Education and Engagement for Sustainable Development
Our mission is for all staff and students to be actively involved in the sustainable management of our campus and to feel personally compelled to consider the impact that all our actions at the University can have on the environment and sustainable development.
We aim to raise awareness of climate change and the impact our actions have on our planet through our courses, volunteer opportunities and sustainability initiatives. We encourage the use of Waterside Campus for local community as well as for guided walks and sustainability events for our staff and students.
See the UON Student and Staff Engagement Strategy (PDF, 174 KB) for full details on how staff and student participation in sustainability projects and initiatives is supported and encouraged.
Sustainable Development Events
We hold a number of opportunities for staff and students to engage with Environmental and Sustainability activities and awareness campaigns throughout the year. previous events have included a Willow Weaving Workshop, Community Litter Picks, Wellbeing Walks and Hedgehog Rescue Activities.
Students
We encourage our students living in halls to consider their impact on the environment via an Environmental Scorecard. These are scored termly between the Environment & Sustainability Team and Residential Life Team, those achieving full marks receive goodies such as Fairtrade chocolate. Other student led activities include Hedgehog Friendly Campus and the reintroduction of a previously extinct butterfly to Northamptonshire.
Our environmental students’ most up to date projects focusing on the environment and sustainability around the campus can be found on Twitter.
Staff
Our staff are encouraged to opt for sustainable methods of travel to and from work, we promote active travel through our safe walking routes and cycling to work through the Cycle to Work Scheme.
Many environmental and sustainability projects are used by academic staff members as opportunities for students to engage in live projects. These projects are embedded into course modules and support students in gaining valuable experience whilst studying. The Up-For-The-Cup Coffee Cup Recycling Campaign was used across 4 of our courses. Other activities led by our staff range Project Awesome, the SDG Working Group which has a goal of embedding the SDGs into our curriculum and research through to sustainable life choices made by staff members Andy Harmer and Danielle Bird.
Many events take place involving both staff and students, these have included a Willow Weaving Workshop, Community Litter Picks and Wellbeing Walks.
Stakeholder
We recognise that we have a vast and diverse number of stakeholders at the University, both internal and external. We endeavour to meet the needs of all our stakeholders through appropriate means of engagement. Our Stakeholder Engagement Matrix outlines the different methods of engagement for each group including Senior Management Engagement through the Sustainability Board.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our education and engagement for sustainable developments are linked to the following SDGs:
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Find out more about our impact on the SDGs