Sustainability and environment
People and Planet league
People and Planet is an independent league table of UK universities, focusing on environmental and ethical topics.
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At York St John, we use the People and Planet league table as one metric of tracking our performance on environmental and ethical issues.
We are working on projects outside this framework too.
We have a commitment to being the University of Social Impact, focusing on the environment and social justice. These goals are held across the University.
Below are some examples of it in action, and more can be found elsewhere on our website.
Ethical banking and investment
We are committed to our stated values of social responsibility, sustainability, and ethical conduct. While we are not currently carrying any external investments, all future partners will be held to the standards within our policy.
Download: Ethical Framework for Financial Transactions (PDF, 0.1 MB)
Further information on our Finance documents and minutes from Board of Governors meetings can be found below.
Ethical careers
Unlike some universities, we do not work with any third-party careers services, which means we can be confident in our ethical and environmental stance. Our staff can help you navigate your career, from placements to employment.
Reach out to our staff using Handshake.
| Name | Job title | Email address |
|---|---|---|
| Barrie Grey | Head of Student and Graduate Employability | b.grey@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Caroline Smith | Deputy Head of Student and Graduate Employability (Opportunities) | opportunities@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Suzanne Dickinson | Employer Engagement and Student Opportunities Manager | opportunities@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Afra Padmore | Partnerships and Student Opportunities Officer | opportunities@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Amanda Wilson | Partnerships and Student Opportunities Officer | opportunities@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Sami-Jo Cook-Wild | Partnerships and Student Opportunities Officer | opportunities@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Tracey Donarski | Partnerships and Student Opportunities Officer | opportunities@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Kathryn Penny | Deputy Head of Student and Graduate Employability (Careers) | careers@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Adele Hernandez | Employability Consultant | careers@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Lewis Wombwell | Employability Consultant | careers@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Patrick Loasby | Employability Consultant | careers@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Richard Jones | Employability Consultant | careers@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Charlotte Moore | Graduate Success Coach | careers@yorksj.ac.uk |
| Ruth Morris | Graduate Success Coach | careers@yorksj.ac.uk |
Education for sustainable development
At York St John we integrate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into our curriculums and communities. We are committed to social justice and environmental responsibility.
Download: Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Strategy 2026 (PDF, 775 KB)
Our Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Strategy forms part of our University for Social Impact Strategy championing educating our staff, students, and communities on sustainable development.
Our Sustainability and Environmental Community of Practice regularly reports to Richard Bourne (Pro Vice Chancellor: Education) to help inform our 5 year cycle University strategy.
All academic staff are supported by the Teaching and Learning Enhancement (TLE) team, and supported with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours on topics such as decolonisation and facilitating working with our Living Lab, providing a framework on integrating sustainability into the curriculum of all Schools.
We host Talk About Teaching, an annual conference that reflects our core values as expressed in our Strategy. The guiding topic for 2025 was that of Social Impact where staff can engage with dialogue, collaboration, and participation with ESD.
CPD hours are mapped and staff are encouraged to join events such as Gender and Climate Justice in the Global South. Through the TLE team the Accounting and Finance BA program uses Principles for Responsible Management Education and EDS to explore corporate sustainability responsibility, using the University as a case study in a core module.
Sustainable food
Download: Sustainable Food Policy (docx, 26.4 kB)
The University is committed to delivering a catering service which represents best practices in the sector, both in terms of sustainability engagement with staff and students and a commitment to responsible environmental management. YSJ has already made sector-leading steps towards our commitments to climate, nature, and health, as seen by our Silver Food For Life certification. Food at YSJ is not just confined to the catering service, but is embedded across our sites with our community herb wall, allotments, and our Wild Wednesdays community garden.
Staff and HR
Sustainability at York St John is a campus wide project that all staff, students, and visitors are involved with.
The below list are just some of the key people who help shape sustainability at York St John.
The Estates team provide focus on whole university sustainability. This team can be reached through sustainability@yorksj.ac.uk.
- Nick Coakley: Director of Estates Management and Development, Strategic Director for Environmental Sustainability and sits on the executive board.
- Stuart Middleton: Head of Engineering, Compliance, and Sustainability. Responsible for the development and delivery of programmes, projects and policies to improve the university.
- Sarah Williams: Energy and Environmental projects officer. Focuses on active transport, supports Living Labs.
- Jeremy Kemp: Energy and Environmental projects officer. Manages and maps scope 1,2, and 3 Carbon emissions.
- Jessica Hollis: Environmental management officer. Supports campus sustainability projects such as LEAF and Bike Doctor.
- Yumino Simpson: Environmental management officer. Supports campus sustainability projects such as the Tansy beetle project and furniture recycling.
- Julia Dyman: Energy reduction and management. Greening our heating and cooling systems.
Thelma Reed: LEAF leader, structuring our sustainable laboratory project. Email: t.reed@yorksj.ac.uk.
The Living Lab comprises of a network of staff and students using the campus to investigate real-life, local ecological justice issues.
- Dr Catherine Heinemeyer: Living Labs co-lead. Email: c.heinemeyer@yorksj.ac.uk
- Dr Vicki Pugh: Living Labs co-lead. Email: v.pugh@yorksj.ac.uk
- Dr Jude Parks: Living Labs co-lead. Email: j.parks@yorksj.ac.uk
- Martha Cattell: Paid research assistant for Living Labs, supporting the Resiliency in the changing climate topic. Email: m.cattell@yorksj.ac.uk
Policy and strategy
Our sustainability Policy and Engagement Plan, in conjuncture with the Institute for Social Justice, guides how we embed ecological and social justice into our whole university.
Download: Sustainability Policy and Engagement Plan (PDF, 0.1 MB)
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Get involved
Staff, both academic and non-academic, are encouraged to engage with sustainability across our sites and work towards improving the environmental performance of the university, some avenues for this are:
- LEAF, working towards sustainable labs by lowering carbon, waste, and energy.
- Our active travel pushes such as the Bike Doctor. Further information on this can be found on our Sustainable travel page.
- Volunteering on the community allotment.
- Joining the cross departmental Ecological Justice Research Group.
- Participating in our Sustainability Snapshots.
- Contributing to the Living Lab events such as Community Gardening or the Repair Fair.
- Or being a member of the Sustainability and Environmental Impact Community of Practice.
