Growing greener: Another successful year for sustainability at NDS

This has been another great year for sustainability at NDS.

The NDS Green Committee is always keen to welcome new members, and we started the year by looking to grow the team. Building on the hard work of previous years, and with fresh energy and enthusiasm from our members, we were delighted to achieve a Green Impact Gold Award from the University for the 2025-26 academic year.

Green Impact is an award-winning programme that breaks down the often complex world of sustainability into practical steps that staff and students can take to improve sustainable practice within their building, department or college.

Throughout the year, the NDS Green Impact team has been coming up with suggestions about how we can make more sustainable choices across the department and putting some of those ideas into action.

In February, we held our first seed swap, which was followed by a seedling giveaway at the NDS Away Day. We hope those of you who took something home enjoyed trying your hand at growing it!

We have also learnt from one another, sharing tips on topics including non-toxic cleaning products and growing fruit and vegetables from food scraps, as well as photos from our own walks. We organised a couple of short group walks too, encouraging colleagues to get outside and take a break during the working day - something we know can be tricky with busy schedules.

The committee's activities are guided by the Green Impact Toolkit, which aligns with the University's Environmental Sustainability Strategy. It has been a valuable resource, helping us learn more about sustainability and identify practical ways to make our working environment more sustainable.

NDS also participates in LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework), which helps laboratories identify practical ways to improve their sustainability and efficiency. Thank you to everyone who took part this year, and congratulations to all those who received awards. You can find out more about LEAF on the University's Sustainability pages on OxIntranet.

The committee has worked hard to achieve our Gold Award this year, and we're excited to see what we can accomplish next.

We're always happy to welcome new members, so if you'd like to get involved in the NDS Green Committee – or simply have an idea for something we could do – please get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.