Our network of Sustainability Champions work on campus and in our residences to make King’s a more sustainable place.

They focus maximising the positive – while reducing the negative – social and environmental impacts of our operations and activities.

Throughout the year, King’s Sustainability Champions deliver projects and actions mapped against the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Teams work towards either a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award across three broad areas – offices, laboratories (both teaching and research labs) and halls of residences.  

The programme empowers staff to make positive and sustainable changes to their work environments, while providing staff development opportunities and wellbeing benefits.

It is guided by the SOS-UK Green Impact and Lab Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF).

 

 

 

October- November	Sustainability Champions launch An in-person/hybrid launch that explains the workbook criteria for the year ahead, key sustainability updates, and networking and activities to get to know other Champions in the programme
November-April	Forming a team Completing criteria of either Bronze, Silver or Gold Updating evidence for criteria of previously attained awards Attending group workshops and events Communicating with King's Climate & Sustainability team about progress and questions Submitting your completed online workbook (Green Impact workbook for office and residence teams; LEAF for lab teams)
May-June	Sustainability audits Office and residence team audits take place on one day by trained students, lab teams conduct peer audits and receive training on how to carry these out by King's Climate & Sustainability team
July	Sustainability Awards All Sustainability Champion teams receive an award, certificate and badge as thank you and in recognition for taking part in the programme

We estimate being a Sustainability Champion will take no longer than 30 minutes of your time a week. The workbook criteria is designed so you can fit it around your working day and you may even find your team is already undertaking some of the actions.  

Alongside helping King's to become a more sustainable place, being a Sustainability Champion is a great professional development opportunity.

Offering resources and workshops to improve your knowledge on sustainability throughout the year, you'll also learn how to build sustainable decision-making into your role at King's.

The programme provides an opportunity to meet staff in different departments and work together to make sustainable changes. You and your team will be invited to the Sustainability Awards ceremony in July to celebrate your progress and receive recognition for your work.

Throughout the year, King's Climate & Sustainability team are on hand to answer any questions and provide support. 

Complete this short form to sign up to be a Sustainability Champion. Once you have set up or joined your departmental team email sustainability@kcl.ac.uk and a representative will organise an introductory call.

You can join an existing team or create a new team by following the below instructions.

Laboratory teams

1. Register and create a login 
2. Create or join a lab group

Office and residence teams

• Please register here

Students can get involved in the Sustainability Champions programme by acting as Sustainability Auditors at the end of the academic year.

Email sustainability@kcl.ac.uk to find out more.

Read case studies of some of our Sustainability Champions to learn about what they do and sustainability successes.

2021-2022 (coming soon)

2020-2021

2018-2019

2022

61 Sustainability Champions teams were awarded:

• 1 Working Towards Sustainability Dozen
• 13 Sustainability Dozen
• 7 Bronze
• 1 Working Towards Silver
• 5 Silver
• 34 Gold

Gold

• Offices
• Entrepreneurship Institute
• Estates and Facilities, Lavington Street
• Geography
• Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
• King’s Sport
• School of Global Affairs
• King’s Service Centre
• Social Mobility & Widening Participation
• Estates and Facilities, Strand
• The Dickson Poon School of Law
• Wolfson House Residence

Labs

• Analytical, Environmental and Forensic Sciences – DNA analysis
• Analytical, Environmental and Forensic Sciences – Drug Control Centre
• Analytical, Environmental and Forensic Sciences – Genetic and Environmental Toxicology
• Analytical, Environmental and Forensic Sciences – King’s Forensics
• Analytical, Environmental and Forensic Sciences – Lab 4.134
• Basic and Clinical Neuroscience
• Cardiovascular Research
• Centre for Gene Therapy & Regenerative Medicine
• Chemistry Research
• Chemistry Teaching
• Diabetes Research Group
• Dissecting Room
• Division of Women & Children’s Health (St Thomas’)
• Geography
• Guy’s Multi Disciplinary Labs
• Innovation Hub, Guy’s Cancer Centre
• James Black Centre: Cardiovascular Sciences
• Nutrition Sciences
• School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences
• SGDP Centre, Molecular Genetics Lab
• Twin Research (The Rayne Institute)
• Vascular Biology & Inflammation
• Wolfson Centre for Age-related Diseases

