On October 21, 2020 the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) “launched its plan to tackle the climate crisis and announced it will be the first UK university to become carbon neutral, for all the emissions it currently measures.
The university’s Sustainability Strategic Plan was created in full consultation with the LSE community. Through a series of events and workshops, engagement with Student Union societies and an online survey, LSE students and staff made clear their desire for the university to take bold action on the environment.
In response, the new plan – co-ordinated by an advisory group of staff and students under the leadership of Professor Nicholas Stern – sets out six key areas of focus to maximise LSE’s impact in shaping a more sustainable world.
These areas include collaboration; education; engagement and leadership; investment; operations; and research.
- As a social science institution, LSE is well-placed to embed sustainability into the curriculum and equip students with knowledge and skills to address climate change. This includes promoting and introducing new courses and extra-curricular activities which relate to sustainability and highlighting these clearly to students, for instance by using green tags.
- The School will make sustainability a key part of investment decisions and strengthen its Socially Responsible Investment policy towards fund managers who embed climate change in their company selection using tools such as the Transition Pathway Initiative.”
You may read the press release on the LSE internet site.
Geoffrey Mazullo, Principal, Emerging Markets ESG, is an alumnus of the LSE. As a student, he received an environmental bursary, to promote environmental practices, including recycling, on LSE’s campus. He commented on the university’s Sustainability Strategic Plan.