Technical professionals play a vital role in improving the environmental sustainability of UK higher education and research institutions, helping to accelerate net zero ambitions, a new report finds.
Driving environmental sustainability: The contribution of technical professionals in higher education and research (published 18 November), showcases how significantly UK technical professionals contribute to creating a sustainable future with impacts in the laboratory through to institutional strategy.
Coinciding with COP30 – the United Nations’ annual climate change conference – this timely report highlights best practice, barriers and recommendations targeting the higher education and research sector.
From designing sustainable research practices and facilities and enhancing monitoring and evaluation, to driving culture change and embedding sustainability in education and research, technicians have the expertise, dedication and creativity to find solutions that reduce both environmental impact and long-term financial costs.
Research for the report found many technical staff volunteer for sustainability initiatives on top of their regular workloads, despite having no formalised responsibility for improving environmental sustainability.
Limitations on technical workforce time and capacity was cited as a key barrier to implementing sustainable changes, along with upfront capital costs.
The report makes seven recommendations aimed at helping the sector to empower environmental leadership in the technical community. These include formalising sustainability-related responsibilities, facilitating access to relevant training opportunities, sharing good practice and including technical voices in institutional sustainability planning, as well as wider recognition and visibility both within institutions and from external organisations such as professional bodies.
Ian Hancox, Co-Director for the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy, said:
“This report, published by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy, showcases the invaluable role of technical professionals in making research and higher education institutions more sustainable – and the ten case studies featured are only the tip of the iceberg.
“By shining a spotlight on their impact, we hope to demonstrate that greater recognition of and investment in technical professions is key to tackling the environmental challenges facing the sector.
“I am confident this report will help to encourage wider inclusion of technical voices in conversations around institutional approaches to sustainability, because their expertise makes them uniquely placed to identify opportunities for improvement. Institutions which realise the benefits of engaging with the report’s recommendations will help accelerate environmental sustainability whilst achieving their Technician Commitment action plans.
“Thank you to all technical professionals and organisations who contributed to this report.”
Lee Hibbett, Technical Manager in the School of Pharmacy at University of Nottingham, whose pioneering work on solvent recycling is featured as a case study in report, added:
“These case studies show just how many ways technicians can make a real difference to sustainability in our institutions, from saving energy to changing how whole facilities operate.
“The technical community are best placed to understand the workflow and systems within the labs and other energy-intensive facilities of their institutions. Indeed, they are often the most experienced end-users and the specialists who would possess the knowledge about how efficiency improvements might be made.
“Every improvement starts with someone deciding to try something new, and these case studies offer practical examples of what that can look like. My hope is that sharing our stories can help inspire technical colleagues with the confidence and new ideas to take the first step.”
Jo Allatt, UKRI Head of Sustainability (Engagement and Policy) also commented:
“We recognise the need to support the full range of staff within our higher education institutions (HEIs) and research organisations to help us all achieve our environmental sustainability priorities and goals, and technical professionals are critical to delivering this. We welcome the conclusion that the contributions of the technical workforce to environmental sustainability should be visible, recognised and celebrated.”
The ten organisations featured in the report are University of Nottingham, University of Chester, Newcastle University, University of Warwick, University of Liverpool, Loughborough University, University of Cambridge, University of Leeds, Liverpool John Moores University, and the University of Manchester.
Download the full report and read online here
Technical professionals interested in environmental sustainability and sharing best practice can join the Environmental Sustainability Network, hosted by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy.