News & Achievements
Taking action for Global Divestment Day
Earlier this month, activists all over the world campaigned for organisations to pull all of their money out of the fossil fuel industry as part of Global Divestment Day. Here in the UK, over 25,000 students and members of staff across the UK are putting pressure on their institutions to go fossil free. Divestment just means taking your investments out of certain companies. And it’s often used as an effective campaigns tactic, when people make a noise about moving their money out of principle, damaging the social standing of the companies...
read moreIs anything worse for your health than fossil fuels?
Do health organisations have a moral duty to pull their money out of fossil fuels? That’s the question tackled by the recently published Unhealthy Investments report – and it answers with a firm yes. Supported by Healthy Planet – a group of medical students taking climate action while advocating for health – the report explores how climate change negatively impacts on public health. “Climate change is already attributed to 40,000 deaths around the globe”, explains Healthy Planet convenor Eleanor Dow. “That’s from direct impacts...
read moreTaking Green Impact into halls of residence
We’re always excited to take Green Impact into new places, helping students to green the whole of society. This week, we speak to Simone Codrington, a Green Impact project assistant taking the programme into halls of residence for the first time. What is Unite Students? Unite Students is an alternative halls for students that offer accommodation to students and encourage them to partake in many activities. They can also work with the Green Impact team at the university to help promote sustainability to the students. How did you get...
read moreIt’s our most crucial year yet
NUS’ vice president for society and citizenship Piers Telemacque reflects on Green Impact and the year ahead for staff and students working together on sustainability. 2015 is going to be one of the most crucial years for sustainability in two decades, and our education sector is going to be a key agent for change over the next twelve months. Over the last decade, our impact has gotten bigger every year, and it’s been incredible to see staff and students working together to green their campuses, curriculums and communities. We do this...
read moreCan nursing survive resource scarcity?
Providing cost-effective healthcare over the years ahead will mean thinking about sustainability in an integrated way. Climate change won’t only impact public health, but also our capacity to actually deliver healthcare, especially in the face of depleted natural resources. This is something which nursing and midwifery students are taking increasingly seriously, and at Plymouth University, these issues are being integrated into clinical skills sessions, and have engaged design students in the process. Over 600 Nursing and Midwifery students...
read moreWhat we’re offering this year
Every year, we see Green Impact expand further and further. We’re so excited to have five new institutions taking part this year, expanding our reach across the sector, while four new community organisations are taking our positive influence across the whole of society. With our reach expanding month on month, we’re committed to improving our support networks as much as possible, ensuring that you’re empowered to make the biggest impacts possible. We’ve introduced a few new things this year, and we want to make sure you...
read moreTaking Green Impact across the whole of Greenwich
The University of Greenwich celebrated their annual Green Impact awards recently. But they didn’t just congratulate themselves on the achievements of the year behind them. They used it as a platform to expand Green Impact across the entire community – taking student-led sustainability into a huge, diverse range of organisations. This year, Green Impact will be rolled out across: Royal Museums Greenwich; Old Royal Naval College; Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance; Hadlow College; Widehorizons outdoor education charity. It’s...
read moreGetting sustainability into the lab
Martin Farley has worked at the University of Edinburgh on improving sustainability and efficiency in laboratory settings, and is now doing the same at King’s College London. We spoke to him about the importance of taking sustainability into the lab, and what students and institutions could be looking at to improve their environmental performance. Why do we have to consider sustainability in labs work? Universities today are hubs for research with most in the process of adding to their scientific facilities either through refurbishments or...
read moreTop 5 Green Impact tips for the year ahead
Are you starting to get into the swing of the year? Is your team wondering how to make the most of your opportunity to green your workplace? Justine Rose – executive assistant to director of advancement at LSE – is here to share her experience as a Green Impact participant, and has five top tips for making this your greenest year yet. Feeling colder? As the weather gets colder provide “wheaty bags” to help those colleagues who feel the cold stay warmer, also good for neck or back pain. Reuse your old carrier bags Install a...
read moreSmiles for sustainability from Green Impact dentists
Two years ago, the Dental Postgraduate Department, based at the University of Bristol’s Dental School started delivering Green Impact in partnership with the university. In only its second year, nearly fifty practices took part with a completely bespoke workbook. This month, after the celebrations of the awards ceremony a few weeks ago, the dentists are already launching their third year of Green Impact. “Everyone needs to engage with sustainability if we are going to have a world to pass on to future generations”, explains...
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