The Vice-Chancellor of a university voted the world’s most sustainable institution has expressed disappointment over the stance taken by the UK’s top political parties towards combatting climate change.
Professor Trevor McMillan OBE, who has been at the helm at Keele University since 2015, thinks both the government and opposition are setting the wrong tone for future ambition through recent policy changes.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Focus, he reflected on decisions made by the Conservative Party to rethink its climate commitments and Labour’s U-turn on its £28 billion green energy pledge.
He said while he understood the need for financial pragmatism, the announcements suggested that a commitment to achieving Net Zero was “not important” – adding “that can’t be right”.
Keele, this year celebrating it 75th anniversary, has become an exemplar for organisations aspiring to be green – from its own low carbon energy generation park with solar panels and wind turbines, to its £15 million Smart Energy Network Demonstrator and pioneering hydrogen energy research.
It led to the university, which has ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2030, being named Global Sustainability Institution of the Year at the Green Gown Awards in 2021.
So, Professor McMillan couldn’t help but express his concern that the two parties vying to form the country’s next government didn’t seem to be on the same page.
He said: “I think it is undoubtedly a disappointment and effectively impacts on ambition.
“There is, inevitably, a pragmatism around the costs. We are all impacted – for example we are looking at how we afford the work to make some of our older campus buildings energy efficient as part of our 10-year plan.
“But when you look at the latest announcements, from whichever colour political party, the most disappointing thing from me is not necessarily the reduction in the financial commitment but the implication that it is not important. That can’t be right.
“It is one of the most important things to us all and not just from a professional point of view.
“I’ve become a grandfather for the first time in the last six months and my grandson will see the effects of climate change in a big way over the next century.
“We absolutely need to do something about that for his generation.”
Professor McMillan said the university had a multi-prong, proactive approach to combatting climate change.
He said: “First, we continue to walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk as much as we can by producing our own energy and being self-sufficient as possible – currently we produce upwards of 50 per cent of our own energy.
“Secondly, we carry out research that helps come up with better, cheaper solutions for energy generation.
“And, importantly, we see our role to educate and help people – working with local authorities and the private sector in terms of their own ambitions around energy efficiency.
“But, also, Keele is educating our students about the challenges ahead.
“If we graduate 4,000 people every year who leave understanding the challenges and have enthusiasm and motivation to do something about it that is probably one of the biggest things we can do for the sustainability agenda.”
Professor McMillan also told Daily Focus he was proud of the role Keele had developed as a bastion for business as well as its expanding role in the community.
“We are an anchor organisation and part of that involves our very close relationship with business,” he said.
He cited recent reports showing the university is worth £500 million to the regional economy (with nearly three quarters of that in Staffordshire) and its Keele in Town project, which will soon be bearing fruit.
On top of that is a commitment to Degree Apprenticeships and ongoing work to make university courses more accessible to students with T-Level qualifications.
On campus, business is well provided for through a series of innovation centres on the University’s Science and Innovation Park (IC7, and the Harper and Keele Veterinary School – which effectively incorporates IC8, are the latest).
Major businesses that have relocated to the park most recently include Concentric Solutions, which switched its HQ from London, and Lila Connect.
Trevor says he also has aspirations for a future IC9, which he hopes will become a centre of excellence for engineering, manufacturing and technology.
This, he says, would tie in with the university’s partnership project with local further education colleges and key employers to build a £16M Institute of Technology hub in Stafford.
Of course, the biggest challenge will be funding which is increasingly the issue throughout the sector.
In fact, on the wider issue of higher education funding, Professor McMillan agreed with his opposite number at Staffordshire University, Professor Martin Jones, who recently told Daily Focus that the next government must review it as an absolute priority.
Professor McMillan said: “As a university we try to remain on the front foot – evolving new courses, making sure we provide what businesses need in terms of skills and innovating in research and new tech. But it is a case that we are having to paddle faster every year.
“So, government does need to look at the funding. If we look at raising student fees that may be answer – but we also have to weigh it up against how those extra costs may deter some students from looking at higher education.
“We also need to look at attitudes to overseas students. It is fair to say their fees are subsidising domestic students right now. So there has to be a debate that recognises their importance to the country.
“And, it is clear, that in general more funding is needed. A recent report suggests that the UK is falling behind other countries in terms of the money it puts into its students. As a nation we need to change that.”
