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Our Strategic Vision
Our vision is to be a global leader in understanding how key environmental issues shape the future of our planet. We are committed to pioneering new ways of operating as a truly sustainable organisation and to finding the most impactful approaches to inform, educate, and inspire action—within our community and across society.
We recognise that with our knowledge and expertise comes a profound responsibility: to drive positive change. We are not just participants in this journey—we are catalysts for transformation. Through our actions, we will influence individuals, communities, and organisations, empowering them to create a more sustainable future.
Our impact will be visible and tangible—in the way we operate as an organisation, in how we equip our students with the skills and mindset to be sustainability leaders, and in how our research and partnerships drive meaningful, lasting change at regional, national, and global levels.
Each aim presented below is aligned to objectives and underpinned by indicative actions. Workplans ensure objectives are met, clarify outcomes, detail work required and identify accountability and ownership. They set out metrics and indicators to track progress, map dependencies, sequence and prioritise work, and identify potential areas for investment.
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Education: Embedding knowledge to drive positive action
At UEA, we are harnessing our environmental, climate, and global development knowledge and expertise for the benefit of our students. Our students are already leading the way in promoting environmental consciousness, and we are committed to nurturing this energy and passion.
Sustainability will be deeply embedded across the undergraduate curriculum, making the environment a cross-cutting pillar for every student who graduates from UEA. This ensures that they carry forward the knowledge, skills, and commitment to sustainability into the world, amplifying our impact. As outlined in our Student Education and Experience Strategy, we will make sustainability more visible and explicit in our courses, equipping our graduates with the capabilities to thrive in, and contribute to, the growing green economy.
In doing so, we are preparing students not just for jobs, but for green leadership—empowering them to help shape a sustainable and just future for everyone.
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Research: Maintaining UEA’s research and policy defining role in the field
For over 50 years, UEA has been at the forefront of environmental sciences, development studies, and climate change research. Our work doesn’t just expand knowledge—it drives change that echoes around the world. By bringing fresh thinking to the major challenges facing society, we’re helping to build a better, more sustainable, and liveable future for everyone.
Our excellence in research has earned us recognition, including the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize, which honoured our pioneering work alleviating poverty in developing countries through environmental sustainability. UEA’s impact has also been recognised in the Times Higher Education rankings, placing us 6th in the UK for sustainability impact related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
We are committed to continuing this legacy of leadership. Our climate research will remain at the cutting edge, deepening understanding of the causes, consequences, and mitigations of climate change. But we won’t stop at discovery. We will ensure our insights translate into real-world impact—informing public policy, transforming services, improving health, and creating a more resilient economy and society.
In everything we do, we are guided by a commitment to act responsibly, ensuring that our research and innovation are themselves environmentally sustainable.
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Operations: Operating an environmentally sustainable campus and university
We are committed to embedding the lessons learned from our world-leading research and education into our own operational practices, making sustainability a core part of who we are and what we do.
We’re streamlining our operations and campus infrastructure to become more efficient, eco-friendly, and resilient. We will embrace innovative approaches that reduce our environmental footprint and set an example for others. Our campus continues to be recognised for its green spaces, proudly winning our eighth Green Flag award—the international benchmark for excellence in publicly accessible parks and green areas.
As custodians of a rich biodiversity, we have a responsibility to protect and enhance these natural spaces in line with UEA’s declaration of a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency. We’re not just maintaining our green spaces—we’re working to make them flourish, ensuring that our campus continues to inspire future generations of students and researchers alike.
Our operational focus is clear: to lead by example and to demonstrate that sustainability is not a distant aspiration, but an everyday reality embedded in our decisions and actions.
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Society: Engaging society to empower informed choices
At UEA, we believe that the knowledge and expertise we cultivate must be shared for the greater good. Our founding mission, as outlined in our original charter, is clear: to advance education and research for the public benefit. But our responsibility doesn’t end there.
With the power of our research and teaching comes the duty to create far-reaching positive change. We are committed to extending the impact of our sustainability leadership beyond the boundaries of our campus—reaching out to local communities, national partners, and global networks.
Through outstanding education and world-leading research, we’re helping to shape environmental sustainability goals and actions on a much broader scale. Our contributions are influencing policies, inspiring movements, and supporting efforts to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss—both close to home and around the world.
We will continue to lead by example, demonstrating what is possible when bold ideas meet collective action. Together with our partners and stakeholders, we’ll work to raise environmental ambitions, sharing knowledge and empowering others to make a difference.
Our mission is not just to teach and discover, but to ignite change—locally, nationally, and globally.
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