Maximising our positive impact on the world: Imperial launches new Sustainability Strategy

Universities have the opportunity and skills to lead the world to a more sustainable future, Imperial College London leaders say as the next sustainability strategy is announced.

This week, the university launched the Sustainable Imperial Strategy 2026-2031, a comprehensive, science‑led plan to set a global benchmark for university sustainability.

Addressing an audience of nearly 300 staff members, students and external partners, Imperial’s President Professor Hugh Brady said the university can help society navigate one of the defining challenges of our time – leading by example, combining discovery, education and innovation to deliver evidence‑based solutions and turn emerging technologies into real‑world impact.

“Creating the technical and policy solutions to achieve net zero and protect biodiversity will require innovation, collaboration and leadership across every sector. At Imperial, we see this as a responsibility but also an opportunity to lead the way.

“Our sustainability strategy invites all our colleagues, students, visitors, collaborators, suppliers and wider community to play their part in helping us on our journey. Together, we can achieve great things, from the many small actions we can each take that add up to big transformations, to the breakthrough innovations that will drive step societal change."

Watch the launch event recording to hear the President’s speech, and insights from sustainability leaders and innovators.

Navigating one of the defining challenges of our time

The Sustainable Imperial Strategy builds on Imperial’s achievements to date and aims to enhance sustainability across every part of the institution in the coming five years and beyond, spanning operations, education, research, innovation, partnerships and community action.

It is rooted in scientific rigour, with clear, measurable targets to track progress, and frames Imperial’s ambition around two complementary goals:

• minimising our environmental footprint – by striving for net‑zero carbon campuses for direct emissions by 2040, cutting indirect emissions, and embedding sustainable practice across the university.
• maximising our positive handprint – through education, research and innovation that support global sustainability transitions.

The strategy is part of Sustainable Imperial – a core initiative of the university’s Science for Humanity vision, reinforcing its commitment to being “useful” by applying knowledge, skills and convening power in service of people and planet.

Minimising our footprint

The strategy lays out Imperial’s commitment to achieve net‑zero direct (scope 1 and 2) carbon emissions by 2040, with an interim target to reduce these emissions by 25 per cent by 2028–29. This is alongside continued efforts to tackle harder‑to‑measure indirect (scope 3) emissions linked to travel, procurement and digital infrastructure. Planned measures include energy‑efficiency upgrades, heat pumps, more sustainable procurement and lower‑carbon travel options.

Beyond carbon, the university will adopt visible good practice and make significant progress on its wider sustainability programme, including reducing waste, delivering on the sustainable food and drink policy, further campus greening, and engaging staff and students on solutions.

These ambitions are already being demonstrated through live projects. Recent case studies highlighted in the strategy include fossil‑fuel‑free building retrofits, large‑scale solar installations, and the use of seaweed‑based packaging developed by Imperial alumni Notpla to replace hundreds of thousands of single‑use plastic items across campus food outlets.

Maximising our positive handprint

Alongside reducing its footprint, Imperial aim to grow its positive handprint – the contribution the university’s education, research and innovation activities make to a thriving and sustainable future for the university, people and planet.

As part of this, the strategy commits to nurturing sustainability‑literate graduates through the Imperial Class of 2030 initiative, expanding lifelong learning in sustainability, and scaling up scientific impact through the School of Convergence Science’s Sustainability theme. Flagship research partnerships, innovation programmes such as Undaunted, and initiatives like the Imperial Zero Index will continue to shape industry practice, policy and public debate well beyond the university.

It also details how Imperial’s innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems can continue to guide the world to a more sustainable future. Sustainability-focused innovators such as Ponda – Imperial alumni who are creating next-generation textiles from plants grown on regenerative wetlands – are already supporting carbon reduction in the fashion industry through collaborations with such companies as Stella McCartney, Berghaus, Ahluwalia and Sheep Inc.

Imperial is bringing its relationship with Ponda full circle by collaborating on a bespoke clothing line at Imperial College Union shops launching this autumn.

Speaking at the strategy launch, Ponda Co-Founder Neloufar Tehari (pictured below), said: “Ponda is thrilled to be launching this collaboration with Imperial College London. Having founded the company during our Master's at Imperial, we've seen firsthand how the university champions student entrepreneurs and supports innovations with the potential to make a real difference.

“Its new Sustainability Strategy reinforces that commitment, setting out a clear ambition to drive a more sustainable future through research, innovation and collaboration. We're proud to be part of that journey and excited that Imperial's students will be able to wear products that actively support wetland regeneration.”

A collective effort

Professor Anna Korre, Imperial’s Associate Provost (Sustainability), said the new Sustainability Strategy belongs to the students, colleagues and community members who shaped and directed its development through an extensive consultation process.

“We have worked together – listening, debating and contributing to a shared vision for the future. The Sustainable Imperial Strategy is ambitious, but it is also achievable. It builds on our strengths, reflects our values and provides a clear framework for action. It is a strategy that focuses less on promise and more on performance that we will deliver together.”

Read the strategy: The journey to a more sustainable future

Explore the Sustainable Imperial Strategy 2026–31 to learn more about Imperial’s mission for the next five years and beyond, the actions being taken across the university, and how everyone in the Imperial community can contribute to building a more sustainable Imperial – and a more sustainable world. (Read the full strategy document).