Our Future First champions get to work
17 October 2023
Help is on hand across the University to enable all colleagues to make more sustainable choices and put Our Future First.
Over 40 colleagues have become an Our Future First champion. In collaboration with Sustainability Services, champions work across their teams to identify opportunities in their areas to make small changes that, collectively, can make a big difference to our campus environments, and to the planet.
They will also advise and help implement bigger sustainability initiatives at Reading as they are rolled out in order to help meet the University’s net zero ambitions.
How the champions will work
Our Future First champions will meet regularly to share ideas and good practice, as well as offering feedback on institution-wide ideas that could save on our energy bills and make all of our work more environmentally sustainable.
Champions are currently helping Sustainability Services to understand the way that working spaces are used at the University, identifying peak and quiet times when more equipment could be switched off at the plug, such as computers, monitors, televisions, kettles, microwaves, non-critical lab equipment, and lights.
Meet the team
Most Schools and Functions have at least one Our Future First champion, giving colleagues a point of contact to discuss ideas for working more sustainably. The full list of Our Future First champions is as follows:
School or Function |
Champions |
| School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy |
Stephen Elmore (Associate Professor) |
| Henley Business School | Bill Collins (Professor of Climate Processes) |
| School of Biological Sciences | Glyn Barrett (Lecturer) and Charlie Collingham (Postdoctoral Research Assistant) |
| School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences |
Eugene Mohareb (Associate Professor) and Soon Gweon (Associate Professor) |
| School of Law |
Kyriaki Noussia (Associate Professor) |
| School of Agriculture Policy & Development |
Louise Hutchinson (Technician) |
| School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science | Heather Browning (Executive Administration Manager) |
| School of Humanities |
Gail Marshall (Head of School) |
| School of Literature and Languages |
Tony Capstick (Associate Professor) |
| International Study and Languages Institute |
Lauren Andrews (NUIST Programme Coordinator) |
| Institute of Education |
Jo Anna Reed Johnson (Associate Professor) and Fiona Curtis (Lecturer) |
| School of Politics, Economics & International Relations |
Nicola Humphrey (Executive Administration Manager) and David Marshall (Associate Professor) |
| School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences |
Sara Fincham Majumdar (Lecturer) |
| School of Built Environment |
Eugene Mohareb (Associate Professor) & Soon Gweon (Associate Professor) |
| Campus Commerce |
Matt Tebbit (Head of Bars and Dining) |
| Digital Technology Services |
Henrik Brogger (Director of Digital Operations and Service Delivery) and Kevin Mortimer (Head of Operations) |
| Estates |
Marcus McDonnell (Campus Services Director), Lal Urala Gamage (Building Support Officer), Lesely Hennigan (Building Support Officer) and Katy Lanxon (Space Management and Data Officer) |
| Procurement |
Erin Cooper (Business Manager) |
| Vice-Chancellor's Office, Governance Services & Planning & Strategy |
Elisha Bird (Executive Administration Officer) and Tom Oliver (Research Dean for Environment) |
| Technical Services |
Andy Whittam (Technical Manager- Operations) and Scott O'Brien (Associate Director - Operations) |
| Marketing, Communications & Engagement |
Tish Gauci (Fundraising Project Manager), James Mutton (Senior Designer), Julia Smalley (Alumni & Supporter Communication Officer) and Sara Lovejoy (Digital Campaigns and Engagement Officer) |
| University Library and Collections Services |
Victoria Stevens (Paper Conservator) |
| Research Services |
Calum Kirk (Impact Development Manager) |
| Finance |
Dawn Lord (Financial Accounts Assistant) |
| Global Recruitment and Admissions |
Edit Liebhardt (Regional Recruitment and Access Manager) and Caitlin O’Connor (Administrator) |
| Student Services |
Jacqui Payne (Acting Director of Careers and Employability) |
| Doctoral and Researcher College |
Elena Bedisti (Director of Graduate School Services) and Jon Lloyd (Recruitment and Marketing Manager - Postgraduate Research) |
| SportsPark |
Kris Morgan-Jones (Duty Manager) |
| Reading Students’ Union |
Zena Facherty (Head of People) |
Become a champion
With an ambitious plan to cut carbon emissions, and introduce other sustainable measures, Sustainability Services is recruiting more Our Future First champions to help guide their teams through the changes and bring new ideas to the fore.
If you are interested in signing up, visit the Our Future First pages or contact sustainability@reading.ac.uk to find out more about what is involved.
Putting Our Future First
You don’t need to be an Our Future First Champion to think about how to #DoUoRBit and make small changes at work or at home that could make a big difference to the planet.
Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing more ideas of simple ways to work more sustainably, and show how colleagues across the University have implemented changes for the better.
For more information, visit rdg.ac/ourfuturefirst.