Goldsmiths, University of London has declared an official climate emergency.

The university, which is located in New Cross, teaches a range of creative, cultural and social subjects and has made a series of bold commitments, inlcuding banning all beef products, introducing an additional 10p levy on bottled water and single-use plastic cups, installing “significantly more” solar panels across its campus and switching to a 100% clean energy supplier.

It also plans to continue investment in its allotments and identify other areas where planting could help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as put climate change on the curriculum and come up with a plan to become a carbon-neutral organisation by 2025.

Goldsmiths currently emits around 3.7 million kilogrammes of carbon emissions each year, a figure which it has reduced by almost a tenth over the last three years.

Professor Frances Corner, Warden of Goldsmiths, said: “The growing global call for organisations to take seriously their responsibilities for halting climate change is impossible to ignore.

“Though I have only just arrived at Goldsmiths, it is immediately obvious that our staff and students care passionately about the future of our environment and that they are determined to help deliver the step change we need to cut our carbon footprint drastically and as quickly as possible.”