Tania Dias Fonseca, Stephanie Todd, Amanda Baker, Desalegn Yayeh Ayal, Ulisses M. Azeiteiro, Henri-Count Evans, Inga Grinfelde, José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra, Jasenka Gajdoš Kljusurić, João Carlos Correia Leitão, Chunlan Li, Newton R. Matandirotya, Bethwel Mutai, Gustavo J. Nagy, Thierry Razanakoto, Jame Schaefer, Goran Trbic, Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga, Sane Pashane Zuka, Charles Galdies, Adriana Consorte-McCrea, Francisco Platas, Mittul Vahanvati, Pedi Obani, Safwatun Nida, Lucas Gabriel Zanon, Mayara Régia Sousa de Melo, Renato da Costa dos Santos, Alison Glover, Roman Vakulchuk
Higher education institutions are actively investing resources to achieve net-zero carbon targets. Kingston University, a post-92 institution in London, is committed to sustainability across all areas: learning and teaching, research, knowledge exchange, operations, and infrastructure. Central to this commitment is the Town House Strategy, which aims to create a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable future. This chapter discusses Kingston University’s institutional approach to bridging academic and operational efforts through shared responsibility. Employing innovative methods to connect learning, teaching, and operational practices, Kingston University addresses climate change by integrating climate change education into all program curricula, ensuring that students across disciplines are equipped with the knowledge and skills to tackle climate issues. The institutional approach emphasizes collaboration among academic and professional staff to advance climate change education and research while engaging students and the wider community in diversified activities to foster skills for climate mitigation and adaptation. Examples of achievements of this non-siloed and whole-institution approach include a reduction in scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions, active student participation as co-creators of climate change educational resources, student-led workshops and conferences, an increase of sustainability-focused programs, and enhanced student collaboration with local communities and small and medium enterprises through community-based projects, hackathons, and problem-solving initiatives to drive a just transition. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
Institute of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Engineering, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava, Latvia; Center for Sustainable Development (Greens), Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul), Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil; School of Urban and Regional Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Kgotso Development Trust, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Centre, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; CERED, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar; Marquette University, Milwaukee, United States; University of Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico; University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Land Economy, University of Malawi, The Polytechnic, Blantyre 3, Malawi; Institute of Earth Systems, University of Malta, Msida, Malta; Academy for Sustainable Futures, Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom; Casa de Cultura de la UAEMéx en Tlalpan, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico; School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom; Science Education Department of Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil; State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil; Universidade do Contestado-UNC, Mafra, Brazil; The Open University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo, Norway; Kingston University, London, United Kingdom; Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa Univesity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; The Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal; Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Eswatini, Manzini, Kwaluseni Campus, Matsapha, South Africa
