Our place in society
The majority of this report has looked at the tangible contribution that Oxford Brookes makes to the local, regional and national economy, measured in millions of pounds, in new jobs created and in businesses built to compete on the world stage. But there is farmore to Brookes: this section provides a brief overview of just some of the ways in which we are giving society – both in Oxfordshire and around the world – a better, fairer and more sustainable future.
The money we won to help boost skills in the local economy would not have otherwise come to community projects in our region. It is helping us to run over thirty local projects including:
- The Sunshine Centre, Banbury
- The Rainbow Centre Banbury
- Ethnic Minority Business Service, Oxford – IT skills
- Oxford and Cherwell Valley College – Motorsports
- Ruskin College – Family law
- Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action
- Social and Community Services, Oxfordshire County
- Council – Skills for Work, Skills for Life,
- homelessness project
- Blitz Community Interest Company,
- Blackbird Leys – Computing skills
- Barrack Social Enterprise, Barton Neighbourhood
- Centre – First Aid, Health and Beauty
- Leys News – Community journalism
- Northway Community Association,
- Headington – Computing skills
Looking to the future
We are committed to being an environmentally sustainable and ethically responsible place to study and work, and our pioneering ideas have been adopted by many other institutions and organisations. Brookes is well known for its academic work on sustainable development and environmental protection, so we feel it is important to set an example in how we run our organisation as well.- Oxford Brookes was the first university in the world to be awarded Fairtrade status in October 2003.
- Brookes recycles as much of its waste as possible, including paper, cans and glass, paper cups, computers and monitors, CDs, fluorescent tubes, cooking and engine oil, and mobile phones.
- 100% of our electricity comes from renewable sources.
- The BrookesBus is a familiar sight around Oxford, linking our campuses with the rest of the city, and it’s open to everyone. BrookesBus is a central part of our sustainable travel plan which aims to cut car use and promote public transport.
- Environmentally sustainable buildings are a key part of our plans for the future.
