Responsible Futures accreditation
We are delighted to be recognised as a Responsible Futures accredited institution.
This accreditation reflects the University’s commitment to embedding sustainability across teaching and learning and to supporting students and staff in shaping positive change towards a more sustainable future.
Responsible Futures is a change programme and accreditation framework managed by SOS-UK that works in partnership with students to integrate sustainability into the curriculum through a whole-institution approach. It brings together institutions, students’ unions, and students to support meaningful and lasting change.
Responsible Futures is focused on the role of universities and colleges as institutions of learning and teaching, with 50 criteria related to: baselines and benchmarks, partnership and planning, leadership and strategy, policy and commitment, interventions, impacts and outcomes, and outreach.
Through the programme, students are encouraged to take a leading role in ensuring sustainability is embedded throughout their academic experience. Responsible Futures supports collaboration between students and staff through training and shared learning, helping institutions make progress towards their sustainability goals.
Oxford University and Oxford Students’ Union joined the scheme in 2023, and since then the partnership has learned from and shared information with other universities in the UK and international programme. SOS-UK supported our work towards Responsible Futures accreditation, for example through facilitating a workshop in partnership with the TORCH Environmental Humanities Hub in which students and academics explored how sustainability relates to learning opportunities in the humanities faculties.
Dr Bill Finnegan, Sustainability Education and Research Manager at the University of Oxford, commented: ‘I am very excited about this milestone for sustainability education at Oxford. Responsible Futures provided a framework for us to work collaboratively with the Oxford SU and assess how sustainability is present in the curriculum, through extra-curricular activities, and in the hidden curriculum of student experience. The team from SOS-UK has been very supportive throughout this process. In joining this internationally community, we have greatly benefited through peer learning and knowledge exchange to advance sustainability education.’
In 2025-2026, Oxford and the SU continue to participate in Responsible Futures, with a new focus on working with Oxford colleges and trade unions. Dr. Shubham Narwal, SU Environmental Officer, commented: ‘We are incredibly proud that the University has achieved Responsible Futures accreditation. This is not simply an award, it represents a structured partnership between students and staff to ensure that environmental and social responsibility are meaningfully integrated into how the University operates, how we are taught, and how strategic decisions are made.’
Jacob Callicott, Student Engagement Manager at Oxford Students’ Union, added: ‘I have thoroughly enjoyed working closely with the Environmental Sustainability Team at Oxford. Through this collaborative, accredited work, I have seen a strong commitment to championing the student voice, from involving past and present SU Officers to the wider student community. There is a clear opportunity for the partnership to build on this momentum and continue developing its impact.’
For more information about Responsible Futures at Oxford, please contact sustainability@admin.ox.ac.uk.
