Sustainability Round Up 2026
Highlights and headlines from the last 12 months of sustainability activity at Kent. Including over 50 projects, initiatives, news stories and stats from across the university.
University of Kent sustainability highlights for 2026
Headlines
Biodiversity Strategy
In December 2025 we launched our new Landscape and Biodiversity Strategy for the campus. This work was a collaboration between the students and staff of the Biodiversity Working Group.
50% Carbon Reduction
This year we hit the milestone of a 50% reduction in our scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions since 2010, meaning we are on track to reach our goal to be Net Zero by 2040.
The River
As part of the University's 60th Anniversary we are celebrating the plant communities that make up our campus with a new walking trail that meanders through the landscape.
Furniture Reuse
Over 295 tonnes of furniture has been reused through our WARP IT platform, taking the number 2 spot on the WARP-IT leader board!
Sustainability Strategy
Our new Sustainability Strategy (2025-2030) was published in July 2025 setting out a clear vision towards achieving our key strategic priorities
Awards and Recognition
LEAF
Several Biosciences labs have achieved Bronze accreditation under the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework - an Internationally recognised scheme developed to make labs more sustainable.
International Green Gown Award
The Right to Food initiative was awarded 'Highly Commended' in the Benefitting Society category at this year's International Green Gown Awards.
Silver Green Meetings Award
We achieved the award for Kent’s event management service and Darwin Conferencing Suite in recognition of our commitment to deliver sustainable conferences and events on our campuses.
Climate Action
- As part of our energy partnership with Siemens roof top solar photovoltaic panels, designed to generate 674,000 kwh of renewable energy every year have been fitted to 7 buildings.
- Lighting upgrade projects in 6 campus buildings have resulted in estimated savings of £120,000 a year!
- The Net Zero Working Group, comprising representatives from Sustainability, Estates and Procurement, are continually tracking progress towards our net zero targets and are responsible for our carbon management plan
- Our climate risk register assesses the risk of various climate impacts such as extreme weather events, rising summer temperatures and wetter winters on our business operations. We are currently embedding these findings into climate adaptation plans to ensure our campuses remain resilient.
- We reviewed our top 100 suppliers by spend and found that over 45% have net zero carbon targets at least as ambitious as ours, helping us to achieve our own targets.
- Our full carbon footprint for 2024/25 was 43,106 tonnes, a 14.7% reduction compared to 2023/24.
- Our carbon targets include all scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Scope 3 emissions are those which are not in our direct control such as business travel, staff and student commuting and emissions from our supply chain.
Biodiversity
My campus and other animals
'My Campus and Other Animals is a play on the book title 'My Family and Other Animals', an autobiographical book by British naturalist Gerald Durrell. My Campus and Other Animals' aim is to support students, staff and visitors to access and engage with the nature on their doorstep.
Nature Positive Universities
The University of Kent has signed up to the Nature Positive University scheme. This means restoring species and ecosystems that have been harmed by the impacts of the university and its activities and enhancing the university’s positive impacts on nature. You can read more in our new strategy.
iNaturalist
The University is trying to record as many species on campus as possible. We are doing this through an iNaturalist Project that allows you to photograph and ID species via your phone as you are out and about. Anyone can join the project and help us increase our total. We are currently 3rd in the UK for total species diversity but we are sure we can get to 1st!
No Mow May
In 2025 we took part in No Mow May and will be again this year. Each year we try and add more central lawns to the project to maximise the valuable nectar rich species that grow, supporting our pollinators. Just 8 dandelion flowers are enough to produce the nectar sugar needed by a bumblebee each day.
Sustainable Operations
- We expanded our food waste collections to include staff kitchens and public areas
- Donations to our British Heart Foundation collection bins increased 32% in 2025 raising over £33,000 and diverting 16.7 tonnes of waste from landfill.
- Together with Kent Students' Union we increased access to free period products across our campuses.
- To celebrate Earth Day 2025 our monthly staff engagement event was hosted by the Health, Safety and Environmental Sustainability team so that staff could find our more about our sustainability initiatives.
- The Landscape and Grounds Team installed new drought-tolerant and high pollen value planting in some of the central campus beds. This is alongside a 2 year trial to remove herbicides from central campus and No Mow May activities to get central campus buzzing again.
- The Sustainability Team and Landscape and Grounds team surveyed 1,875 metres of hedgerows.
- The E3 team at DICE led on new surveys and the production of a new woodland management plan for the University which became operational this year.
- We have partnered with Canterbury Bike Project to improve the recycling and reuse of bikes across campus.
Leadership and Strategy
Sustainability Strategy
Our new Sustainability Strategy (2025-2030) sets out a clear vision towards achieving our key strategic priorities and delivering against the UN's Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs)
ISO14001
Our Environmental Management System (EMS) is externally certified to ISO 14001 and supports our Sustainability Policy. We were externally audited and maintained our certification in January 2026.
