In an era where global challenges demand local action, the Commercial Services team at Lancaster University has stepped up with a refreshing approach to sustainability: start small, think big. Through a series of thoughtful, incremental changes, they've shown that meaningful impact often grows from modest beginnings.

These collective efforts paint a powerful picture of how sustainable responsibility can be woven into the fabric of everyday decision-making. This article celebrates the team's commitment to sustainability and explores how their day-to-day choices are making Lancaster University a more conscious community.

Through a dedicated sustainability group, formed with representatives from each area (Facilities, Accommodation, Pre-School, Conferences and Hospitality, Creative Studio, Sustainability, Retail and ReStore), here are some of the actions complete over the last year:

Retail and ReStore

• Worked with Procurement to appoint a supplier of sustainable merchandise to cover both official University merchandise sold at ReStore and the merchandise distributed by departments at events.
• Launched a Food Checker app on the menus in all University food outlets. The QR code directs customers to the app and provides information on allergens and dietary information as well as carbon counting and calorie information.
• Food waste collection and tracking in all University food outlets to comply with Government legislation.
• Adopted the Freshkeg Smart Milk System for some of our cafes and outlets, eliminating hundreds of plastic milk bottles from waste.

Conferences and Hospitality

• The Conferences team now have the facility in place to enable carbon counting for their events.
• Introduced digital alternatives such as a delegate registration app and campus wayfinding via MazeMap.
• Encourage visitors in Guest Rooms to reuse towels and linens during their stay, to reduce water and energy consumption.
• Hospitality have removed single-use plastic from Open Days and Offer Holder Events

Lancaster University Pre-School Centre

• The Pre-School Centre have worked with retail to provide plant-based menus.
• Worked with the Grounds and Maintenance team to provide educational learning about tree planting on campus
• Planted an allotment in the Pre-School Centre garden using old containers and tyres to help teach the children about growing food.
• Substantially reduced single-use plastic waste.
• Are contributors to the Morecambe Bay Curriculum and have two Level 4 Early Years Sustainability Leads.

Accommodation and colleges

• Launched a sustainability webpage aimed at new students with links to useful information and tips on how to be more sustainable at University. The aim of the webpage is to try to encourage students to reduce the number of items they bring with them and encourage more sustainable behaviour once they arrive.
• Started a dedicated sustainability accommodation group which includes College staff that looks at activities and events that could run in Colleges such as cooking classes, recycling awareness events and events that raise awareness of using too much water.
• Worked with the Sustainability team to create a sustainability training module for our College Community Assistants, ready for the start of the new term. Also added into job descriptions for the College Community Assistants to deliver sustainable activities and promote sustainable behaviour.

In the next stage of sustainable improvements, the team are working on reusable takeaway containers for University food outlets, a push towards gaining Sustainable Restaurant Association accreditation, working with Plant-based Universities to increase amount of plant-based food available across University outlets and creating a calendar of sustainable events for College Community Assistants to deliver in student residences.

With these gradual, positive changes, comes big institutional impact. Congratulations to the whole team for working so hard on making these changes and if anyone else would like to discuss changes in their area, please email sustainability@lancaster.ac.uk .