Green Gown Awards 2020 - Sheffield Hallam University - Finalist

Drastic and fantastic plastic reduction 

Inspired by Glastonbury's ban on all single use plastic bottles, we decided to redesign our entire offer to enable the reduction of over 300,000 single use plastics. We changed all our in-house products to plastic free using new display methods and plant based products. Then we linked with suppliers to find alternatives to products like bottled drinks and sandwich platters. Taking the opportunity to link with added value companies that provide further sustainable action was also a priority.  

Finally, we planned an inclusive marketing campaign to raise awareness of what we were doing and why. Our experience from a highly successful culture change in coffee cup use enabled us to engage right from the beginning with our students and staff and for them to influence the initiative and support its success. 

Top 3 learnings:

1. Setting the bar high and the target huge really engaged with our students. 
2. Clear communication really helped drive a change in attitude. 
3. Linking initiatives helped grow the impact wider than we could have imagined.