Mahfouz Garden walkway

Sustainability

As Pembroke approaches its 400th anniversary we are mindful of our responsibility to future generations.  As a community we are determined to reduce our impact on the planet and to create an environment where sustainable choices are the norm.

Space and Sustainability Committee

The committee is comprised of Fellows, staff (including dedicated sustainability staff), student representatives from the JCR and MCR, and external advisors, and has met regularly since the beginning of 2022. The group discusses all major building projects, heat decarbonisation and biodiversity projects, and College sustainability communications strategies.

Masterplan

Following a review of the entire College estate, the Masterplan will set out the roadmap to achieving Net Zero operational carbon and Net Zero indirect carbon, as well as significantly increasing biodiversity across the College sites.

Our Commitments

  • We have committed to achieving Net Zero operational carbon by 2030 and are continuing to review the feasibility of a commitment to absolute zero.
  • We are committed to setting meaningful goals for:
    • Scope 3
    • Biodiversity gain
  • We review our Responsible Investment Policy yearly.
  • We will produce and publish a full Sustainability Strategy by the end of 2023.

More information about our plans for reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions can be found below, along with details about our sustainability plans and activities in other key areas.

Carbon

To meet our Zero Carbon commitments we are working with external advisers to produce and deliver on a site-wide plan for heat decarbonisation (part of our wider Masterplanning excercise). The full heat decarbonisation plan will be published in the coming weeks, and more detail can be found below.

In January 2023 we began our Scope 3 baselining exercise. Emissions will be calculated at the outset according to emission factors by spend category, with the aim of identifying our largest emissions categories and progressively moving to a primary data methodology.

Biodiversity

Investment