Insight on working towards the Sustainable Development Goals

By Laura.Duckett , 26 June, 2026

How experiential learning can build sustainability skills and spark change

Experiential learning projects that push students outside their disciplinary comfort zones can prompt real-world change. Learn why co-creation, interdisciplinarity and real-world relevance are key

Reading time

5minutes

By kiera.obrien , 25 June, 2026

Greener lab practices in higher education

Greener lab practices for higher education

Advice on how to make university laboratories more environmentally sustainable

By kiera.obrien , 25 June, 2026

Tips to integrate sustainability into day-to-day university lab practice

A vial of green liquid sits on a sheet of reaction formulas

Sustainability doesn’t have to be a big project. Instead, make it a part of what science departments do daily, writes Deirdre Black

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 24 June, 2026

A surprising ally in the fight to make chemistry greener – AI

A robot uses a microscope in a laboratory

While making chemistry more sustainable is paramount, tiny changes to lab materials and conditions can have significant effects. Can AI’s data-crunching abilities help?

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 23 June, 2026

Turning research sustainability from a tick-box exercise into ‘the way we work’

A close-up of a lab worker looking through a microscope

Sustainability can feel like yet another task for busy researchers. Here are ways to make greener research practices easier – and more memorable

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 23 June, 2026

Environmental researchers know the impact of AI – so why do they still use it?

A scientist stands in a greenhouse with a tablet

Academics are increasingly using AI for research, despite being aware of its environmental footprint. But is it their fault – and what can be done?

Reading time

5minutes

By kiera.obrien , 22 June, 2026

Take action to make sustainable labs a reality

A green liquid is dispensed into a petri dish

Eliminate waste, reap the benefits of a circular economy and aim for ambitious targets for greener laboratories, with these tips

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 22 June, 2026

From experiment to impact: reducing waste in teaching labs, part 2

Two masked scientists fillin test tubes in a lab

How to move beyond basic waste reduction to teaching students responsible decision-making in experimental work

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 19 June, 2026

From experiment to impact: reducing waste in teaching labs, part 1

A group of students conducting an experiment in a lab

From cleaning glassware to choosing cooling systems, learn how small teaching interventions can help students experiment more sustainably

Reading time

5minutes

By kiera.obrien , 19 June, 2026

The hidden environmental cost of cold storage in laboratories

Ultra-low-temperature freezers in laboratories can use as much energy as two UK households per year. Here’s how to make cold storage as efficient as possible

By Eliza.Compton , 19 June, 2026

Greener labs don’t need bigger budgets – just better habits

When it comes to improving green practices across a university’s laboratories, meaningful change doesn’t always require major investment or new infrastructure. Small but intentional practices can yield substantial results

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 10 June, 2026

Enter the circle: teaching circularity in practice from the ground up

Biomaterials workshop at Arts University Plymouth

Creative universities need to move students’ practice from a linear ‘take, make, waste’ ethos to one co-authored with nature. Stephanie Owens explains how to foster a culture of circular innovation

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 8 June, 2026

How we cut daily lab deliveries by 94 per cent

By cutting down deliveries, you can lower your lab’s carbon footprint, reduce clutter and admin and free up researchers to focus on discovering new cures and treatments. Learn how

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 4 June, 2026

Make laboratory teaching greener with VR

Virtual reality should not replace hands-on laboratory teaching. Used well, it can make practical science more sustainable by reducing avoidable waste and helping staff use real laboratory time more effectively

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 29 May, 2026

Combat sustainability burnout by giving students the tools to act

Students care deeply about climate change – here’s how to design teaching to prevent them feeling powerless as a result

Reading time

5minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 14 May, 2026

Practical ways to embed green chemistry into a packed curriculum, part 2

A scientist filling a test tube in a lab

Find out how targeted teaching, skills-based projects and real-world context equip students to think critically about environmental and human impacts while developing as responsible scientists

Reading time

5minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 13 May, 2026

Practical ways to embed green chemistry into a packed curriculum, part 1

Two chemists in a lab consulting a training manual

Learn how small, intentional curriculum changes can help students connect chemistry with health, environmental and social impact and sustainable development

