University of Leeds: Climate Plan
Encouraging behaviour change across the campus
The challenge
With the launch of the Climate Plan, the University of Leeds made one of the single biggest investments of the decade. This represented an important pillar of the University’s strategy demonstrating a commitment to reducing impact and confirming its reputation as a leader in climate action, locally and internationally. The University set itself ambitious targets — not least to become net zero before 2030 — and mapped out the key challenges it would face on its journey. While the drive to reduce impact would require new approaches and new technologies, one of the greatest challenges would be to change the behaviour of staff and students across the campus. To support this, the team responsible asked us to create a communications toolkit that could be used to drive engagement across the University community.
Our approach
Ultimately, the aim of the communications programme was to motivate staff and students to change behaviour. It should help to raise awareness and drive engagement; at the same time it should inspire and excite. The visual scheme had to work hard to cut through other communications noise on a busy campus, while considering inclusivity and being easy to understand. The scheme we created was bold, graphic, high-energy and action-orientated, clearly marking out a distinctive visual territory among other campaigns, while avoiding eco-clichés. It was supported by comprehensive messaging to allow the comms team to talk consistently and with authority about the most important aspects of the Climate Plan.
Results
The success of this plan requires significant behaviour change across the University and to make that happen, we’re relying heavily on effective comms to engage with staff and encourage collaboration. The toolkit that [ThreeTenSeven] developed with us gives us the ammunition we need. Throughout, they’ve shown a clear understanding of our needs as well as a strong instinct for what will motivate staff and students to support the Plan.
Lorraine Williams-Jones, Sustainability Communications & Engagement Officer
“Throughout, ThreeTenSeven have shown a clear understanding of our needs as well as a strong instinct for what will motivate staff and students to support the Plan.”
