Get involved in sustainability

UWE Bristol has over 30,000 students and 3,000 staff and together we can make change happen. With climate action becoming ever more urgent, we are working to make a truly sustainable university a reality. Our 2030 strategy commits us to empower and inspire you, our students and staff, to make sustainable choices. Find out more about what you can do and how to get involved.

• Make your voice heard. Join others and take action with The Students' Union Green Team with practical projects and campaigns. For example, in 2021/22 this included sustainable fashion, fossil free careers, sustainable period products and plant based milks, plus a week on Action on Sustainability.
• Work with staff and students to decolonise and decarbonise Education at UWE Bristol and to develop understanding on how we can better include diverse cultures and knowledge systems in the curricula, as well as making the link between colonialism and the climate crisis.
• Make your ideas a reality. Put forward an idea at Student Ideas, and make a difference! This year Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees, was adopted by the University as a result of a student idea. Apply for up to £500 project funding (provided by the University and administered by the Student Union) from Change for Change.
• If you are a member of a sports club, apply for a Greener Futures award.
• Learn how to grow your own vegetables on Frenchay Campus at the Community Garden. Join one of our fortnightly sessions advertised through the Student Union.
• Get involved in oversight of the University’s Carbon Management plan, its Ethical Investment Policy and its all-encompassing Sustainability Plan for 2030. Contact sustainability@uwe.ac.uk for more information. For a recent example of positive student involvement, see the Divestment update (PDF) drafted by the Green Team.
• Join the Student's Union at UWE Sustainability Committee, and/or raise an issue you care about with the University Sustainability Board by emailing thegreenteam@uwe.ac.uk.
• Want more on sustainability in your course? Talk to your sustainability course reps and tutors direct and/or contact Associate Professor, Georgina Gough at georgina.gough@uwe.ac.uk.
• Join in with UWE Bristol Green  in November and Fairtrade Fortnight in February/March.
• Take part in community projects such as GreenSpace and Green School ambassadors with UWE Bristol Volunteering and look out for opportunities within your course to work with local communities to embed sustainability.

Visit the Students' Union at UWE website for more ideas on getting involved

People & Planet's 'Fossil Free Careers' campaign has been championed by The Students' Union at UWE and raised with the UWE Careers and Enterprise team.

Following meetings with People & Planet and The Students' Union at UWE, UWE Careers and Enterprise are currently working with their representatives, as well as UWE Bristol's Sustainability Board and academic colleagues, to consider how the themes of the Fossil Free Careers campaign might shape the services we offer and how we help students to make informed choices about their careers.

In addition to this work, UWE Careers and Enterprise are working with other internal stakeholders to review research and business ethics policies at an institution-wide level, which will define how we work with external partners and the nature of our due diligence processes.

As members of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), and per our commitment to work within the AGCAS Code of Ethics for Career Practitioners, we will always remain impartial “so that students and graduates have the freedom to develop their own career paths".

We provide accessible, impartial and confidential information, advice, and guidance services so that students can take ownership over their career choices.

Staff inductions and orientation

All new staff are invited to the staff welcome fair at which there is a sustainability presentation, covering our overall policy and strategy, how they translate into action and how you can get involved; this is supplemented by an online section of the induction training on the intranet. Union members can get involved through their unions which have representation at the sustainability board. For further info email sustainability@uwe.ac.uk.

Teaching and research: KESE network

All academic staff are urged to explore how to embed and develop sustainability within their teaching and research. For support, contact Associate Professor Georgina Gough at georgina.gough@uwe.ac.uk who coordinates UWE Bristol's cross-institutional 'Knowledge Exchange for Sustainability Education', which has representation for every academic department in the University.

In addition, there are many formal and informal research clusters focussing on sustainability, for example, our Changing Climate Network which aims to draw together UWE Bristol staff with interests that converge on the causes and consequences of climate change, encourage cross-disciplinary collaborations and support funding bids for related research. For more information contact Kate Trigg at kate.trigg@uwe.ac.uk.

Taking positive action: Climate action cafés

Climate action cafés are informal sessions which focus on changes you can make in your work content and practice on campus and in your life at home. Relevant to academics and services staff alike the events provide an opportunity to focus on sustainability and are tailored to your teams needs. To request a session and contact us for an initial chat email sustainability@uwe.ac.uk.

Our new Climate Action Series training has also been launched offering the chance to increase your knowledge and understanding of climate change and what we can all do to make a difference in tackling the climate crisis. The modules available can be found on the UWE ‘My Learning’ platform for staff and via Blackboard for students. 

Our social media

You can engage with the Sustainability Team and the Students Union at UWE via our social media channels. We'd love to hear from you on:

• The Green Team Facebook Group
• The Green Team Instagram
• GreenUWE Facebook page
• The Sustainability Team Instagram

Around campus and at home

• Buy more plant based food, eat less meat and dairy.
• Love food and hate waste, buy only what you need and use up leftovers.
• Travel lighter on the planet. Walk, cycle, go by bus/train or car share, and rethink your holidays.
• Save energy, water and money, put lids on pans, turn the tap off whilst cleaning teeth and washing hands, turn off radiators before opening windows, use sleep mode and turn off electronics when not in use.
• Prevent plastic pollution and support wildlife.
• Buy less cheap stuff - check out sustainable fashion and find out more top tips.
• If you see energy or water being wasted on campus, contact the 222 Helpdesk or email the Energy Team at energyteam@uwe.ac.uk.