The 2030 target, announced last month, includes direct emissions (known as Scope 1 & 2) and indirect emissions caused by the University’s activities (Scope 3).

About 75% of the University emissions are in Scope 3, and most of this (59% of total emissions) comes from procurement of goods and services.

The University is now working with suppliers to support and monitor decarbonisation, and the first Supplier Sustainability Day is being held today (Wednesday).

“Our goal isn’t just to reduce the University’s carbon footprint – we want to help our suppliers cut their own emissions as much as possible,” said Jo Tudor, Senior Procurement Officer at the University of Exeter.

“We are supporting them however we can, and at today’s event they will hear from our Sustainability and procurement teams, fellow suppliers and also EcoVadis, which provides business sustainability ratings.

“Our suppliers understand that this is a key priority for the University, and we will keep pushing the limits of what we can and can’t accept from our supply chain in terms of carbon emissions and sustainability.”

The University aims to meet ISO 20400 guidelines for sustainable procurement, which includes principles such as accountability, transparency, respect for human rights and ethical behaviour.

Cutting Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions is only part of the University’s climate action – it is also driving change locally, nationally and worldwide through its cutting-edge research on all aspects of the climate crisis.

The University has over 1,000 research and education specialists working on the environment and climate, including the UK’s top five most influential climate scientists (according to Reuters).

All aspects of Exeter’s environment and climate action are included in the University’s new Strategy 2030.

To find out more about the mission to reach net zero by 2030, visit https://www.exeter.ac.uk/about/sustainability/ or email climatemergency@exeter.ac.uk