Environmental Sustainability

Mansfield College takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and recognises the impact that even small organisations such as an Oxford college can have on environmental sustainability. The College has agreed an ambitious set of targets: to become carbon neutral and achieve a net gain in biodiversity by 2030.

For many years, the College has pursued eco-friendly initiatives, including the introduction of energy-saving heating and electrical appliances, water-saving toilets, biodegradable catering supplies, meat-free Mondays, and garden renovations. We now seek to take these further by mainstreaming our environmental targets into College decision-making processes.

The College Strategy approved by our Governing Body urges us ‘to run our college in an environmentally and financially sustainable and ethical way, and our operations and investments are undertaken with due consideration of and respect for good environmental and human rights standards.’

Further to this, and at the request of the College’s JCR and MCR in Hilary Term 2021, we have established a dedicated working group to develop and implement a comprehensive environmental sustainability strategy.

As a college, Mansfield always strives to pursue an inclusive and community-focused approach. The Environmental Sustainability Working Group meets regularly to collaborate, drawing on the wealth of expertise and experience within Mansfield and Oxford, and has a balanced membership of students, academics, and support staff. Recognising that it is impossible to separate environmental sustainability from social responsibility, the working group will ensure that it takes account of this when working towards its environmental goals.

In Michaelmas Term 2022, the working group submitted a comprehensive Environmental Sustainability Strategy to the College's Governing Body, setting out how to deliver its environmental targets.