Imperial and Climate Change

Our mission

As one of the world’s great universities, Imperial has the power to make a profound difference in the fight against climate change. We have announced a set of actions and policies that harness our influence as researchers, educators, innovators and investors, and show how we will act as an institution and community.

We will use our relationships across industry, government and civil society to find meaningful solutions to climate change. Whether that’s through collaborating on new technologies or changing behaviours through conversations that challenge conventional thinking and open new debate, we will be evidence-based and driven by a shared commitment to solve this urgent and complex challenge.

Transition to Zero Pollution

The ‘Transition to Zero Pollution’ initiative is one of the first bold actions to come out of the Academic Strategy demonstrating our commitment to build a ‘sustainable society’.

Find out more about Transition to Zero Pollution

Grantham Institute

The Grantham Institute sits at the heart of Imperial College London's work on climate change and the environment. We drive forward discovery, convert innovations into applications, train future leaders and communicate academic knowledge to businesses, industry and policymakers to help shape their decisions.

Find out more about the Grantham Institute

Energy Futures Lab

Energy Futures Lab, multi-disciplinary research developing a sustainable energy supply.

Find out more about the Energy Futures Lab

Zero pollution?

Can we ever eliminate pollution in all its forms?

Dr Nathan Callaghan, OPAL Research Associate and Community Scientist

Centre for Environmental Policy

Providing a unique and interdisciplinary research interface between science and technology, and the economic and policy context in which it is applied

The Leonardo Centre

Explores and experiments with new ways of doing business in order to regenerate economies, communities and natural environments around the world.

Two researchers carrying out research in the lab

The Carbon Capture and Storage Network

Imperial College has the country’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) research program, with over 30 staff involved in CCS related activity.

Plastic bottle and materials used - the network cover chemistry, materials and product design

Ocean Plastic Solutions

An Imperial Network of Excellence connecting researchers across the College in finding solutions to ocean plastic

Business school students in lecture with laptops

MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance

A one-year programme that gives graduates the interdisciplinary skills required in business on issues relating to climate change and sustainability.

Sustainability through Life Cycle Approaches

Bringing together and connects life cycle-related research and researchers across Imperial College London

Centre for Translational Nutrition and Food Research

Bringing together world leading research teams across Imperial to respond to key emerging global challenges in Nutrition, Food and Health.

MSc Environmental Technology

A programme to help students acquire a diverse range of discipline-specific problem-solving frameworks for tackling contemporary environmental issues.

Air Quality Network

A network of excellence bringing together researchers from across Imperial to improve air quality for all

Agri Futures Lab

A virtual centre focused on the delivery of multi-disciplinary solutions to the current and future problems facing the agri-sciences disciplines and s

man and woman talk while looking at computer screen

MSc in Sustainable Energy Futures

A one-year intensive programme that aims to develop the next generation of leaders in the energy sector

Imperial-Sainsbury's partnership

A project focused on energy and sustainability initiatives to help decarbonise food retail.

The Forum

The Forum connects Imperial researchers with policy-makers to discover new thinking on global challenges - this year with a focus on sustainability issues such as air quality, plastics, fire and water management.

Find out more about our work with policy-makers

Enterprise

Imperial offers businesses a unique depth and breadth of academic expertise across its four faculties, to tackle major challenges such as climate change.

Find out more about our work with businesses

Societal engagement

Engaging with the public – including schools, patients and local communities – to ensure that our education and research benefits society, whether it’s fighting disease or tackling climate change.

Find out more about our work with the public

Our campuses

Sustainability should run through the whole of College thinking and activity across all campuses. Past initiatives like Greening Imperial have already made real progress on this front. Our Academic Leader in Sustainability, Professor Paul Lickiss is leading a College-wide conversation on making our campuses more environmentally friendly. Supported by an advisory group from across the College, we have published our Sustainability Strategy 2021-2026. This has set a carbon neutral target for the College by 2040, and recommends policies that marshal our convening power, our research and our educational expertise to put us at the forefront of positive change for the sector. Implementation of the Strategy at Imperial will be spearheaded by the Sustainability Strategy Committee.

Sustainable laboratories

We are rolling out the Laboratory Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF) programme across College after a pilot.

Find out more about LEAF

Carbon emissions

From October 2019 100 per cent of bought-in electricity on all campuses comes from renewable sources.

Carbon Management & Sustainability Activities Report (PDF)

Sustainable food and drink

We ensure the food and drink served on campus is sourced, distributed, served and disposed of in the most sustainable manner possible.

Find out more

Our investments

Under our Socially Responsible Investment policy we will use our reputation as a world-leading academic institution to influence company behaviour, mobilizing the relationships we build through our research, education and innovation collaborations. As part of this, our Endowment will active engage with the companies in which we invest to influence their behaviour, whether alone or by collaborating and combining resources with like-minded investors. Where efforts to influence fail, and where a company’s current activities and future plans are not aligned with our goals, we will instruct the Endowment to divest.

In the case of fossil fuels we will continue to invest in companies that can demonstrate they are working towards meeting the Paris Agreement targets. On the current evidence, coal and tar sand extraction do not play a part in achieving Paris targets and we will therefore instruct the Endowment Board to divest from direct and indirect investments in companies engaged in these activities.