Mini-woodland creation

Staff and student volunteers have been working with the University Grounds team following a call out to help plant trees as part of a biodiversity initiative. A mini-woodland has now been created on campus with 900 whip trees provided by Lancashire County Council, and an additional 400 donated by the Woodland Trust. The volunteers were also ably assisted on the day by the little green fingers belonging to the University Pre-School children.

New book exchange

Following a staff suggestion, the Library has developed a book exchange area to help staff, students and the local community donate pre-loved books and take one in return for free. The aim is to encourage reading, reduce waste and give books a second life by passing them on to someone new.

The book exchange is located on A Floor of the Library, to the right of the main entrance. Anyone is welcome to browse the shelves, drop off a book they’ve finished, or discover something new to take home.

Lowering food carbon footprints

The Retail Operations team at Lancaster who run the University-owned cafes and bars, have introduced new systems that automatically calculate the carbon footprint of any ingredient or menu item. This will help the team better understand the overall emissions and allows customers to see the carbon impact of their meal or drink on digital menus. You can try this by scanning the menu in any of the University-owned outlets.

The Sustainability Team are working closely with Retail Operations and their suppliers to make this data more accurate. The food outlets are focusing on using local suppliers whose carbon emissions are often lower than the UK-wide average figures currently used.

Sustainability annual report

Lancaster University’s annual sustainability report for 2025-26 is now online. The key highlights are:

• Overall carbon emissions have decreased by almost 7% compared to 23-24.
• Procurement of goods and services is the largest contributor to the University’s carbon footprint at 57%
• Carbon emissions from gas consumption are the largest contributor to energy emissions. Total gas consumption is projected to decline rapidly over the next 12 months as the net zero project comes online.

Positive Change Week - 2-6 March

The annual Positive Change Week is running from Monday 2 March until Friday 6 March and will feature a programme of events led by staff and students, to celebrate and showcase sustainability on campus. From a workshop on how to make research more sustainable, to raising funds for St Johns Hospice at ReStore - there is something for everyone to join in with.

Got a sustainability story?

The University’s Sustainability team want to hear more from anyone who is working to advance sustainability in any way across Lancaster University, no matter how big or small.

Send your stories, suggestions, ideas and feedback to sustainability@lancaster.ac.uk.