By Harry Setterfield, Fourth Year, Global Environmental Challenges
The University of Bristol ditched its Moves+ initiative at the end of the 2024/25 academic year. This is a step tracked in the wrong direction for environmental sustainability.
After a week of commuting to university by foot, either due to subpar public transport or the general walkability of Bristol, there’s not much better than indulging in a free coffee you feel you’ve earnt. This was the case for many of us at the University of Bristol. The Moves+ app produced an opportunity to bridge the gaps between physical, mental and environmental health. Yet with the initiative being ditched, there seems to be a U-turn in community-engaged green measures by the University.
As I am sure many of you are aware, Moves+ was a fitness-reward app that incentivised ‘non-exercise’ activity – such as walking and cycling – with physical rewards. Points accumulated in the Moves+ app could be redeemed for rewards such as free coffee, yoga classes and university merchandise. The scheme appeared to be held in high regard by students and staff alike, promoting active travel to-and-around the campus since its inception in 2019. Not only did the initiative reward us but the University also. In 2023, the University of Bristol celebrated receiving a “sought after” Physical Activity Excellence Award, Moves+ named as a scheme helping its community get more active.
However, a long-overlooked characteristic of the app is the incentivisation of active travel on sustainability. By rewarding active travel, Moves+ steered both students and staff away from carbon demanding transport. And let’s be clear: promoting sustainability needs to continue if the university wants to hit its net zero target by 2050.
So why, despite the clear benefits of green-health initiatives, did Moves+ shut down on the 31st of May 2025? The University stated their reasoning down to “on-going software issues that the app provider has been unable to address”. However, the Apple Appstore shows a review rating of 4.4 stars, suggesting that whilst software issues may exist, they may not align with user experience. The awards and incentive of the system seem to outweigh the bugs and minor inconveniences of the app, suggesting that Bristol has missed the point – using glitches as an excuse to axe a popular scheme.
From the eight universities piloting this scheme in 2019, Bristol is alone in axing the app from its future strategies. The University of Warwick cut ties with Moves+ due to operational costs, dishing out £25,000 worth of rewards as part of the scheme. Whilst UOB seems to have shyly withdrawn from the strategy, Warwick have capitalised on the benefits and popularity amongst those on campus, with plans to develop a university-owned alternative to maintain a fitness points-based reward system.
The climate-health interplay of Moves+ will leave a hole for the university to fill. How they do so is currently up in the air, but we – as a community – must ensure that there will be a return to an initiative that is similarly inclusive and promotes physical activity alongside our mental and environmental health.
Miles Gilroy
Moves+ may be gone for good, but if our university is serious about net zero and student wellbeing, it must stop backpedalling — and start rewarding every step again. We must continue to campaign and promote green measures on campus. Bristol should not care for awards nor accolades, yet reward us students, researchers and staff on all the ‘steps’ we – literally – take to conserve our environment.
There are still good efforts towards promoting sustainability on campus. The Cabot Institute for the Environment and the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research currently run a Climate Change and Health seminar series. These seminars look at the interplay between our physical, mental and environmental health and are available to all staff and students. Our physical and mental health is intrinsically linked with our environment, and we must ensure our University continues to encompass these fundamental characteristics.
Featured image: Epigram / James Lewis
What did you think of the Bristol Moves app?
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