The new Centre Building on LSE's campus has sustainability at its core
The London School of Economics and Political Science has committed to be net zero on greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, it was revealed last week. LSE Director Minouche Shafik announced the commitment at the launch event of LSE 2030, the new School strategy to shape the world.
Sustainability is a key concern for the School, with LSE 2030 identifying ‘ensuring a sustainable future’ as one of our guiding principles. This means working both to reduce our carbon emissions and to embed sustainable practice through our research, education, public engagement and campus operations.
The School is already on track to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 for our ‘Scope 1’ and ‘Scope 2’ emissions [1] coming from the fuel and electricity we use on campus.
Scope 3 emissions, however, remain a significant challenge for all organisations. These include the indirect emissions not in our control, for example coming from water and waste management, supplier activities, business travel and staff and student commutes. Reducing these emissions will require ongoing dialogue with our community to think about how we engage with external partners, how we participate in our global networks and what choices we make individually.
To help face up to this challenge, LSE’s Professor Lord Nicholas Stern – Chair of Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment - will chair a new Sustainability Advisory Group which will foster the dialogue with students and staff from across the School.
The Sustainability Advisory Group will launch a consultation process for the LSE community this term, helping to formulate the School’s response to the climate and ecological crises. The Group will identify focused actions, interim targets and reporting mechanisms to monitor our progress in reducing all of our emissions and ensure transparency across the School.
Discussing LSE’s commitment to go emission-free, Director Minouche Shafik said:
“I am proud to commit LSE to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. We are on course to achieve net zero well before 2030 for our emissions from the fuel and electricity we use on campus. We will mobilise the School community to identify opportunities to advance the cause of sustainability across all of our activities as part of our strategy LSE 2030.”
Find out more about the work to promote Sustainability within LSE: Sustainability at LSE