 

Silver

Offices

• Arts & Humanities Cluster Offices (Working Towards)
• Vascular Biology & Inflammation

Labs

• Centre for Developmental Neurobiology
• Engineering
• Institute of Hepatology

 

Bronze

Offices

• James Black Centre Offices
• Research Management and Innovation Directorate

Labs

• Biological Services
• Centre for Inflammation Biology and Cancer Immunology
• Division of Women & Children’s Health (Hodgkin)
• Human & Applied Physiological Sciences
• Physics Research Labs (Nanophotonics Suite)
• Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics

 

Sustainability Dozen

Offices

• Clinical Pharmacology
• Deans Office
• Denmark Hill Estates and Facilities
• Global Mobility Office (Working Towards)
• Guys & Waterloo Chaplaincies
• International Development
• King’s Online/KPED
• Libraries & Collections, Franklin-Wilkins Library
• Libraries & Collections, IoPPN Library
• Libraries & Collections, Maughan Library
• Libraries & Collections, New Hunts’ House Library
• Libraries & Collections, St Thomas’ House Library
• Libraries & Collections, Weston Education Centre Library

 

Sustainability Champion - Special Awards

• Dola Akanmu, staff champion in the Vascular Biology & Inflammation labs and office team. Dola has been the sole champion for these two teams and has made significant changes, including the development of an EDI plan for her department.
• Glyn Jones, staff champion in the Dickson Poon School of Law. Glyn won this award due his delivery of many 'no dig' presentations about his allotment, sharing his learnings with students and staff at King’s.
• Kautuk Chaddha, staff champion in the Strand Operations team. Kautuk has engaged across many Sustainability events this year, including the sustainability careers festival. He continues to champion sustainability and inspiring others.
• IoPPN offices, won an ‘engagement for sustainability’ award for their stitch and pitch series of events which they ran this year.

 

Special Awards

• 84 students who completed the KEATS Sustainability & Climate Module (between March and June)
• Six students (Anita Baratti; Saniya Mehmood; Zaynab Hussain; Yichan Gao; Juan Pablo; Valderrama Echavarría; Kshitija Mishra) who mapped over 200 modules during the Sustainable Development Goals Curriculum Mapping project
• Six students and staff (Yilin Lei; Euan Casey; Vaibhav Mehta; Fatima Wang; Mel Davies; Kindness Ezekwe) from King’s Climate Action Network
• Five students and alumni (Sigrid Leivdottir; Abigail Oyedele; Kathleen Williamson; Daniel Jonusas; Elsa Nativelle) who have co-hosted and co-produced the Spotlight on Sustainability podcast
• School of Global Affairs communications team (Julia Stepowska and Grace Harley) for their support on sustainability and climate-focused communications
• Damely Akizhanova for their work on the Sustainability Residence Committees and the Culture-Climate Lab workshop
• The King’s Procurement Team for their work on introducing the new Sustainability Supply Chain Code of Conduct

 

King's Sustainability achievements this year include:

• King’s has reduced its carbon emissions by more than half (51%) since our 2005/06 baseline
• King’s ranked in top 5 UK universities for environmental and social impact in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, as well as second in the UK in the People & Planet League table this year.
• 500+ people taking part in the Sustainability Champions programme and 350+ members of the Climate Action Network (CAN)
• Between September 2021 and July 2022, more than 1,400 attendees came together across 87 events and training opportunities run by the King’s Sustainability Team
• The development of the KEATS Sustainability and Climate module, which had over 600 students and staff enroll and over 180 complete the full module and receive sustainability awards
• Over 1,000 modules mapped against the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with the help of over 60 trained students and staff
• All King’s suppliers must now sign up to the Sustainability Supply Chain Code of Conduct. This is a huge step to reducing our carbon emissions, as our supply chain is the biggest source of carbon (scope 3)
• King’s Food and King’s Venues choice menus are now 70% vegetation and vegan
• King’s has recently been awarded the highest rating of three stars by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) rating, as well as being re-accredited as a Fairtrade university.

Past Sustainability Awards

2021

2020

2019

2018