Sustainability
Harris Manchester is committed to reducing its environmental impact and embedding sustainability across all its operations and services. We are working to reduce our carbon footprint and actively working towards supporting a more sustainable future through our investments, building management and catering practices, biodiversity initiatives and community engagement projects.
What we're doing
- Measuring our energy use and waste to help track progress and identify areas for improvement
- Exploring and costing renewable energy generation, including on-site solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity
- Improving energy efficiency across the estate, including upgrading equipment, installing LED lighting and improving insulation and double-glazing where possible
- Supporting responsible investment through Oxford University Endowment Management
- Purchasing locally sourced, seasonal produce and using Fairtrade-certified products where possible
- Providing vegetarian and vegan options at every meal, alongside Meat-Free Tuesdays and Low-Carbon Thursdays
- Reducing food waste and working with local partners to convert food waste into biogas and liquid fertiliser
- Phasing out single-use plastics, including disposable cups, glasses and cutlery, while encouraging the use of reusable KeepCups
- Expanding recycling facilities across the site and promoting responsible waste disposal
- Supporting biodiversity through wildlife-friendly planting
- Promoting energy-saving behaviour through the University's Be Energy Friendly campaign
- Supporting an active Sustainability Working Group with representation from across the College community.
To find out more about what we are doing in specific areas, continue reading or get in touch if you would like more information.
Explore by area
We are working to reduce the environmental impact of the food we serve by making sustainable choices throughout our catering operations by:
- Sourcing local and seasonal produce where possible
- Providing vegetarian and vegan options at every meal service
- Running Meat-Free Tuesdays and Low-Carbon Thursdays
- Reducing food waste through meal sign-up systems and waste monitoring
- Working with ODS and other local partners to convert food waste into biogas and liquid fertiliser
- Eliminating single-use plastic catering items where possible.
One of our largest environmental impacts is heating, lighting and powering all our buildings. We are working hard to improve our energy efficiency and actively exploring opportunities to increase renewable energy use by:
- Upgrading boilers and other equipment to improve efficiency
- Converting the majority of College lighting to LED technology
- Improving the energy performance of older buildings by including double-glazing improvements where possible
- Investigating solar power and other renewable energy opportunities
- Exploring building management systems to help us monitor and manage energy use across the College
- Promoting energy-saving behaviour across the College.
Reducing waste and making it easier to recycle are important parts of our sustainability efforts by:
- Providing recycling facilities for glass, cardboard, plastics, food waste, batteries and printer cartridges
- Encouraging reusable cups and eliminating single-use plastics
- Measuring waste to help us identify areas we could improve in
- Working with partners to ensure that our food waste is used to generate biogas and fertiliser.
Creating a more sustainable College relies on the involvement of the whole community. We want staff and students to have opportunities to contribute ideas, learn more about sustainability and get involved in initiatives across the College by:
- Supporting a Sustainability Working Group with staff and student representatives
- Organising talks, events and visiting speakers
- Sharing updates through College newsletters and social media
- Providing additional secure bicycle storage to support sustainable travel.
To this end, we encourage all members of the community to:
- Save energy by switching off lights and equipment when not in use
- Use reusable "KeepCups" and choose reusable containers where possible
- Recycle and help reduce waste
- Try vegetarian and vegan options at mealtimes, including Meat-Free Tuesdays and Low-Carbon Thursdays
- Join the Sustainability Working Group and share ideas.
- Attend sustainability talks, workshops and events
- Walk, cycle or use public transport where possible
- Take part in biodiversity projects and other sustainability initiatives across the College.
We are working towards increasing the biodiversity of our gardens to make sure that they support wildlife and have a variety of native plants and trees by:
- Planting native trees and wildlife-friendly species
- Creating habitats for insects and other wildlife
- Collecting rainwater for landscape management
- Encouraging participation in biodiversity monitoring and citizen science activities.