We strive to create systemic change within and beyond King’s 

King's Climate & Sustainability is a three-year transformation programme to drive forward the pace of research, education and action at King's to enable societal transition to environmental sustainability.

This whole-university strategic priority is embedded across King's and steered by a central team within the Vice-Chancellor & President's Office, led by Professor Frans Berkhout, Assistant Principal (King's Climate & Sustainability). Professor Rachel Mills, Senior Vice President (Academic), and Steve Large, Senior Vice President (Operations), are the Senior Sponsors for King’s Climate & Sustainability.

Climate and sustainability action is supported by colleagues across our faculties and directorates, particularly our Staff Sustainability Champions and colleagues within the Directorate of Estates & Facilities who enable operational change.

King’s Climate & Sustainability team

Vice-Chancellor & President's Office

• Professor Frans Berkhout, Assistant Principal (King's Climate & Sustainability)
• Rosie Smith, Programme Director (King's Climate & Sustainability)
• Rachel Ireland, Programme Manager (King’s Climate & Sustainability)
• Dr Louise Logan, Project Officer for Education (King's Climate & Sustainability)
• Dr Adélia de Paula, Project Officer for Research (King's Climate & Sustainability)
• George Hope, Communications Manager (King's Climate & Sustainability)
• Ellie Bignall, Communications Officer (King's Climate & Sustainability)
• Rosa Roe Garcia, Senior Sustainability Engagement Officer
• Kedijah Eaves-O'Connor, Sustainability Engagement Officer
• Valeria Laochouk, Business Support Officer (King’s Climate & Sustainability)
• Katie Agar, Principal Analyst (Sustainability)

Directorate of Estates & Facilities

• Sara Kassam, Director of Environmental Sustainability, sara.kassam@kcl.ac.uk
• Nicola Hogan, Sustainability Manager (Operations), nicola.hogan@kcl.ac.uk
• Julie Allen, Heat Decarbonisation Programme Lead – Asset Delivery, julie.allen@kcl.ac.uk
• Jessica Killeen, Energy Coordinator, jessica.killeen@kcl.ac.uk
• Yuxuan Wang, Energy Coordinator, yuxuan.13.wang@kcl.ac.uk
• Henry Ager, Waste & Resource Coordinator, henry.ager@kcl.ac.uk

Research Management & Innovation Directorate

• Declan Mulkeen, Director of Research Strategy, declan.mulkeen@kcl.ac.uk
• Marcelo Salierno, Sustainability Lead (Research), marcelo.salierno@kcl.ac.uk
• Lucy Menage, Sustainability Research Specialist, lucy.1.menage@kcl.ac.uk
• Leilani Beltran, Infrastructure & Sustainability Analyst, leilani.beltran@kcl.ac.uk

All members of staff are full-time, except for the Programme Director (0.8 FTE) and the Director of Environmental Sustainability (0.9 FTE). 

Programme

King’s Climate & Sustainability is initially a three-year programme (2023-26) to accelerate change and create the foundations and momentum that will ensure delivery of the strategic goals:

• Grow substantially the volume and quality of environment and sustainability research and our research impact by 2029; including development of distinctive and high-quality programmes and centres of excellence/institutes with visibility and critical mass.

• Provide environment, climate and sustainability education for all King’s students through the core curriculum (all King’s UG to have provision by 2026), strengthen extra-curricular education such as the KEATS Sustainability & Climate module, and expand research enhanced PGT, CPD and Exec Education.

• Continue making plans and investments to accelerate King’s progress towards its 2030 emissions targets (Scope 1, 2, 3 emissions reductions of 50%) and Net Zero target (demonstrable contributions by 2025 and 2030 to achieving King’s initial emissions targets), engaging our entire community to achieve these goals.

• Reposition and build King’s profile to include excellence and contributions to UK and global sustainability problem-solving in areas including policy, business, and civil society.
  
  
• Attract substantial philanthropic funding for new environment, climate and sustainability education, research, and impact.

Governance

The King’s Climate & Sustainability Steering Group provides oversight, advocacy and accountability for the delivery of the three-year programme and planning for continued progress after the three years. The Group is chaired by the Senior Vice President (Academic) and core membership includes (Senior) Vice Presidents, Executive Deans, Directors of various directorates, and student and staff representatives.

The Steering Group is supported by four dedicated Working Groups to help the University deliver on its education, research, and net zero targets.

• The Education Working Group helps to shape and enable Education for Sustainability in all aspects of King’s education and to facilitate the development of high-quality new programmes.

• The Research Working Group provides vision, expertise and creativity ensuring that King’s ambitions for rapid development of research and research income are achieved.

• The Decarbonisation Operations Working Group helps drive achievement of King’s decarbonisation targets, as set out in the King’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan.
  
  
• The Carbon Offsetting Working Group was created in February 2024 to develop a reliable approach to carbon offsetting for King's.

Sustainability budget

King's Climate & Sustainability is supported with an allocated budget that covers both the implementation of the university-wide climate and sustainability strategy and the resourcing of the staff team. This financial budget sits within the Vice-Chancellor & President's Office. Further allocated financial budget sits within the Directorate of Estates & Facilities for Estates-based sustainability roles, alongside money allocated to invest in projects such as energy and carbon reduction, waste improvements and active travel facilities.

King’s has provided investment of nearly £6 million for the initial three-year transformation period of King’s Climate & Sustainability. Moreover, King's will continue to invest at least £1m per year into sustainability and carbon funded by grants, revolving Salix loans, and direct university funding. King’s has received £550K of Salix funding to be used for energy-saving projects across the university estate before 2025.