Our sustainable development goals
The below sustainable development goals are relative to UN Sustainability Goals, identifying how Edge Hill University will aim to achieve those goals.
Goal 1
1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day.
- EHU provides vouchers for Morrisons/other food outlets for students who are really struggling financially.
- EHU conducted case study of Living Wage Campaign in the UK and published results.
- Presentation Event was held on Reducing In-Work Poverty: The Living Wage Campaign in the UK.
- EHU provided school meals packages for the local region to assist parents during the government withdrawal of support.
1.2 By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
- EHU provides a student information centre for financial advice and workshops.
- EHU provides a hardship fund for those who are unable to fully afford education.
Goal 2
2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
- Regular donations to Ormskirk foodbank by EHU staff take place.
- Caterer promote seasonal fruit and vegetables to customers and engage suppliers to measure amount of fruit/veg used.
- EHU provided school meals packages for the local region to assist parents during the government withdrawal of support.
- EHU use Too Good To Go to ensure that food waste is minimised and people can purchase food at a reduced rate.
Goal 3
3.4 By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and wellbeing.
3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
- EHU run a series of events such as Feel Good Food Days and Wellbeing Week promotions.
- A range of feel good events are run throughout the year to support wellbeing including NHS health checks, therapy dog sessions and plant giveaways.
- Counselling service for staff and students is available.
- There is an initiative where students anonymously nominate other students who they deem are “at risk”.
Goal 4
Ensure inclusive, equitable quality education, promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.
- EHU’s policies across the board respect individuals regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, sex, gender reassignment, religion/belief, sexual orientation, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity.
- EHU works hard to harness the creativity, knowledge and commitment of its staff to promote its values and enhance its activities.
- EHU run an outreach programme with local schools with targets to include those with less well-off backgrounds in access to high-quality education
- Thrive Fund Scholarship exists to provide more equitable access to extra-curricular skills development to students.
4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
- Staff Professional Development Workshops – include Health & Wellbeing, resilience, and more are available.
- EHU strives to provide an outstanding student experience, underpinned by high quality learning and teaching, and further develop its strong sense of community.
- EHU strives to strengthen its links to business and the region and enhance student employability.
- Careers service – provides help and focuses on those with disadvantaged backgrounds/in care/disabled and more.
4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
- Learning facilitators are employed for those with learning difficulties.
- Recruitment team are working to diversify the student body.
4.6 By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
- EHU strives to provide an outstanding student experience, underpinned by high quality learning and teaching, and further develop its strong sense of community.
- Summer course exists for those who didn’t do well in GCSE/A-Levels.
- Summer programme allows high school students to experience university.
4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
- EHU continuously stives to build its research capacity and, in particular, establish research centres in the areas of public policy and the creative industries in addition to a postgraduate medical institute.
Goal 5
5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
- Respecting individuals regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, sex, gender reassignment, religion/belief, sexual orientation, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity.
- Recruitment team are working to diversify the student body.
Goal 6
6.1 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
- Ensure tap water is available at every catering outlet.
- Regular water audits and management recommendations.
Goal 7
7.1.2 Proportion of population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technology
- EHU have committed to develop proposals looking into the feasibility to install additional Photovoltaic cells on campus.
- Upgrading of heating systems in the Main building to move away from wet heating systems to reduce energy use.
Goal 9
9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities.
- Seek to reduce the number of deliveries made to site by suppliers and ascertain from suppliers the sustainable credentials of their transport fleet.
- Car sharing scheme.
- Implement measures across the Institution to drive CO2e emission reductions.
- Reduce our Scope 3 emissions.
- Continue its investment in the campus and facilities to create an outstanding environment for these activities.
- Excess heat from media building funnelled into sports complex.
- Incorporating energy efficient measures when things need replacing.
9.5 Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending.
- EHU continuously stives to build its research capacity and, in particular, establish research centres in the areas of public policy and the creative industries in addition to a postgraduate medical institute.
- Establish both national and international partnerships, which will enrich university life, deepen our understanding of the world, and benefit the region and, more broadly, the UK economy.
Goal 11
11.2 By 2030 provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notable by expanding public transport with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
- EHU provide the EdgeLink bus free of charge to all staff and students to travel safely between Ormskirk and campus
Goal 12
12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
- Embed sustainable procurement practices across the Institution in line with our Sustainable Procurement Policy.
12.3 By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses
- Implement KPIs outlined in the Waste and Resource Strategy around circular economy and waste per capita targets.
- Waste Management strategy doc.
12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.
- When department moves occur, evaluate if furniture can be reused/recycled before disposing.
- Implement KPIs outlined in the Waste and Resource Strategy around circular economy and waste per capita targets.
- Ensuring that the annual Sustainability Fair always features a session around waste management and reduction.
- Providing training sessions for staff and students around waste management.
- Ensuring that the Big Campus Clear Out runs annually so students can donate unwanted items to charity, reducing the amount of resources going into waste streams.
12.6 Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle.
- Implementation of the EMS
12.8 By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.
- Forest school on campus for children from schools to learn more about nature and the outdoors.
- Check that curriculum meets national standards, including global citizenship as developed by the CLT (centre of learning and teaching).
Goal 13
13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
- Provide clear guidance to staff and students about adverse weather situations.
- Implementation of EHUs Climate Action Plan and Climate Resilience Framework.
Goal 14
14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.
- Recommendation for new fish species not to be introduced into ponds.
Goal 15
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.
- Tree planting.
- Recommendation for new fish species not to be introduced into ponds.
- Introduction of swift and bat boxes across campus to support biodiversity enhancement.
- Introduction of Biodiversity hotspots across campus to create new habitats.
- Planting of a micro forest along the Trim Trail to increase biodiversity.
Goal 16
16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
- Policies, strategies & action plan reports are published online with summaries from regularly convened sustainability related groups made accessible to the public domain.
16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
- The organisational structure has been developed year after year to ensure an inclusive and transparent decision-making process.
Goal 17
17.14 Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development.
- Economic, social, environmental and governance dimensions of sustainable development is considered at all stages of policy making with sustainable targets included in key Institutional Strategies and Policies.
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.
- The launch of SustainNET has created partnerships between the community, academia, professional and support staff.