UPP (1), the leading provider of on-campus student accommodation, can today announce that it has entered into a collaboration with Architype (2), the multi-award winning sustainable architectural practice to advance sustainable campus development with UK universities. The agreement will see the parties work together with UPP’s existing and new partners to develop proposals to sustainably transform campuses.
In addition to facilitating net zero goals, the collaboration will provide a host of benefits for university partners and students as they move to develop next generation campuses.
UPP was also the first company to deliver Passivhaus student accommodation in the UK HE sector and is now working with Architype to bring their combined expertise to bear at the ground-breaking University of Exeter’s Clydesdale and Birks Residential project which will provide 1,700 student rooms following project close. Architype are acting as lead architect on the EnerPHit standard retrofit element as well as Passivhaus designer across the whole project.
Following COP26 in October 2021, UK universities publicly committed themselves to “Confronting the Climate Emergency”, (3) taking a leadership role in accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon future. Critical elements in this sector strategy included education and skills, research and innovation and sustainable campuses. The collaboration between UPP and Architype will work with the sector to minimise the environmental impact of an HE estate of more than 25million m2.
This announcement also comes in the wake of the publication of UPP’s first GRI (4) compliant sustainability report entitled Building Sustainable Futures which meets in full GRI standards pledging to:
- Reduce carbon emissions by 50% across scopes 1 & 2 by 2030 and be fully Net Zero across scopes 1,2 and 3 by 2035 – externally validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) (5)
- Ensure there is zero waste to landfill by 2030
- Create £6m of social value through volunteering schemes, supporting vulnerable people into employment at UPP, and charitable fundraising
- Invest over £3m into the sector-leading UPP Foundation over the decade
- Guarantee all of its strategic suppliers sign up to its ethical Procurement Charter
Elaine Hewitt, Chief Executive Officer at UPP said:
“I am delighted to announce this exciting collaboration between UPP and Architype which will support UK universities to sustainably transform low carbon campuses. The combination of Architype’s expert sustainable design experience alongside UPP’s capability to fund, build and operate at scale will help universities meet both their strategic and carbon goals.
This collaboration will pioneer and champion sustainable change across the sector and supply chain, improving impacts on people, place and planet.”
Ben Humphries, Director at Architype said:
“We are excited about our collaboration with UPP because it means we can combine our skills to offer universities a service that will deliver an excellent student experience, with better health and wellbeing and huge improvements in cutting carbon and running costs. We hope it will help influence the sector to do better for students, universities and the planet.”
Notes to Editors:
(1) About UPP
UPP is the UK’s leading provider of on-campus residential and academic accommodation infrastructure. We have approximately 35,000 rooms in operation through long-term, bespoke partnerships with 15 world-leading universities. With 1,000 employees, since 1998 we have invested over £3.5bn in the UK higher education sector and provided homes to over 450,000 students. Our unique, long-term partnership approach enables our university partners to develop their estates whilst reinvesting in their core services of teaching and research. We design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) new, on-campus residential and academic infrastructure, and complete estate transfers of existing accommodation, for concession periods ranging from 40 years to 125 years. By providing high-quality and affordable accommodation on campus we aim to deliver the very best student experience in partnership with universities. https://www.upp-ltd.com/
(2) About Architype
Architype is the UK’s leading ecological and ultra-low carbon practice, winning multiple design and performance awards for exemplar and beautiful design and pioneering the Passivhaus standard in the UK. The practice is a creative, ecological, progressive community, designing spaces that work for people and planet. www.architype.co.uk
(3) “Confronting the Climate Emergency” Universities UK, 20 October 2021
(4) GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) is the independent, international organization that helps businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts, by providing them with the global common language to communicate those impacts. Used by more than 10,000 organizations in over 100 countries, the Standards are advancing the practice of sustainability reporting, and enabling organizations and their stakeholders to take action that creates economic, environmental and social benefits for everyone.
(5) The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a global initiative publicly declaring, setting, and implementing scientifically based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets in order to reach the Paris Agreement target of keeping the global temperature increase to 1.5°C. For more information please visit: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/. The Net-Zero Standard is the world’s first and leading framework for corporate net-zero target setting in line with climate science and provides a common, robust, and science-based understanding of net-zero on an independently assured basis.
