Our sustainability team

The Head of Sustainability is the professional services lead for Sustainability, whose remit is the development and successful implementation of the sustainability strategy.

A passionate advocate for progressive environmental and social change, Zoe brings experience from a variety of sectors, including as Head of Sustainability at HM Courts & Tribunals Service. She also has full Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) membership, the gold standard for environment and sustainability professionals.

As part of the Senior Education Team, Julia coordinates and promotes the central place of subject-specific and interdisciplinary education in sustainability and climate awareness across the University’s teaching and learning strategy. Julia is also part of the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action. A key part of Julia’s role is to develop Birmingham’s portfolio of activities, to enable students, staff and external stakeholders to develop the skills necessary to tackle the complex global challenges we face today. 

Hayley is part of Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action (BISCA) and her role directly supports the Academic Director of Sustainability Education. Hayley is working with students and colleagues to co-create resources, activities and opportunities that strengthen the gateway between research and education, offer practical learning opportunities for students, develop sustainability skills and support University teaching staff with embedding sustainability into our curriculum.

As part of the Central Sustainability team, Aimee supports the delivery of sustainability themed projects across the University, coordinating communications, events and project administration to ensure successful implementation in line with the Universities Strategic Framework.

Aimee's role also includes providing secretariat support for committee meetings.

Ian is the Sustainability Lead for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, coordinating activities relating to sustainability in the college.

Ian also has a research interest in sustainability, including projects looking at sustainability in urban developments and, in particular, its impact on geotechnical engineering and the geotechnical process. Ian is a UK representative on Technical Committee 307, of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, and serves for several UK industry group supporting engagement/training in Sustainability across the Geotechnical Engineering sector in the UK.

Ali is Chair of Translational Neuroscience and Sustainability Lead for the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, coordinating activities relating to sustainability across each of the College’s four schools. He has a keen interest in sustainability and sustainable working practices and, as College Lead, is working to foster a culture of sustainability across all academic and operational activities within the College’s four schools.

His research reflects this commitment, focusing on the development of more sustainable models of healthcare, including reducing prescription opioid use and understanding how environmental conditions shape patient recovery and wellbeing.

Professor Chris McCabe has been the Director of Sustainability for the College of Medical and Dental Sciences (MDS) since 2010. During this time, the MDS Sustainability Committee has pioneered numerous initiatives, including laboratory plasticware recycling, re-wilding and tree planting, as well as targeting reductions in energy consumption related to ultra-low temperature freezers and cell culture hoods.

Laura leads the university's sustainability agenda in the College of Social Sciences and chairs the College's Sustainability Committee. She is passionate about understanding how we can apply the concepts of social learning to the development of regenerative education, which she describes as “coming together within and across our institutions and communities to develop the capabilities to learn to make differences that will enable us all - people and planet - to flourish”.

Aleksandra is the College of Arts and Law Sustainability Lead. In that capacity, she coordinates activities related to sustainability in the College of Arts and Law and chairs the CAL Sustainability Group. Aleksandra works on several research projects, including PrecisionTox (research on improving chemical safety assessment), PARC (uptake of Next-Generation Risk Assessment) and RECREATE (Recycling Critical Elements in Advanced Technologies for the Environment).

Archibong is Academic Sustainability Lead at our Dubai Campus where he is also an Associate Professor and Director of Mechanical Engineering Programmes. Archibong has a keen interest in sustainability and sustainable working practices and is working to foster a culture of sustainability across all academic and operational activities, including supporting our Dubai campus to achieve Green Laboratory Accreditation standards. Archibong is a IMechE Fellow and he researches fluids and multiphase flow systems for low-carbon energy, carbon removal, industrial process, and biomedical applications.

Monica is Director of Facility Services within Campus Services, with responsibility for leading sustainability across the division. She represents Campus Services in the delivery of the University’s sustainability objectives and contributes to governance and reporting through relevant action groups and committees.  Monica also has a focus on leading sustainable travel and circular economy for the university across services such as waste and resource use.

As Head of Sustainable Logistics, Tony leads the University's Sustainable Travel, Transport and Car Parking services, supporting the delivery of the University's sustainability objectives through operational leadership, strategy development and performance reporting. He contributes to sustainability governance through membership of the Sustainable Research Action Group and Chairs the Sustainable Business Travel Task & Finish Group, helping to shape initiatives that reduce environmental impact while supporting the University's teaching, research and operational ambitions.

Rosie leads initiatives across the University that promote waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and the more efficient use of resources. She works with colleagues and stakeholders to support and guide projects that embed circular economy principles across campus. Rosie is a Chartered Resources and Waste Manager and sits on the University's Waste Action Group and Campus Services Sustainability Committee.

Jim supports the drive towards decarbonisation by taking a lead role in carbon and water reduction activities. This includes identifying cost-saving opportunities and ensuring a robust approach is taken to sustainability and the carbon footprint of projects. With 20 years’ experience in energy management and sustainability, he is a Fellow and Director of the Energy Managers Association and holds a number of industry-recognised qualifications. Jim is also the co-chair of the Estates Sustainability Committee.

Charlie is responsible for driving reductions in our Scope 3 supply chain emissions arising from the purchase of goods and services, leading internal engagement to embed sustainable behaviour change within procurement processes across our operations, education, research and working with our supply chain to ensure continual alignment with and progress against collective social, ethical and environmental targets. Charlie is a contributor to Net Zero and Biodiversity Action Group.

Tara chairs the Sustainable IT Action Group which aims to align digital practices and the University’s sustainability goals. It does this through driving tangible improvements in digital services and raising awareness of digital sustainability within IT Services and across the University community. 

Mike is responsible for our carbon-emissions reporting and contributes data, analysis, and insight to our Sustainability Strategy. He is a member of the Net Zero Carbon Action Group, Sustainable Research Practices Action Group, and HESA EMR Operational Group.

Cai is a Sustainability and Environmental Officer within Estates. He is undertaking a degree-level apprenticeship and has a lead role in the reporting of building data into a range of carbon and water reduction activities and reviewing the environmental impact of proposed developments. Cai has a key role in work on making our Laboratory spaces more sustainable and is involved in the promotion of Green Impact and Green Impact Lab Accreditation.

Edward is responsible for enabling and encouraging our staff and students to make sustainable travel choices for their daily commutes and university trips. The bread and butter of the commuting work is surveying our community and delivering the tailored sustainable travel plan, with diverse measures in the field of facilities, staff benefits, communications and engagement, advice and guidance, learning and long-term partnerships. Analysis of booking behaviours lies at the heart of showing how operational leaders can make reductions in business travel emissions.

Sophie is studying the level 4 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability apprenticeship, looking at the duties businesses have to enable social and environmental change. Her role involves supporting the Sustainable Travel Officer by assisting with the delivery of the travel survey and travel plan, engaging with staff and students at key points in the year, and helping to facilitate the ongoing sustainable travel schemes.