Estates
Our beautiful campus in Birmingham comprises over 200 buildings of different conditions, uses and ages; we have a Grade I listed property, new state-of-the-art buildings and everything in between. Many of our historic buildings were never designed with sustainability in mind; we recognise reducing the environmental impact of our estate is a great challenge, but we are committed to making progress.
Our sustainability commitments are embodied in our 2045 Campus Vision. Our sustainability requirements and climate adaptation requirements are embedded in our Mechanical and Electrical Design and Installation standards, used to inform all our capital and maintenance projects.
We are implementing a range of initiatives to reduce energy consumption across our Birmingham campus, including upgrading existing lighting to modern, more efficient LED systems and enhancing the control of heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Our estates decarbonisation team partner with local building managers to analyse building data to spot and reduce energy-waste and identify ways to reduce energy-use overall whilst keeping our buildings comfortable and functional.
We are exploring the use of heat pumps to replace fossil fuel heating and cooling across our Birmingham campus. We have installed heat pumps in our new Molecular Science building and we are delivering a project at the Institute for Biomedical Research, due to complete by summer 2026. We are using our campus to research new solutions through Living Labs that help us understand the feasibility of new low-carbon technologies across our estate.
To improve water efficiency across our campus, we are leading work to repair and upgrade to our water infrastructure, including pipework, taps and other fixings. A number of initiatives are also underway to help raise awareness of water saving opportunities with staff and students.
Our campus community play a key role in ensuring we use our buildings responsibly, so we don’t waste energy or water, and we reduce waste by extending the life of fittings, fixings and plant in our buildings. All staff are encouraged to report any issues, such as leaky taps, draughty windows or signs of surface water flooding, promptly to the Estates office helpdesk. Staff can get involved and learn more about environmentally responsible behaviours on campus through our training and Green Impact programme.
We are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our campus in Dubai. Learn more about our approach.