Universities and colleges that buy and promote sustainable fish

The following shows which universities and colleges have signed up to the Sustainable Fish City pledge for their fish buying, also promising to promote sustainable fish to their student and staff communities. By the end of 2012, 17 universities had signed up, who have between them well over 200,000 students and staff.

Birkbeck, University of London, is a world-class research and teaching institution, a vibrant centre of academic excellence and London's only specialist provider of evening higher education. Over 19,000 students study at Birkbeck every year. The College has a keen interest in sustainability and seeks to "develop an ethos of environmental responsibility in all its staff and students as well as in the management of its estate". Birkbeck has published a sustainable procurement plan and enthusiastically supports sustainable fish buying.

City University London, with 21,727 students from 160 countries, provides students, the professions and business with the knowledge and skills essential to the success of London as a world city.

"As an educational institution, City University recognises its responsibility not only to provide healthy and sustainable food, but also to educate our staff, students and visitors on the advantages of such. Sustainable Fish City offers the perfect accompaniment to our existing Sustainable Food Procurement Policy and another opportunity to promote the benefits of purchasing and eating sustainable fish."

City University, London, on signing up to Sustainable Fish City [read more...]

With 23,000 students from over 120 different nationalities, the University of East London (UEL) is one of the fastest growing and diverse universities in London. UEL has a sustainable procurement policy and encourages staff to review sustainable purchasing policies to reduce costs and the environmental impact of goods and services that the university buys.

“UEL’s Catering Team is proud to promote sustainable fish among our students and staff. We’ve found that it’s easy to provide tasty, affordable meals, whilst reducing our impact on life in our oceans.”

Keith Prince, UEL's Stratford Campus Catering Manager

Goldsmiths, University of London, offers undergraduate, postgraduate, teacher training and return-to-study opportunities in subjects covering the arts, social sciences, humanities and computing. Goldsmiths has a sustainable procurement policy that is also implemented in conjunction with its Education and Sustainable Development action plan and its Biodiversity action plan. Buying sustainable fish has turned out to be an excellent opportunity to put policies into practice.

The University of Greenwich offers courses in subjects as diverse as architecture, education, engineering and maritime management. The University of Greenwich has a sustainable food policy, which specifically states that they will "use demonstrably sustainable fish wherever possible" and that "if this is not possible for certain species, then alternative menu items will be sought".

"The University is proud to promote sustainable fish among its stakeholders in pursuit of protecting endangered fish species."

The University of Greenwich, on signing up to Sustainable Fish City

 
Imperial College provides courses for over 13,000 students studying subjects as diverse as science, economics, engineering, management and medicine. Imperial College is committed to sustainable procurement, including a sustainable catering policy that includes an explicit commitment to supporting Sustainable Fish City, and to Imperial College buying fish in line with the initiative's sustainable fish definitions.

“Imperial College are committed to creating and promoting a positive and reliable market for sustainable seafood, for the long-term benefit of marine species and the environment.”

Imperial College, on signing up to Sustainable Fish City

 
Founded in 1902, as a teacher training college in London, the Institute of Education is now a world-class research and teaching institution.

Kingston University has over 25,000 students across 4 campuses. The university adopted a far-reaching Environmental Policy Statement in December 2009, "recognising the university's environmental responsiblities", which includes a commitment to sustainable procurement and Fairtrade. The commitment to serve sustainable fish, and supporting Sustainable Fish City, is helping the university to meet this objective.

"Our environmental policy reflects the importance we place on promoting sustainability in all areas of our catering at the LSE.  We are therefore delighted to promote sustainable fish to our students and staff. We will continue to strive to raise awareness of the negative environmental impact of harvesting endangered fish species."

LSE, on signing up to Sustainable Fish City

Queen Mary, University of London is one of London and the UK's leading research-focused higher education institutions. Amongst the largest of the colleges of the University of London with 16,000 students, Queen Mary's 3,000 staff teach and research across a wide range of subjects in Humanities, Social Sciences and Laws, in Medicine and Dentistry and in Science and Engineering. Signing up to Sustainable Fish City helps to meet the aims of Queen Mary's Environmental Policy, to "integrate good environmental practices into all sectors of the College, both academic and administrative", and "Build partnerships with local community and national organisations to progress environmental activities".

