Queen Mary continues to actively support and engage locally with Tower Hamlets Council climate action initiatives. This includes being a partner in the Climate Partnership Network and subgroups, spanning biodiversity, innovation, leadership and research.

Scopes 1 & 2

In 2024/25, Queen Mary achieved a 24 per cent carbon reduction compared to the 2018/19 baseline for Scope 1 and 2 emissions despite growth of the estate. Besides a 31 per cent reduction in Scope 2 emissions (indirect emissions from electricity production) there has been a further 11 per cent reduction in Scope 1 emissions (emissions related to energy and fuel use in our directly managed buildings and campus vehicles) by 2024/25 against the 2018/19 baseline as shown in Table 1.

A new carbon reduction target to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions (tCO₂e) by 18% by end of 2027/28 against 2023/24 emissions has been published in our new Environmental Sustainability Action Statement (2025/26–2027/28) [PDF 2,535KB]. 

A three-year Energy and Carbon Reduction Plan [PDF 2,222KB] was developed in 2025 through collaboration between Engineering & Estates, Sustainability, and our Building Management System (BMS) contractor Carbon Numbers. The plan was approved for delivery at the end of 2025, with an Invest to Save budget of circa £5m and includes a range of initiatives designed to reduce the University's energy consumption and carbon emissions while improving campus-wide control and operational efficiency. The ambition is to achieve an overall energy reduction of 12,755,493 kWh per annum after all projects have been delivered, which could deliver circa £2.2m in annual savings (subject to any future changes in energy prices). The programme includes BMS upgrades, new connections and installations, optimisation and control improvements, and LED lighting upgrades across the estate.

Residences

Queen Mary operates several halls of residence that offer accommodation on campus or a short distance away. Carbon emissions from residences account for around 12% to 15% of our total Scope 1 and 2 emissions (see Table 2).

Scope 3

Waste collections

Our Sustainability Action Statement sets a goal to reduce operational waste generated annually by 10% by the end of the 2027/28 financial year against 2023/24 figures, with associated reduction of 10% in scope 3 carbon emissions.

Table 3 shows historical data of all waste types, excluding construction and research-related hazardous waste streams such as clinical, chemical and radioactive, since the financial year 2022/2023. While the total waste slightly increased between 2022/23 and 2023/24, it has been gradually declining since, with a notable reduction of 8.2% between 2023/24 and 2024/25. The data also shows a marked increase of 8.5% in recycling rates, following the implementation of QM’s Non-Hazardous Waste Improvement Project in 2023/24, where we standardised bin designs and rationalised bins into bin stations with general waste and mixed recycling, improved signage and standardised the colours of bin liners across campuses. An increase in food waste collections in 2024/25 reflects the successful rollout of this stream across residential and non-residential buildings, in advance of legal requirements.

The carbon footprint associated with waste collections reduced by a remarkable 71% compared to 2023/24, also benefiting from the decarbonisation of waste collections in the UK. This means that we have surpassed our target to reduce these emissions by 10%.

Queen Mary is currently developing a Waste and Resource Management Strategy and Action Plan which is designed to continue to reduce our carbon emissions from operational waste.

 

Supply Chain Emissions

Carbon emissions associated with our supply chain are estimated using the Higher Education Supply Chain Emissions Tool (HESCET) and therefore incorporate capital goods and transportation of goods. Table 4 shows a reduction of 20% in 2024/25 compared to our initial 2018/19 baseline and 29% compared to the previous year.

We have started contacting some strategic suppliers to request more accurate emissions, with the ambition to progressively replace spend based calculations of activity-based supplier- and product-specific emissions data over time.