Our Responsible Futures statement
We aim to put sustainability at the heart of education. The University of Derby and the Derby Union of Students work together to gain accreditation to the Responsible Futures scheme run by the National Union of Students (NUS). Our aim is to embed social responsibility and sustainability throughout our students' journey by embedding this across the formal and informal curriculum and working both formally and informally to increase student’s awareness of sustainability.
"We need an education system which creates graduates who meet the challenges of the century ahead, not repeat the mistakes of the century behind us. We want all graduates to have the knowledge and understanding, skills and attributes needed to contribute positively to social responsibility and sustainability."
The Responsible Futures scheme isn't just about doing the recycling properly - it's about giving our students the skills and experience they need to thrive as global citizens. The NUS has a list of both mandatory and optional criteria points which provides a framework for the scheme. The NUS trains University of Derby students to audit our work on Responsible Futures before determining whether we have done enough to gain our reaccreditation.
We are thrilled to announce that in August 2024 we successfully achieved reaccreditation to Responsible Futures after an extensive audit. Reaccreditation lasts for 2 years so in 2026 we will be going through the process again, if you’re interested in getting involved please email .