ARU becomes first University to Achieve PLEDGER Level in Carbon Reduction for the Built Environment.

CSIC is pleased to announce that Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has successfully achieved the Pledger level of the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment. As the first university to reach this level, ARU has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability and carbon reduction in the built environment, setting an important example for other universities and institutions to follow.

At ARU we aim to reduce all our direct carbon emissions to zero by 2035 and all carbon emissions from our value chain to zero by 2045. We have already reduced our direct emissions by 76% since our 2006 baseline by investing in carbon reduction. Signing the Carbon Reduction Code signals our intention to align our construction projects with our decarbonisation goals and will help us work with our supply chain to achieve this. James Rolfe, Chief Operating Officer at Anglia Ruskin University

ARU joins a growing community of Code compliant organisations. The Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment, which is hosted by CSIC and is part of the Construction Leadership Council’s Construct Zero initiative, is structured around commitments that stimulate action in different aspects of carbon reduction. 

All organisations that comply with the Code must set out and publish plans to meet net zero by 2045, including annual targets, recognising that the majority of cuts need to be made by 2030, and they publish progress against those plans annually. This is the minimum commitment for achieving PLEDGER status, the first of the three levels of compliance to the Code. To comply with the criteria required to achieve SIGNATORY or CHAMPION level, an organisation must sign up to additional commitments designed for supply chain members or clients.

The Carbon Reduction Code was developed by a cross industry working group in 2020 and first issued it in 2021. The Code is designed to facilitate action and collaboration in the built environment towards reducing carbon emissions (CO2eq) related to design, construction, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of built assets. Creating a community of built environment organisations to support each other will help everyone to reach the destination of net zero.

James Rolfe, Chief Operating Officer at Anglia Ruskin University said “At ARU we aim to reduce all our direct carbon emissions to zero by 2035 and all carbon emissions from our value chain to zero by 2045. We have already reduced our direct emissions by 76% since our 2006 baseline by investing in carbon reduction. Signing the Carbon Reduction Code signals our intention to align our construction projects with our decarbonisation goals and will help us work with our supply chain to achieve this”.

The latest version of the Carbon Code and additional guidance can be found on the Carbon Reduction Code pages of the CSIC website or contact carboncode-enquiries@eng.cam.ac.uk