ID277 From Campus to Community - Leading Sustainability and Health

The Idea

I propose that Keele University establishes a distinctive strategic position in the areas of Sustainability and Health, and also creating a recognised sector-leading identity in Sustainable Healthcare. This builds on Keele's existing strengths in health, environmental sustainability, civic engagement and interdisciplinary scholarship, while providing a clear and compelling "Keele Difference" in an increasingly competitive higher education landscape. This idea ties in with a few of the Strategic Deep Dives: ‘Research Specialisation’, ‘A Distinctive Keele Degree’ and ‘Embedding A Personalised Journal for Staff and Students’. It also ties in with a few of the Strategic Conversations, namely the ones on EDI, our Estates and ‘the humanities in crisis and what can Keele do about it’. 

Keele is uniquely positioned to lead in this space. Few universities can combine Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy, Allied Health Professions and Veterinary Science alongside expertise in Natural Sciences, Law and Social Sciences, Arts, Humanities and Business on a single campus. This creates a powerful platform, a balanced and rounded voice, to address complex challenges through the lenses of Planetary Health and One Health. 

Planetary Health is a solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary field and a social movement focussed on the interdependency of human health and our environmental health as shown in Figure 1 below. One Health is a WHO initiative which is an integrated, collaborative approach recognising the interdependency of human health, environmental health and animal health. 

^{Figure 1: This graphic illustrates how underlying drivers—including culture and values and how they shape behavior; consumption patterns; population growth and shifts in demographics; and new and increasing use of technologies—contribute to an array of environmental changes. Proximate causes reflect the ways those changes in environmental systems and create exposures that can harm or benefit health and well-being. Modifying factors affect the extent to which those proximate causes translate into health impacts. Health impacts are complex and affect every dimension of our health and well-being, including nutritional diseases, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and mental health outcomes. Image and text by Planetary Health Allience.}  

Our positioning and specialisation in this sector capitalise on our strong reputation and track record in the area of both sustainability (energy, environmental etc.) and health (primary care, mental health etc.). It is also inclusive of all members of staff on campus and academics (teaching and research) across three Faculties as most will have the skill and knowledge to apply it to Planetary Health/One Health be it from the humanities and social sciences, business and technology, natural sciences or a health related field. This specialisation will allow us to fulfil our civic mission to our local community as we adapt to the insecurities that climate change brings. Our health students will also be better equipped to meet GreenerNHS goals by 2045. 

Our approach should be grounded in the triple bottom line of environmental, social and economic sustainability. By integrating these principles into education, research, operations and partnerships, Keele can strengthen its role as an anchor institution for Staffordshire and beyond, working collaboratively with government, the NHS, industry, communities to deliver a sustainable future. Our approach can be framed around ‘challenge themes’ using our Institutes of ‘Global Health and Wellbeing’, ‘Sustainable Futures’, ‘Digital Society’, ‘Social Inclusion’ and ‘Sustainable Lifestock Health and Welfare’ as a platform for doing so. The ‘challenge themes’ framing naturally allows of interdisciplinary work and prevent disciplinary silos – e.g. ‘creating healthy societies’ or ‘GreenerNHS’ or ‘communicating sustainability’. The Institutes can oversee a wider context of education, research and practice with our Research Centres under their Institutes, driving research activity alone. This ensures we have research-led teaching, evidence based practice and competitive research. By bringing together teaching, research, professional services and practice across disciplinary boundaries via our Institutes in an adaptive and flexible way to suit particular ‘challenge themes’, Keele can become a recognised leader in creating healthier people, healthier places and a more sustainable future by creating platforms that foster collaboration and stimulate debate. This vision reflects our founding philosophy of "the pursuit of truth in the company of friends".

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

The coming decades will be defined by interconnected environmental, economic, social and geo-political challenges, all of which have profound implications for health and wellbeing. Universities that can address these challenges in an integrated way will be best positioned to deliver societal impact, attract funding, and remain relevant to students and partners. Universities have a responsibility to prepare graduates and generate knowledge that responds to these challenges. 

This strategic focus would build institutional resilience, align with national priorities, and create a distinctive identity that differentiates Keele within the sector. Keele has a unique opportunity to lead as we have the right set of expertise to meet the Government’s IS-8 agenda to generate growth and yet do so sustainably.

