The University launched the initiative on Monday (20/1) which aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions and increase recycling rates.
The 12-month plan hopes to see carbon emissions decrease by a further 510 tonnes and see recycling rates increase by 12% across the University's Milton Keynes, Luton and Bedford campuses.
Professor Rebecca Bunting, Interim Vice-Chancellor at the University of Bedfordshire, said: “Climate change is affecting every single country and so universities world-wide have a role to play in ensuring the global temperature rise remains under two degrees centigrade.
"Here at the University of Bedfordshire we have embedded sustainability into the student curriculum through collaborative activities which promote awareness, understanding and actions relating to sustainability and climate change.
"We have also made huge reductions to our carbon emissions since 2005 by altering the way we run our estate, but now is the last push – the last 500 tonnes – and we need the help of our staff and students to meet our Target Zero goals.”
The University of Bedfordshire was the second university in the country to make the decision not to invest in fossil fuels. Since 2009 it has been generating its own renewable energy for use across all campuses and annual carbon emissions have been halved since 2005, with the aim to be carbon neutral by 2050 in alignment with the UK government’s climate change target.
To find out more about Target Zero, click here: https://www.beds.ac.uk/targetzero