Reading time

5minutes

By kiera.obrien , 8 May, 2026

The long game: gamifying sustainability education

To integrate sustainability into the business school curriculum, why not try an interactive game? Here’s how to immerse students in real-world challenges

Reading time

5minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 1 May, 2026

You can’t teach ‘affective’ empathy from a case study

A university professor smiling to camera

If business schools want to produce socially responsible graduates, they must centre lived experience of social disadvantage in their teaching and learning, say Kathy Walsh and Mihajla Gavin

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 28 April, 2026

From theory to judgement: using role play to assess students’ decision-making skills

Students can explain theories. But can they challenge them? A structured role-play approach helps assess critical thinking, professional judgement and decision-making – skills that traditional assessments often miss

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 6 April, 2026

How business schools can turn AI from ‘threat’ to ‘sustainability enabler’

Business schools can move beyond seeing AI as a sustainability risk by embedding it across teaching, strategy and collaboration, says Meelis Kitsing

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 16 March, 2026

A game-making workshop to bring complex systems to life

Details of hands playing different games

Board games offer a powerful teaching tool to deepen understanding of complex dynamics such as climate. This analogue group task fosters the skills of systems thinking: setting boundaries, seeing multiple perspectives and holistic analysis

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 12 March, 2026

Teaching ethics and sustainability through fiction

Book, scales, gavel, fuzzy globe, environmental justice concept

A novel offers practical ways for students to consider how theory and practice can come together in addressing climate challenges. Here, Denise Baden offers exercises across humanities and social sciences disciplines

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 4 March, 2026

From buzzwords to business plans: making the SDGs matter to students

A group of students in a classroom working on a live brief

How to help students apply SDG thinking in practical, business-focused ways using local case studies, live briefs, internships and feedback

Reading time

5minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 7 January, 2026

Doing outreach with children? Start with bricks, questions and storytelling

When the climate crisis dominates headlines but often feels too large for meaningful action, how can university researchers invite the next generation to engage, imagine and lead? Here, Nadera Assim shares insights from a workshop on composting

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 16 December, 2025

Looking for our environmental future in the poetic past

How can studying a poem or writing a story give students the skills to imagine a healthy planetary future? Stephanie Jones explains the link between literature and environmental literacy

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 28 November, 2025

Tackle one concrete problem to advance the SDGs: campus recycling

Students recycling at a local community centre

A focus on recycling offers universities a realistic, high-impact way to strengthen sustainability and make measurable progress toward the SDGs

By Laura.Duckett , 14 November, 2025

The future of sustainable universities is circular

Hands holding up a sign that says "reuse", "recycle" and "reduce" with accompanying icons

With growing pressure to reduce emissions, costs and waste, now is the time for universities to reimagine their role in the resource life cycle, says Darren Wilkinson

Reading time

2minutes

By kiera.obrien , 6 November, 2025

A co-curricular approach to SDG education

Students discuss their work round a table

To accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals, students need to be equipped to tackle real-world issues across disciplines. Here’s how it can be done

Reading time

5minutes

By miranda.prynne , 31 October, 2025

Put food sustainability on your university’s menu

A healthy array of vegetables and pulses

Steps for embracing food sustainability and fostering behaviour change across campus, which any higher education institution could take

Reading time

4minutes

By miranda.prynne , 29 October, 2025

Support smaller businesses’ sustainability efforts through education

Wind turbines and solar panels across the horizon

For businesses to improve their sustainability, they first need to understand how. Paula Whitehouse shares lessons from a programme specially developed to educate executives in environmental strategies

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 20 October, 2025

A clear vision for university-community partnerships

Mutual respect, actively listening to each other’s perspectives and clear mechanisms to evidence impact should be the foundation of a university-community collaboration. Here’s how a project to improve local children’s eye health grew into an ongoing partnership

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 7 October, 2025

How to embed sustainability in your business school

An illustration of a green light bulb, wearing a mortarboard

Vague symbolic gestures and greenwashing are no longer enough to show your institution is taking sustainability seriously. Here’s how to embed sustainable teaching and research

Reading time

5minutes

By Sreethu.Sajeev , 2 October, 2025

Cultivating sustainable campuses through engagement

In the journey towards net zero, universities can achieve stronger outcomes by engaging students and staff in sustainability initiatives and clearly demonstrating their impact

