When Goldsmiths, University of London was looking for a new leader who would reorient its fight against climate change, it looked past those who were conventionally qualified, such as environmental scientists.

The British university chose someone with more intuitive insights: a fashion expert.

Frances Corner (below) assumed the role of warden at the British university this month, a position equivalent to vice chancellor. And the newcomer wasted little time exerting her full authority to respond to the "climate emergency."

She banned beef from Goldsmiths' campus and enacted the equivalent of a 12-cent tax on water bottles and single-use plastic cups – decisions that may bring to mind the regulatory overreach that led the United Colonies to break free from Britain.

It's part of Goldsmiths' plan to become a "carbon neutral organisation" by 2025, according to an announcement by the university.