How We Would Implement This Idea

The Keele Difference: Embed ‘green skills’ and ‘carbon literacy’ across interdisciplinary curricula/dual honours programme, while expanding inter-professional learning beyond the Health Faculty. Use the campus as a living laboratory for sustainable living and working with distinct demonstrator hubs (this ties in with other Strategic Ideas already presented) e.g. SEND and retrofit buildings. 

• We are a Bronze level educator for Carbon Literacy and should continue to invest in this as part of ‘Education for Sustainable Development’. It will equip our graduates with the knowledge and skill to understand the language used in the legislation in this sector. Only a select few courses, have incorporated Carbon Literacy into the Curriculum or at the very least, to have it as an optional qualification. Investing in our Global Challenges Pathway/ Dual Honours pathways will allow for students and staff to develop a more adaptive ‘systems thinking’ approach to the challenges we face.  
• Most Health Faculties in the UK will conduct some form of ‘Interprofessional Learning’ but most, if not all, will focus on Human Health. However, recent headlines will show that our immediate threats are zoonotic in nature and we ignore animal health at our own peril. We’re in a position to offer a distinct ‘One Health’ approach by extending this offering to our Vet School and to include students from the Natural Sciences (Environment and Geography) so ensure our graduates are transdisciplinary in their thinking and working. We also develop a ‘gamified’ version which we can sell on to other universities. Our Simulation expertise will fit in comfortable with this work.  

Wellbeing Leadership: Build on Audrey Newsome's legacy by pioneering evidence-based approaches to wellbeing, including green prescribing and nature-based intervention offering a distinct Staff and Student Support, and experience. 

• We could roll out RPSB’s Nature Prescriptions to further fortify our Mental Health ad Counselling’s offering to support students. This will ensure our Estate is fully utilised and a Phase II roll out to our local community in partnership with health providers can bring more footfall onto campus which in turn brings us the reputation of being an Estate that fosters wellbeing and can fortify our food and beverage business on campus. 
• The combination of the expertise in our various Faculties, Campus Services and Estate is fertile ground for implementing and demonstrating principles of sustainable healthcare – prevention of disease, lean service delivery, patient self-care and low carbon-alternatives. This can be applied across physical and mental health via Occupational Health and Mental Health and Counselling Services. 

Civic Mission: Strengthen partnerships with the NHS, businesses and communities through knowledge exchange, consultancy, placements and skills development. 

• Community of Friends: Incentivise transdisciplinary collaboration/research, remove hard distinction between research and scholarship, and recognise community impact through revised career pathways and KPIs. This exercise to be taken in collaboration with human resources, EDI leads and Schools and Institutes to ensure we create environments which lead to success across education, research and practice.  

Estate and Visitor Experience: Leverage Keele's heritage, natural assets and sustainable food initiatives to enhance community engagement, wellbeing and financial sustainability (emulating some National Trust/English Heritage models). 

• This also ties in with the ‘wellbeing leadership’ idea mentioned above with green social prescribing initiative conducted on campus. 
• We can conduct more tours on campus to capitalise on our arboretum, cherry blossom collection and historic hall. We can adopt models that work elsewhere e.g. self-guided audio tours or to conduct some in person so members of our wider community get to meet us every now and then. We can tie this in according to the seasons to see the leaf colour change in our arboretum and embrace hanami culture for our cherry blossom collection. This in turn can potentially increase our food and beverage business much like most National Trust/English Heritage properties and their cafes. It may also bring in more Keel Hall and hotel bookings 

What Success Would Look Like

Sector Leadership: National/international recognition for Keele for our systems-thinking approach to sustainability, health and wellbeing and as a leader in Sustainable Healthcare. 

Student Success: Graduates equipped with sustainability literacy, green skills, systems-thinking capabilities and a strong civic mindset, leading to enhanced employability and in turn, student recruitment. 

Research & Innovation: Increased interdisciplinary research, increased competitiveness and grant success and impact in areas such as Planetary Health, One Health and sustainable healthcare delivery. 

Partnerships & Civic Impact: Strong partnerships with the NHS, local authorities, businesses and communities, generating knowledge exchange, placements and mutual income opportunities. 

Campus & Community: A thriving campus recognised as a model for healthy and sustainable living/working, delivering measurable social, environmental and economic impact.