By Sreethu.Sajeev , 2 October, 2025

Advancing sustainability on campus using data insights

Universities have significant untapped potential within existing campus infrastructure to advance their sustainability goals. However, they must close the gap between recognising data’s strategic value and taking purposeful action based on it

By Laura.Duckett , 19 September, 2025

Empower students as co-creators in sustainability education

Four hands each with a puzzle piece that together makes up an image of the planet

Co-creation in education for sustainable development empowers students to shape meaningful projects, build practical skills and drive institutional change, as demonstrated by a collaborative initiative between two London-based institutions

Reading time

5minutes

By Sreethu.Sajeev , 18 September, 2025

Advancing higher education in India through strategic partnerships and smart campus technologies

Watch the on-demand video of the Times Higher Education webinar on how India’s higher education institutions can leverage data and technology to transform campus environments

By Laura.Duckett , 18 September, 2025

Ease student climate anxiety through nature and community

As climate anxiety grows among students, connecting with nature and building supportive communities nurture resilience, purpose and well-being, say Mireia Bes and Vivienne Kuh

Reading time

5minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 2 September, 2025

How can we teach students about social value?

Students increasingly expect universities to reflect their social conscience. Business schools must go beyond profit-focused teaching, embedding social value, impact measurement and experiential learning, says Robert A. Phillips

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 12 August, 2025

Sustainability education isn’t just an add-on – it’s a foundation for the future

Students work with plants, a model of the Earth and a solar panel around a table

If universities want to nurture future leaders capable of addressing the world’s most pressing challenges — climate change, inequality, poverty – they must go beyond surface-level curriculum reforms. Here’s how to create the space for your students to grapple with these issues

Reading time

4minutes

By kiera.obrien , 8 August, 2025

Competence matters more than content in sustainability education

Instead of teaching the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals head on, find the competencies business managers will need to take on the challenges of the future. Here’s how

Reading time

4minutes

By miranda.prynne , 4 June, 2025

Higher education’s bumpy road to net zero

How universities and academics can ensure rhetoric translates to action on the climate crisis

By kiera.obrien , 26 June, 2025

Business schools should go beyond the classroom for social impact

Two women laugh together over a notebook

To meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, business schools should consider hands-on community projects which also boost students' employability and give them a sense of purpose

Reading time

4minutes

By miranda.prynne , 18 June, 2025

Campus webinar: How to embed sustainability into the curriculum

Hear experts discuss how they engage students in climate-conscious learning, build sustainability into course design and connect it to employability and wider social responsibility

By kiera.obrien , 13 June, 2025

Forget climate anxiety – let’s foster climate confidence

Combine research and administrative duties to tap into how students are feeling about climate change – and use your findings to help them gain the skills, and confidence, to tackle it head-on

Reading time

3minutes

By miranda.prynne , 12 June, 2025

Campus Talks: Actions that make a real difference in the fight against climate change

From global finance to the laboratory, hear about two very different ways by which universities can reduce their carbon emissions

Reading time

57minutes

By kiera.obrien , 4 June, 2025

Use art to cultivate business students’ understanding of climate change

A close-up of a hand painting on a canvas, a paint palette in the background

Find out how a transdisciplinary project using drawing and art deepens business students’ understanding of sustainability, inspiring them to become climate champions

Reading time

5minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 4 June, 2025

Key terms you should know to advance net zero goals across the university

Achieving net zero on college campuses is an ambitious target, but with targeted strategies, universities can help their community integrate sustainability practices into campus language and experiences

Reading time

3minutes

By kiera.obrien , 2 June, 2025

Who’s the most sustainable? Get your students competing to be climate champions

Tap into your students’ interests and make climate action fun and competitive. Elliott Brown outlines how

Reading time

4minutes

By miranda.prynne , 29 May, 2025

The need for integrated thinking at universities: from Covid-19 to the SDGs

Image of a globe surrounded by the 17 SDG symbols

A joined-up approach between universities, public services and businesses – as successfully demonstrated during the pandemic – is now needed if institutions are to accelerate efforts towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Reading time

4minutes

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)