The sixth of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals is Clean Water and Sanitation - to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Approach
We use around 20 million litres of water each year. The use of this water results in emissions of around 20 tonnes of carbon, equating to 0.3% of our total annual carbon emissions from utilities.
There are many initiatives in place to conserve water, including real time monitoring and waterless urinals. These kind of projects have resulted in us reducing our water usage significantly, and water consumption is now less than half the amount used in 2006/07.
We require all works and contractors to comply with pollution standards, including through our Code of Practice for the Management of University Contractors/Works.
Our Sustainable Food Policy ensures our commitment to free drinking water for all readily available on all our campuses.
Find out more about how we are working to reduce our water consumption.
Research
Our Centre for Conservation and Restoration Science works on a global as well as a regional/local level, supporting initiatives such as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Our research on water is varied, including in marine ecosystems and urban environments and including on water pollution.
Teaching
We teach modules relating to clean water and sanitation through our School of Applied Sciences and our School of Engineering Computing and the Built Environment, including on freshwater biology, water resources engineering, and sustainable water resources management.
View our module catalogue on water.