programme of additional learning and experience opportunities will be offered to scholars, developing a strong grounding in sustainability issues and developing core competencies and skills to enable them to be sustainability change makers in whatever industry or field they pursue.
They will also receive access to opportunities including: 
- developing knowledge and leadership skills relevant to addressing climate and nature issues
- engaging in cross-disciplinary learning and activities
- taking positive action for sustainability
- building relevant networks
- being part of a growing community of global sustainability leaders of the future
- careers support and the potential to enhance employability.
As The Times and The Sunday Times Sustainable University of the Year 2025, the University of Reading is renowned for world-class research in climate change and its impacts on the environment and society. We want to enable those who share our passion for building an environmentally sustainable world to lead positive change.
Additional Funding for ESD Projects
The University provides funding to projects designed to enhance our Teaching and Learning provision. The funding criteria for the awards ask applicants to align them with the University’s strategic priorities (including sustainability). The University makes awards on an annual basis and has seen an increase in applications with a sustainability or ESD focus. The University Teaching & Learning Enhancement Projects (TLEP) scheme offers 'start-up' funding of up to £2,500 to encourage and enable staff involved in teaching or supporting teaching and learning to experiment and develop practice.
Previously funded projects have included the Bee Meadow Project (to create an evolving living laboratory for the Institute of Education), a project to explore the further use of University campuses as living laboratories for Education for Sustainable development, and a project on co-constructing and evaluating the national Climate Education and Sustainability Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Framework across programmes at the Institute of Education.
The findings from these activities will inform and support the wider adoption of ESD across the University’s teaching and learning activities.
In addition, last year funding for a new outdoor teaching space to be implemented on the main University campus was approved, which has now launched as part of celebrations to mark our centenary. The University of Reading Nature Park includes a dedicated learning garden themed around climate and environmental sustainability issues, including specific research activities. The garden is for the benefit of our own students as well as visiting groups from local schools and colleges, ensuring learners of all ages can access nature-based learning at the University.
'A Living Laboratory'
By using the University’s facilities and surrounds as a ‘Living Lab’, we provide opportunities for students to gain practical skills and direct experience in applying research, help shape how we improve our environmental performance, use our resources efficiently, and work towards a thriving, sustainable university. Here are just some examples;
School of Biological Sciences
Several field projects are delivered on campus each year for students in this School, with recent topics including leaf litter invertebrates, microplastic accumulation in ground beetles, pollinator diversity and carrion-feeding insect communities.
This video talks about using the campus for students studying Ecology and Wildlife Conservation and this blog about campus biodiversity that the students work on.
Geography & Environmental Science
Students in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science have access to an extensive range of facilities that will support their learning. Many of these are on-site at Whiteknights, the University’s main campus, which has won 15 consecutive Green Flag awards.
These include custom-designed laboratories and specialised research facilities, as well as a large area of experimental polytunnels and glasshouses that are available for research purposes.
The University is home to a unique range of environments and allows staff and students make the most of their immediate surroundings for field work.
School of the Built Environment
Both staff and students in this school make the most of our campus environment, providing real-world learning opportunities and helping improve sustainability. Examples of student led initiatives can be found here.
Department of Meteorology
We've been making meteorological observations at the University of Reading for over 100 years, and today our data contributes to official UK Met Office statistics. Our on-campus atmospheric observatory is equipped with a huge range of meteorological instruments, allowing students and staff to study things such as energy balance and the small-scale turbulent fluctuations in winds, temperature and humidity that transport heat, moisture and momentum between the surface and the atmosphere.
The University of Reading has recently been recognised as a University of Sanctuary. 
This award 'recognises ‘universities that have gone above and beyond to provide an understanding, compassionate, and safe experience that would enable people seeking sanctuary to thrive and recognise their potential’.