Since January 2025, QMU’s efforts to become a more sustainable institution have been supported by Rory Hill, a Sustainability Project Manager from EAUC (the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges) – whose role is shared with two other institutions. To mark Earth Day - a moment for global reflection and local action, Rory looks back at the previous year of sustainability action he has been involved in at the University.
What is sustainability and why is it relevant to QMU?
To give an idea of the work that is taking place at QMU, I think it is worth starting by thinking more broadly about what sustainability means. The typical definition is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (United Nations).
Crucially, sustainability is not just about the environment. It’s about social and economic issues too. Personally, I like to think of sustainability as acting responsibly, for people, planet and prosperity.
As a public institution and civic university, it is our duty to try to minimise the impact we have on our planet and to support the communities we work with – due to both legislation and a moral obligation to act.
At QMU this means working with people from across the University on a wide range of topics like reducing greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable catering or the impacts of extreme weather.
The shared services model
Many of the challenges associated with sustainability, however, are experienced by all universities and colleges, as they are expected by government to become more sustainable. Larger institutions will often have a dedicated member of staff or even a whole team to work on tackling these issues. This can be more difficult for smaller institutions like QMU, however, as responsibility for sustainability is often spread across many different roles. Smaller institutions typically lack the capacity for a full-time sustainability manager – particularly with the difficult financial position currently facing the sector.
This is where a shared services role like mine can help. Essentially the shared services model refers to when a role is split between organisations, rather than focusing on one like most full-time jobs. This can help reduce costs and share relevant knowledge and expertise between organisations. In my case, this means working across Borders College, Forth Valley College and Queen Margaret University, while EAUC acts as a host for my role. I joined EAUC in this position in 2022 and started working with QMU in 2025. While I work for three institutions specifically, my EAUC colleagues work to benefit the whole tertiary education sector and QMU staff can access their events, resources and support free of charge.
The shared services model, however, is about more than just cost saving. Because of the shared challenges institutions face, it can be an efficient way for institutions to gain expertise and not just extra staff time. For example, when I take the time to develop a new tool or resource for one institution, like a Climate Change Risk Assessment, this can then quickly be repeated at my other institutions. For QMU, this means having access to sustainability expertise and tested approaches without the need to duplicate effort.
Over the past year, this shared services approach has supported several key sustainability milestones at QMU, including:
- Working together for sustainability
QMU has had a Sustainability Committee since 2014, bringing together staff and student representatives from across the University to deliver a holistic approach to sustainability. Last year I was lucky to share my experience from other institutions to support a full review of this group which has now become the Sustainability Advisory Committee with a new convenor, expanded membership and an updated remit agreed with the Principal. These updates ensure governance structures remain robust, informed, and aligned with strategic priorities to accelerate progress across the social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability.
The Sustainability Advisory Committee now runs a regular programme of events each month, including Community Garden meetings, Sustainability Film Club, Sustainability Reading Group and Sustainability Research Network.
To find out more or get involved, keep an eye out for regular updates in Moderator, visit the Committee’s Sharepoint page or contact sustainability@qmu.ac.uk
- Flying the flag for the SDGs
In 2025 QMU marked Sustainability Development Goals Flag Day (25th September) for the first time, with the Principal flying a flag on campus and supporting media. Through my role, I worked to encourage and support this milestone, helping to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the University. The SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
To reinforce this commitment to sustainability in the long-term, and with my encouragement, on SDG Flag Day the University also joined The SDG Accord, a global collective of over 700 universities, colleges and education networks committed to advancing the SDGs. By raising the profile of the SDGs and making a public commitment to support them, these steps help embed sustainability into QMU’s decision‑making, strengthen collective action across the institution, and ensure that our teaching, research and operations contribute meaningfully to long‑term positive impact.
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Like all public bodies in Scotland, QMU records and reports on its greenhouse gas emissions each year, to monitor our progress towards achieving net zero emissions.
Reporting completed last year (for the 2024/25 academic year), showed that QMU has taken a major step by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 39% of the 2020/21 baseline. This places the University firmly on track to meet its target of a 42% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions (primarily electricity and gas) by 2030 – as detailed in our Net-Zero Strategy 2023-2028. The University’s ultimate target is to achieve net zero by 2045.
In addition to supporting data collection and interpretation for this report, to improve access to this data and to strengthen transparency, last year I created a written summary report which was published on the University website for the first time. This work aims to make emissions data more accessible and meaningful for staff, students and external stakeholders, and is a good example of how the additional capacity brought by my role can support both technical reporting and clearer communication.
- Addressing Our Changing Climate
While it is important to mitigate the University’s contribution to climate change, by cutting our greenhouse gas emissions, it is also crucial for us to understand and prepare for the impacts of climate change. These include the extreme weather events such as floods, drought and wildfires we are already experiencing, and which we expect to become more severe and continue for many years. Preparing for the impact of climate change is referred to as climate change adaptation.
To this end, over the last year I have worked with colleagues from across QMU to develop the University’s approach to these impacts, including by conducting a detailed Climate Change Risk Assessment – a process I previously developed with Borders College and EAUC as the Climate risk register: guide and tool.
Adapting to climate change is a long-term challenge and something we will continue to work on for many years to come. Understanding the risks and difficulties we are likely to face, however, is a significant step to preparing QMU to become a resilient institution for the future.
Looking to the future
The above examples are just a few of the actions I have had the pleasure of helping QMU to deliver and I hope that we can share more news on the sustainability successes we achieve very soon.
Earth Day is a reminder that sustainability is a collective effort, and I look forward to continuing this work with colleagues and students across QMU in the year ahead.
If you would like to know more or to get involved, please feel welcome to contact me at rhill@qmu.ac.uk.
