The Pentland Centre is hosting a seminar exploring how universities can reimagine their role in sustainability amidst growing challenges and opportunities for transformation.

Universities have a unique role to play in sustainability transformation — as brokers of new knowledge, educators of future professionals, and anchor institutions in their communities. In recent decades, the sector has stepped into these responsibilities, taking up the challenge of greening its strategies, operations, and academic activities, inspired by ideas of ‘whole institution’ change. But taking stock of current scenarios suggests higher education is at a crossroads, where dreams of systemic change for sustainability may lose out to macro forces of absorption into business as usual.

Sustainability agendas are hugely ambitious and can easily be disempowered in the face of complexity. As universities navigate financial turbulence, ideological threats to academic autonomy, and rapid developments such as AI, sustainability must reposition itself as an aligned imperative.

Sustainability professionals across sectors are facing similar pressures — where improvement actions are neglected under reporting burdens, and burnout increases as the scope of work expands and embeds more deeply into the organisation.

And yet, the sustainability agenda could help universities to shape the future in powerful ways:

• Broadening their impact narratives with refocused strategic goals
• Reconfiguring activities to innovate across specialisms and silos 
• Diversifying their partnerships for innovation and enterprise
• Educating for different capabilities and an ability to lead change

Attention to the mindset and cultural change required for sustainability could be key to unlocking this transformation in the core missions of university research, teaching, and outreach — enabling them to better support society in shifting away from an unsustainable trajectory.

This seminar draws on first-hand experience and research in sustainability leadership within higher education, alongside pedagogical insights from work with students and academics. It will consider the learning and leadership mindsets that could power up our universities for a sustainable future.

NB: The seminar runs from 10:00-11:00 in MAN- Management School WP B007 and on Teams. 

All Lancaster University academic staff and students welcome - registration required.

Please register below - registrations close Monday 16 June 2025. Please contact pentlandcentre@lancaster.ac.uk for queries re booking after that date.

Photo at top of page by ty at Adobe.

Dr Alex Ryan is an award-winning sustainability director, Education for Sustainability (EfS) expert and qualified coach, working freelance as Learning Energy. She has been leading change for sustainability in higher education for over 20 years, working with educators, institutions and at sector level. 
Alex has a track record of successful delivery on sustainability across academic, operational and outreach functions, having led her institution to number 1 in the People & Planet league 2019 and hit change targets in areas such as emissions reduction, divestment, waste, fairtrade.
Her expertise in EfS has steered collaborative change to reframe learning across curriculum portfolios, using meaningful measures for quality and outcomes. She has led multi-institutional EfS research in areas such as quality improvement, professional development and student empowerment. 
 

Health & Safety and access information:

• In order to safeguard everyone's health, if you test positive for Covid-19 before the event, or are feeling unwell in any way, please don't attend (and please let us know).
• The room is on the first floor, accessible via lift, flat, wheelchair accessible and has an induction loop. There is a wheelchair accessible toilet nearby.
• Accessible parking - there are 3 disabled parking bays at the top of Gillow Avenue (next to the West Pavilion).

Find out more about the Pentland Centre on our website