Ravensbourne is a specialist university sector college on the Greenwich peninsula whose mission is to apply digital technology creatively to design and communication. The college works with talented individuals and leading-edge businesses through learning, skills, applied research, enterprise and innovation. A group of Ravensbourne's staff and students, called Eco, are committed to embedding green practices into College teaching, learning and living, and Sustainable Fish City is a great example of what practical steps can be achieved.

"We are developing green course content and delivery methods; creating College-wide initiatives to highlight green issues; seeking the greenest spend on kit and materials; and partnering with green organisations to help develop and accredit our achievements."

Eco, staff and student group at Ravensbourne

Founded in 1882, the Royal College of Music enjoys a reputation as one of the world's leading conservatoires, providing specialised musical education and professional training at the highest international level for performers, conductors and composers. The College also recognises its responsibility to minimise the environmental impact of its operations where possible and seeks to improve its performance through implementation of an environmental policy. RCM's sustainable catering policy includes a commitment to excluding endangered species and using and promoting sustainable fish. Their sustainable ThTheiTh

Established in 1791, the Royal Veterinary College is the UK’s longest-standing veterinary college with a proud heritage of innovation in veterinary science, clinical practice and education. The Royal Veterinary College has a long-standing commitment to sustainability, including a detailed sustainable food procurement policy.


The School of Pharmacy, UCL, is the only free-standing specialist school in the UK dedicated entirely to teaching and research in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. The School of Pharmacy is committed to supporting sustainable development and has an environmental sustainability policy that commits the School to "raising awareness and encouraging responsibility for the environment amongst its staff and students" and "managing the environmental and social impacts of its purchasing policies". For further details of the UCL sustainable fish policy, see below.


The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, the world's leading centre for study of a range of subjects concerned with Asia, Africa and the Middle East - including a Masters degree in the Anthropology of Food. The SOAS environmental and procurement teams are committed to improving the environmental impact of the university's activities, including a focus on sustainable food. Since signing up to Sustainable Fish City, the university has been a Champion of Sustainable Fish City and promoted Marine Stewardship Council certified fish to staff and students.

"The School of Oriental and African Studies is delighted to be a Sustainable Fish Champion."

Simon Button, Purchasing Manager for SOAS, on signing up to the Sustainable Fish City campaign [read more...]

University College London (UCL), a college of the University of London, describes itself as "a modern, outward-looking institution, committed to engaging with the major issues of our times. One of the world’s leading multidisciplinary universities, UCL today is a true academic powerhouse". With 22,000 students from nearly 140 countries, UCL is in an influential position to change fish eating habits and promote fish sustainability. UCL's Healthy and Sustainable Food Policy commits the university to:

• Exclude Marine Conservation Society 'fish to avoid'
• Set Marine Stewardship (MSC) Chain of Custody as a minimum requirement
• Only buy tuna that is pole-and-line caught or MSC certified, and not caught with Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs)
• Promote sustainable seafood to customers, and remain signatories of the Sustainable Fish City pledge

"UCL is proud to be a signatory to the Sustainable Fish City pledge, demonstrating the University's support for seafood sustainability in London as part of our wider environmental commitments. In real terms, this means we and our catering providers do not source endangered species - those rated as 'fish to avoid' by the Marine Conservation Society - and we only serve sustainably managed fish in our catering outlets.”

Ian Wright, UCL Estates and Facilities, on signing up to Sustainable Fish City [read more...]

The University of Winchester has also signed up to the Sustainable Fish City pledge. Although not in London, we hope that Sustainable Fish Cities, towns, villages and communities will spring up all over the UK, to help protect precious marine species and environments for future generations to enjoy. The University of Winchester has started this by signing up to the pledge, inspiring us to start thinking beyond London. Established in 1840 the University of Winchester has 7,000 staff and students. Its mission is to educate, to advance knowledge and to serve the public good. The catering department is committed to serving sustainable food, and Dave Morton the Catering Manager said: "Although Fish City is based around London it is important that as many universities and businesses support the campaign as possible, we would like to be part of this rolling out nationally." [read more...]