Falmouth University

Following the launch of our Sustainability Policy in 2020, we published our first annual sustainability report later in the same year. This September, we’ll be producing our third.

Across our three themes: Learning & Teaching, Environment & Operations, and People and Behaviours, every year, we’re providing our colleagues, students, and external stakeholders with a detailed, transparent update on progress against our institutional sustainability goals.

These goals are simple, specific, and measurable. Therefore, while this annual process is an opportunity to engage our people in our shared effort to addresses the challenges of sustainable development and to celebrate the initiatives, projects and programmes that have made a difference, at a time when the public is becoming distrustful of greenwashing, it’s also a mechanism by which the University’s progress can be fully scrutinised and its executive team held to account for the delivery of its sustainability targets.

URL to access our latest sustainability report or sustainability section(s) of our annual report:

https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/sustainability#sustainability-report 

What the Judges Thought

The judges were impressed with an engaging report, visually appealing, easy to read that drew the audience in. It covered all the bases well, clear Governance, key risks and opportunities identified, references to stakeholders and different groups that are linked to the institution. Well done. 

What it Means to Win

"Working with the creatives, innovators and entrepreneurs of the future, universities have a unique responsibility to lead the way on environmental and sustainability issues. We must be ambitious in our actions and transparent in our communications. As a specialist creative institution, it’s particularly fantastic to be recognised for our sustainability reporting."

Professor Emma Hunt, Vice Chancellor

Top 3 Learnings

1. Setting specific goals to report against annually supports clarity and transparency in communicating progress to our stakeholders.
2. Producing a creative document including infographics, imagery and strong design helps engage our key audiences.
3. Using case studies throughout the report makes action on sustainability on our campuses and in our community come alive.