League Tables
We maintained our 2:1 class in the 25/26 People and Planet League scoring 100% across the Policy & Strategy, and Environmental Management and placing in the top 10 for ethical investment.
Student Led Activity
- The University of Kent BioBlitz is an interactive citizen science event organised by a student committee, with the aim to record as many species as possible on campus over a 24 hour period. In 2025 there were over 450 people involved in the BioBlitz and they were able to record over 300 species on campus ranging from bluebells to bats. This year the University of Kent BioBlitz is taking part on the 30th of May.
- The Sustainability Working Group have had a successful year full of events including a textbook swap and a standout collaboration with the Global Officers at the Parky's Takeover event.
- The Global Officers have been taking other small actions to drive sustainability on campus including, joining the 'Bang in some Beans' Campaign and sharing their favourite green spaces on campus.
- This year Kent Community Oasis Garden has had 4 Student Ambassadors. The student ambassadors at KentCOG act as the student voice and help support all of the activities that take part at the garden.
- In 2025 Conservation Society won Academic Society of the Year for the impact that they have on conservation students, staff and the wider university community. They have continued to run many events this year that have increased engagement with local conservation including an iNaturalist competition and organising volunteering sessions in the Blean.
- We are mapping the campus to the UKHab standard to better understand our habitats. Students have been trained up by the DICE E3 team to carry out this work, helping us complete the surveys and gaining important workplace skills for a future in ecology.
- For the first time we have a student team, The Rodentifiers, taking part in the University Mammal Challenge. As part of the challenge they have been surveying and increasing engagement with the mammals on our campus.
Civic Engagement
Right to Food
We have now celebrated 3 years as a Right to Food University. Over the last year we have joined forces with The Food Foundation and Veg Power to double bean consumption in the UK. The National Lottery funded Bang in Some Beans campaign will see the University become a focal point for activity that champions this healthy, affordable and sustainable superfood.
Canterbury Climate Action Network (CCAN)
Launched in 2025, the main aim of Canterbury CAN is to bring Canterbury and the surrounding district together as a network to share knowledge, experiences and ideas, supporting members on climate action and sustainability initiatives and building capacity across the area.
Canterbury District Biodiversity Network
The University is proud to host the CDBN and be part of the organising committee. The network facilitates the exchange of information between groups, promotes nature-based solutions to climate change and encourages local, regional and national action to address the biodiversity crisis.
Community Gardening
KentCOG is run in partnership with East Kent Mind to support the wellbeing of students, staff and the local community. Our community volunteers are the backbone of the garden bringing gifting their knowledge and time to the project. With East Kent Mind, we are able to support community members who are facing mental health struggles and open up the University to them.
Sustainable Education & Research
- We are signatories to the concordat for the environmental sustainability of research and innovation practice in recognition of our ambition to deliver cutting edge research, but in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable way.
- The sustainability team are supporting a number of dissertations that are utilising the campus green spaces and answering questions about the species with which we share space. Dissertations this year include mapping the movements of badgers on site and how our natural spaces support the wellbeing of students and staff.
- Environmental and Social Conscience was included as one of eight graduate attributes that we encourage our students to gain.
- Kent scientists are working with companies to transform waste cherries into healthy, nutritious food ingredients and using seaweed waste to boost agricultural crop health and growth in new projects funded by Growing Kent and Medway.
- Kent researchers working with a local farm have found promising results in the sustainable growth of black soldier fly larvae – which offer an innovative way of tackling food waste, environmental impact and cost.
- The Sustainability Team welcomed another student placement for the 2025/26 academic year. Wildlife Conservation student Elinor Casey has been focusing on Biodiversity projects and getting our campus community connected to wildlife and nature.
Sustainability in Action: KentCOG
The Kent Community Oasis Garden is working to embed three pillars of sustainability into everything it does: Sustainable Food, Biodiversity Action and supporting people's wellbeing through good food, community and nature.
Eating the Rainbow
KentCOG grows on average a metric tonne of food each year. We try to grow a wide variety of crops that work for our soil, climate and tastebuds. We are building up our bean variety to support Right to Food and the Bang in Some Beans campaign.
Biodiversity Boosters
Running weekly during term time, KentCOG has been hosting biodiversity booster sessions designed to get students up close to nature in support of their wellbeing. Session have included moth surveys, lichen walks and habitat construction.
Expanding into Hothe
KentCOG has begun its expansion into the Hothe Court Farmhouse across the road, giving us lots of new space to bring activities to more people. We are working on plans to refurbish the ground floor into our Wellbeing in Nature Centre at the heart of KentCOG. More to come soon on this!
Wellbeing Café at Hothe
The Wellbeing Café found a new home at KentCOG for 25/26. In collaboration with Student Support and Wellbeing, we have been running weekly term-time sessions, open to all students. The sessions are themed around nature-based crafts using natural materials to promote mindfulness.
Futureproof @ bOing!
For the 3rd year running, the bOing! festival featured the 'FutureProof' zone, where children and families can take part in workshops and activities themed around our planet and what we can do to take care of it.
