Responsible Futures Host Partnerships 2025-26 announced!

Every year, one to three Responsible Futures partnerships are granted the title of Host Partnerships for the programme for one academic year. Like the host of the Olympics, the Host Partnerships do not need to consider themselves the ‘best’, nor do their Responsible Futures audit scores need to be as high as possible; instead, they are seeking to share their approaches to sustainability education in an effort to advance the good practice of the sector and create spaces for learning and collaborating.

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For 2025-26, we are delighted to announce that University of Exeter, Exeter Students’ Guild and The Falmouth and Exeter Students' Union, and Ulster University and Students' Union will hold the status of Host Partnerships. Both partnerships have been working on embedding Education for Sustainable Development across their formal, informal and subliminal learning for a number of years, and we’re really looking forward to another year of the Responsible Futures programme with their leadership.

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Sara Agbenro, Sustainable Education Assistant said the following on the Exeter partnership’s role this year:

“At the University of Exeter, our journey with Responsible Futures began in 2022, and we received accreditation in 2024. The framework and ethos of Responsible Futures have provided a clear roadmap for embedding sustainability in learning in line with our institutional values and ambitions, supporting our progress. Being part of this programme has transformed how the institution co-creates with students, staff and the students’ unions and it has fostered a culture of shared responsibility across the University. It is modelling the kind of partnerships and youth leadership needed for meaningful, sustainable change.

It is beyond exciting to be a Host Partnership for the year, and we are looking forward to sharing insights from our journey with other partnerships, while supporting and learning from theirs.”

Dr Amanda Platt, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Practice at the Ulster partnership, has also shared:

“Ulster University has been a proud participant in the Responsible Futures programme since 2022. In January 2025, we made history as the first institution on the island of Ireland to achieve RF accreditation, recognising our commitment to embedding sustainability across the student experience.

As part of this milestone, Ulster University is delighted to announce that we will host a Responsible Futures Partnership Spotlight event in Semester 2, 2026. This event will showcase our holistic approach to sustainability and highlight the innovative ways we integrate sustainability across diverse aspects of the learner experience.”

We are looking forward to supporting the Responsible Futures network this year with the help of our fantastic Host Partnerships, and especially excited for the support sessions they will lead on. More information on these to come soon to the network!

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To learn more about the work our Host Partnerships have been doing in this space, read case studies on their work on our website:

• University of Exeter case study: Empowering students by recognising their time and efforts
• Five years on: An overview of Ulster University’s integrated approach to initiate and systematically embed ESD

If you are interested in learning more about Responsible Futures or bringing it to your institution, please visit our website or email responsiblefutures@sos-uk.org.