Sustainability in research
At London South Bank University (LSBU) and across the LSBU Group, we believe the future is shaped by the choices we make today. Embedding environmental sustainability into every part of our research and innovation activity is central to that journey. By signing the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice, we’ve strengthened our commitment to reducing our environmental impact and ensuring our research contributes to a more sustainable world.
Our commitment
The concordat gives us a clear framework for doing better and going further. It reinforces our ambition to make sustainability a natural part of how research happens here, guiding our decisions, shaping our culture and informing the infrastructure we build and use. We are committed to pursuing every priority set out in the concordat and taking shared action, now and in the years ahead, to minimise and ultimately eliminate our environmental impacts and emissions.
Building on a strong foundation
Our commitment builds on more than a decade of practical action.
- In 2010, we opened the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings (CEREB), a pioneering teaching, research and demonstration space for low‑carbon energy technologies.
- Today, our Southwark campus continues to serve as a live demonstrator for innovative balanced‑energy district heating networks through a major Innovate UK–funded project.
- We already source 100% renewable electricity and closely monitor our energy use and emissions to keep driving improvements.
These steps reflect a long-standing approach: using our expertise, partnerships and physical spaces to test, trial and advance sustainable solutions.
Improving our research environment
To deliver even greater impact, we’re taking focused action across our research environment:
- Sustainable laboratories, including progressing toward LEAF accreditation.
- Energy‑efficient buildings, informed by our own research and innovation.
- Responsible procurement, ensuring the materials and services we rely on meet high sustainability standards.
- Smarter travel planning, reducing the need for academic and business travel and supporting low‑carbon ways of working.
- Sustainable partnerships, working with organisations that share our ambition for meaningful, long-term change.
Being transparent and accountable
We know that progress is only meaningful when it’s visible. That’s why we’re committed to transparent reporting on our environmental impact, celebrating what’s working well and staying honest about where we need to improve.
Looking ahead
Sustainability in research is not a one‑off project; it’s an ongoing commitment. By continuing to evolve our working practices and contributing new knowledge and solutions, we aim to support long-term environmental sustainability and regeneration — locally, nationally and globally.
Together, we’re building a research culture that supports a more sustainable future for everyone.