In a fraying world.
There is a weave that holds us close you to this place, all of us
to the space we share with every cell and insect, every living creature.
How you treat the weak will be a measure of your strength.
How you treat the soil beneath your feet will be remembered by the sky.
In September 2020, Newcastle University stepped up its commitment
to sustainability, embedding environmental justice alongside
social justice as one of our core institutional values.
And it was our response not only to the climate and ecological emergency,
but also to the call from many of our students to put Newcastle
at the very forefront
of addressing the biggest global challenge facing their generation.
By aligning our work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
We've been working hard to ensure these core values permeate
everything we do from our education and our research
to our operations and our work with communities around the world.
And here are just a few examples of what we've achieved.
In 2019, Newcastle University became
one of the first universities to declare a climate emergency.
And as part of our commitment to this, we're investing £15 million
a year to achieve net zero by 2030.
We've achieved a 43% reduction in our CO2 emissions since 2006,
and we've divested our endowment funds from companies
making revenues from the extraction and production of fossil fuels.
And by the end of May, we will have installed solar panels
on 13 of our buildings as part of a campus wide programme
that will cover 50 buildings by the end of July 2024.
Our students play a central role in the university's work towards
sustainable development and their voice is represented at key
levels of decision making across the university.
We're embedding climate change education across our institution,
preparing our students for their roles in work and wider society
and we've introduced a new programme of Climate Leadership Scholarships
to support students who want to work with our researchers to address the UN SDGs.
And this year we held the first climate conscious
careers campaign, highlighting the opportunities
and support available for students to pursue careers in the green economy
and become a part of the global solution to our changing climate.
Newcastle was the first city in the UK where key anchor institutions
have all declared a climate emergency and we are delivering Newcastle
Helix with our partners, a leading example of urban sustainability
and a testbed for how we will mitigate the impacts of a changing global climate.
Through our world leading research where responding to the global climate
challenge, exploring clean,
affordable energy, water security and sustainable development.
And our cultural practitioners are working with partners and communities
around the world, protecting our cultural heritage
and exploring the challenges facing our planet through art,
film, photography, creative writing, and much more.
Our universities have a key role to play in building a fairer, stronger
and more sustainable future.
Here at Newcastle, we are embedding our commitments to social
and environmental justice into everything we do.
From our focus on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals
to being a university of sanctuary, providing a place of welcome and support
for people seeking refuge from conflict and hardship around the world.
And this year we delighted to be ranked first in the UK and eighth in the world
by the Times Higher Education
Impact Rankings for our work towards the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
But we know there is still so much more to do
and so we're committed to continuing our effort
to bring about positive and lasting change.
I am proud to be Chancellor of a university
which honored Martin Luther King and still upholds the values
of social justice and humanity that he stood for.
A university that's officially recognized
as a University of Sanctuary, a university
where the whole community, has stepped up to help refugees.
A university that has always stood up
for the excluded and the ignored.
Environmental and social justice are locked together, and all universities
are central in helping make our world a better,
fairer place for everyone.