“I truly believe that to achieve a more sustainable future we must all work together.”
Jess Money is the Sustainability Engagement and Administrative Coordinator in Imperial’s central Sustainability Hub. She joined Imperial in 2024.
Jess and her team are currently running Imperial’s Big Sustainability Conversation – a consultation for all Imperial staff and students that will shape the Sustainable Imperial Strategy for the next five years and beyond. Take the survey and join one of the workshops (survey ends 30 September 2025).
Having an impact
Jess is at the centre of Imperial’s mission to set a global benchmark for university sustainability.
“My role is so varied and interesting,” she says. “I coordinate events and communications to engage, support and empower the university’s community to drive sustainable action and positive change. On any given day I can be organising upcycling sessions, nature workshops, sustainability talks and quizzes, engaging our community with a variety of sustainability topics including biodiversity, pollution and climate change. No two days are the same.”
Among the biggest programmes she runs are Imperial’s annual Sustainability Fortnight (soon to be Sustainability Month!) and the Green Impact programme – both of which seek to drive interest in, and celebrate the successes of, sustainability work at the university.
She also collaborates with other universities on the London Student Sustainability Conference which showcases student-led sustainability research.
“I love that in my role I get to see the fantastic innovations coming out of Imperial providing sustainable solutions to global challenges. It’s also really inspiring to see the wonderful initiatives that our Green Impact teams are implementing to instill a culture of sustainability within their departments.”
Sustainable career steps
Jess’s route to Imperial involved following her passions for education and the planet. She graduated from the University of Birmingham with a Geography degree in 2020, and soon after began working as a teaching assistant in a primary school. This sparked her interest in the education sector, which soon led her to a role at the University of Hertfordshire as a Sustainability Engagement Coordinator.
She joined Imperial in November 2024, working in the Sustainability Hub under Director of Sustainability, Harriet Wallace, and the newly appointed Associate Provost of Sustainability, Professor Anna Korre.
“Hertfordshire is where I discovered my passion for organising sustainability-related activities,” she explains. “And now, working at a world-leading university like Imperial enables me to expand my impact. It’s fantastic working with Anna, Harriet and the team – we share the same passion for making Imperial and the wider world a more sustainable place.”
Collaborating today for a sustainable tomorrow
Sustainability is a topic that’s at the heart of Imperial. The new School of Sustainability seeks to boost Imperial’s impact by developing large, ambitious, convergence science research programmes together with departments, partners and external stakeholders.
The key to success for any sustainability initiative, no matter the scale or complexity, is collaboration.
Jess explains: “I enjoy working with students, staff and community members on initiatives and seeing the creativity that arises from it. I truly believe that to achieve a more sustainable future we must all work together.”
With the Sustainable Imperial Strategy consultation now up and running, Jess is already looking ahead to some milestones coming in the year ahead.
She says: “Building on the success of our annual Sustainability Fortnight, I’m really looking forward to next year’s Sustainability Month. We’ll have our biggest line up of events to date and it will feature the launch of the new Sustainable Imperial strategy. I’m also looking forward to the launch of our new Sustainable Imperial Ambassadors programme in which students can get recognised for the extra-curricular sustainability-related activities they take part in.”
Connecting with nature
Jess is as engaged with communities outside of work as she is within. She has a lifelong love of the outdoors which was sparked through many years spent in the Scouts.
She is now passing on her passions to the next generation in her role as a Beaver Scout Leader.
She says: “I find it rewarding to give young people opportunities to discover connections with nature by taking them on outings and camps. Earlier this year, I was delighted to receive the District Beaver Scout Leader of the Year award.”
Read more
- Imperial’s Big Sustainability Conversation – take the survey and join one of the workshops (survey ends 30 September 2025).
- Sustainable Imperial – learn more about Imperial’s sustainability mission and programmes.
- What you can do – Find out 9 things you can do today to be more sustainable at Imperial
- Green Impact – sign up to this interactive sustainable action platform.
- Student Ambassadors – become part of the university’s community of sustainability champions.
