- Danielle Wightman-Stone
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University of the Arts London (UAL), which includes Central Saint
Martins and London College of Fashion, has issued a response to what it
calls a “climate emergency” by confirming that sustainability will become a
“required part of the student learning experience”.
In a statement, UAL said that all courses, starting this academic year,
would include compulsory modules in sustainable practice, with all students
expected to complete. To facilitate the modules, all academic and training
staff will be required to undertake a carbon literacy training programme.
UAL has appointed pro vice-chancellor Professor Jeremy Till to lead the
University’s response to the climate emergency. Professor Till is pro
vice-chancellor research, head of Central Saint Martins and a leading
thinker on scarcity, sustainability and creativity in the built
environment.
As part of its plan to place “decarbonisation at the heart” of its
academic offering, UAL will place all academic operations on a sustainable
basis through a significant expansion of its Environmental Management
System (ISO14001). This is a first for UK Art and Design institutions and
makes UAL one of a handful global universities with a comprehensive measure
of sustainability across all its operations including learning, teaching
and research.
Till said in a statement: “The climate emergency and collapse of
biodiversity are central issues of our age. I am committed to ensuring that
UAL engages with the issues across our academic and operational activities.
UAL is well-positioned to use its creative intelligence to make a
distinctive contribution to the debate and action around climate and
ecological issues.”
Sir Nigel Carrington, Vice-Chancellor of UAL, added: “The climate
emergency is a societal threat as much as it is an environmental crisis.
The big advances in this challenge will, therefore, come from changes in
human behaviour. UAL is uniquely placed to influence those changes under
Jeremy Till’s leadership.”
Since 2013, UAL has invested to reduce its environmental impact, by
switching to 100 percent renewable electricity in 2018, and by pledging to
cut its carbon emissions by 43 percent by 2020 and to achieve
carbon-neutral utilities by 2030. UAL’s new London College of Fashion
building at East Bank in Stratford is designed to achieve BREEAM
Outstanding status.
