When tasked with leading on co-ordinating the sustainability strategy and action plans for my university, I immediately felt daunted by the enormity of the task, especially as I didn’t have a background in sustainability. I know, from talking to others in similar positions in other universities, that I was not alone, despite my seniority. So I took a deep breath and followed the approach I’ve taken throughout my career: make sure people at all levels in the organisation buy-in, find out about sustainability and how it relates to what we’re trying to achieve, share knowledge and resources with other organisations, consider the most immediate actions that will make a difference; most importantly, seek professional support and advice, and finally, make sure success can be measured.
Cranfield University had signed up to the SDG Accord in 2022 and pledged to join the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Ranking 2023 for the first time as part of its new Corporate Plan, Ambition 2027, also published in 2022.
Taking part in the Advance HE collaborative project really helped me to align this organisational strategy to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was a perfect mechanism to collaborate and to share knowledge with other organisations, all with the support of experienced consultants from Advance HE. The output of the project was a suite of embryonic action plans designed to make sure the strategic sustainability goals in Ambition 2027 were translated into action and that we were able to achieve our goal of successfully entering the THE Impact Ranking and then improve on our performance.
