Education and Sustainability at Warwick
Education and Sustainability at Warwick
At Warwick, we are embedding sustainability across all areas of education - from curriculum to campus culture - through collaboration, innovation, and community engagement.
ESD Leadership and Governance
Our Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) work is led by Dr Tom Ritchie, Academic Lead for ESD, working alongside Dr Joanne Lee from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. Our ESD Action Group operates as a subgroup of Warwick's institutional Sustainability Committee, chaired by Professor Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla, ensuring strategic oversight at the highest levels of the university. In 2022, Stéphanie and Jo led the ESD theme as part of Warwick's Institutional Teaching and Learning Review.
Our university-wide approach is guided by Warwick's refreshed Environmental Sustainability Strategy, with regular progress reporting to the institutional Sustainability Committee. We provide comprehensive training and CPD opportunities for academic staff to integrate sustainability into their curriculum, creating collaboration spaces through our ESD Action Group and ESD Network initiatives.
Warwick ESD in Action
Our ESD Network brings together staff and students to champion sustainability across disciplines, while our ESD Action Group works to embed sustainable thinking into teaching and learning practices across Warwick.
Our case studies highlight how Warwick leads in interdisciplinary, real-world education. The systematic ESD approach we are developing includes 100% sustainability integration in professionally accredited programmes like Engineering (AHEP) and Global Sustainable Development (IEMA), alongside the development of new Sustainable Futures Masters programmes including our MSc in Global Decarbonisation and Climate Change. This demonstrates both comprehensive integration across existing curricula and proactive development of specialist sustainability pathways.
Programmes such as the Warwick Award and Climate Literacy Training equip students with knowledge, skills, and confidence for meaningful climate action both on and off campus.
We also support students through Sustainability Careers events and resources, connecting academic learning to green career pathways.
Together, these efforts align with the University's Sustainability Strategy and UN's Sustainable Development Goals - ensuring our graduates are equipped for the future and empowered to shape it.
Learn more about each of these areas below:
Our Key Highlights
Regional & International Leadership
In May 2025, the Warwick ESD Action Group and ESD Network hosted the Midlands Hub for the international event "Teaching and Researching for a Just Transition: Preparing for a More Sustainable Future" as part of our 60th anniversary celebrations.
This two-day hybrid event brought together over 200 participants from universities regionally, including Coventry, Aston, and UCB, and institutions worldwide, featuring panel discussions, networking, and a collaborative sustainability hackathon using real-world problem-solving approaches.
New Strategic Framework & Targets
Our newly developed ESD strategy section within Warwick's Environmental Sustainability Strategy sets ambitious targets: launching new student sustainability learning pathways by 2026, engaging 500+ students annually by 2026-27, and establishing ESD Student Ambassadors across all faculties.
Led by the students and staff on our ESD Action Group, we're embedding ESD into institutional quality processes, empowering transformative learning approaches, and building comprehensive institutional capacity with clear KPIs and annual progress reporting to senior leadership.
Student Impact Assessment & Benchmarking
In term three, we've partneredwith Warwick Students' Union and our Student Insights' Team to conduct a comprehensive student survey to benchmark ESD understanding and skills development across all Warwick students. This detailed assessment measures student confidence in sustainability concepts, skills development from critical thinking to intercultural communication, and real-world application of sustainability principles in coursework.
The survey evaluates how students connect sustainability to their studies, career plans, and personal lives - covering environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Results will help us demonstrate measurable impact of our sustainability education initiatives, with yearly reruns of the survey to show progress over time.
Real-World Impacts & Partnerships
Our campus serves as a Living Lab where students conduct sustainability projects with real-world impact, supported by formal external partnerships enhancing ESD across all faculties by 2027-28. We're connecting ESD competencies to career development through annual careers events and employer engagement.
From cross-departmental collaborative projects to sustainable research practices integrated into dissertations, we're building networks that transform both learning outcomes and community sustainability - demonstrating Warwick's leadership in practical, partnership-driven ESD approaches.
Our Areas of Impact
Across Warwick's education portfolio, our comprehensive ESD strategy reflects a commitment to driving meaningful change through key priority areas and programmes. These are measured and reported on annually to the institutional Sustainability Committee to ensure progress and transparency.
Each strategic focus is aligned with the University Sustainability Strategy and contributes to our shared goal of creating a more sustainable, future-focused institution. Through these efforts, we aim to provide an educational environment that not only equips students with the skills to tackle global sustainability challenges but also supports world-class teaching, research, and facilities here at Warwick.