Sustainability education and outreach

Education for sustainable development

In the Keele Learning and Teaching strategy we strive to ensure that "our students are informed about and engaged in the sustainability agenda both within and beyond their academic curriculum".

Keele is committed to providing education for sustainable development and this is embodied by our academic and teaching staff across all departments and schools at the university.

> Education for Sustainable Development Code of Practice

Our approach to Education for Sustainability (2023-2025):

Our aim is that all students graduating from Keele University will have had the opportunity to engage in activities and learning that will provide them with the knowledge, skills and competencies to make sustainable decisions in their social and professional lives from a social, environmental and economic perspective.

> Education for Sustainable Development Code of Practice

Our students and staff will be encouraged to: 

• understand what the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are, their role in achieving a more sustainable future, how they relate to different subjects and how we can all contribute to the UN’s SDGs; 
• learn and apply the core competencies of sustainability to challenges;  
• consider what the concept of global citizenship means in the context of their own discipline and in their future professional and personal lives; 
• consider what the concept of environmental stewardship means in the context of their own discipline and in their future professional and personal lives; 
• think about issues of social justice, ethics and wellbeing, and how these relate to ecological and economic factors; 
• develop a future-facing outlook; learning to think about the consequences of actions, and how systems and societies can be adapted to ensure sustainable futures; 
• engage with carbon literacy and understand the impacts of energy generation and consumption and other actions on climate change; 
• use the campus as a ‘living laboratory’ for research and teaching abut ESD; 
• support their own health and wellbeing on campus through engaging with Keele’s green spaces and sustainability initiatives. 

Education for Sustainability is at the heart of Keele’s sustainability ambitions, reflecting the core educational purpose of a university. Education for Sustainability activities therefore must link to the whole university community, including links with the sustainability of the estate, sustainability in research, and sustainability issues within the university’s wider community.  Ensuring that these linkages are optimised, alongside the embedding of sustainability within the curriculum and student experience, is a core component of Keele’s Education for Sustainability approach.

This approach has been agreed by those with senior responsibility in sustainability at Keele University. 

Reporting on progress

Module case studies

Across the University, there are many examples of best practice in embedding Education for Sustainability. This document highlights 16 modules which have been mapped to the QAA Education for Sustainable Development descriptions and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The case studies aim to celebrate existing progress and demonstrate how other modules could embed sustainability themes into learning and teaching. If you deliver a module which embeds sustainability and would like to be included as a case study on these webpages, please complete this form. Download the  ESD Module Case Studies document.

Education for Sustainability annual reporting

Education for Sustainability action is also considered through the internal Keele University Sustainability Benchmark. The criteria includes schools and directorates:

• Schools should include an opportunity for students on all programmes to develop sustainability competencies within the curriculum.
• Directorates should work with at least one programme area to facilitate at least one Education for Sustainability project.
• Schools should include an opportunity for students to engage with the UN SDGs through the curriculum.
• Directorates can do a display to share how their work (hidden curriculum) relates to sustainability and the SDGs.

Some examples from our 2023-24 Sustainability Benchmark:

• Our Events and Conferencing team support Education for Sustainability by supporting student projects particularly around food use and waste on campus, and carbon calculating foods. The team use menus as a mode of communication and education for those enjoying meals to learn about the carbon footprints of foods, and support modules such as Greening Business by doing presentations about what sustainability actions are taking place within Events and Conferencing.
• School of Nursing and Midwifery are creating resources for students to see clearly how sustainability links with their learning, and are incorporating Carbon Literacy specific to healthcare.
• School of Chemistry and Physics run a Sustainable Chemistry module and are launching a new Physics with Renewable Energy degree pathway. Sustainability is also embedded into modules including Applied Physics and Emerging Technologies, and Dissertations.
• Keele Business School has sustainability embedded into most modules and has mapped the SDGs. The School are working to create an SDG passport that will flow across grades, levels and modules and will map the UNESCO competencies. 
• Information and Digital Services have supported the Green IT module and provided support to students 'Good Health and Wellbeing' through Exam Plus activities. During library training, "In a Nutshell" the generic online workshops include sustainability examples.

Supporting academic staff

Keele colleagues are invited to join the Staff Sustainability Network and the Education for Sustainability Community of Practice to create space for dialogue, collaboration and participation around Education for Sustainability.  

Training on Sustainability is available through the Keele Learning Pool and talks take place through the Institute for Sustainable Futures. Education for Sustainability workshops feature in the Introduction to Teaching and Demonstrating (ITAD) which is Keele's principal teaching-related professional development course for postgraduate researchers and other sessional teaching staff.

Each year, Keele takes part in the Sustainable Development Goal teach in to encourage Education for Sustainability and softly monitor how sustainability is embedded within the curriculum.  

The last Education for Sustainability curriculum review took place between 2016-2018 which saw 97% of Keele University curriculum having sustainability embedded.

Our campus as a living laboratory

Keele encourages real-world learning and research opportunities for students whilst on campus and beyond. This brings positive social and environmental benefits to the university and wider community. 

Many disciplines take advantage of the 600-acre campus grounds and estate to provide real-world situational learning, and with Keele's sustainability ethos the outcomes of projects and studies support the sustainability operations and environmental impact of the university.

See case studies: Sustainability Bungalow, Smart Energy Network Demonstrator , Keele Amphitheatre , The Memorial Garden and more here.