News

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  WWF released a groundbreaking report on the current state of planetary natural capital – 5th November 2018

  WWF launched an alarming report- Living Planet- looking at how exploding human consumption is the driving force behind the unprecedented planetary change we are witnessing, through the increased demand for energy, land and water.  The products we consume, the supply chains behind them, the materi...

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  £2 million donation boosts agriculture and food security research at RAU – 1st November 2018

  PhD research into topics such as growing soybean as a profitable, low-carbon crop will continue to thrive at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) following a donation of £2 million.   The RAU has received this research investment thanks to the John Oldacre Foundation, which supports the agricul...

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  Government announces new plastic tax, but scraps latte levy – 30th October 2018

  The Government announced yesterday in the Budget plans for a new tax on plastic packaging which contains less than 30% recycled plastic, subject to consultation.    What was announced? To reduce the problem of excessive and environmentally harmful plastic packaging, and incentivise manufacture...

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  Keele University launched The Institute for Sustainable Futures – 30th October 2018

  On the 3rd October, Keele University launched its new major sustainability initiative, a cross-university research institute- the Institute for Sustainability Futures, structured around the SDGs and aiming to catalyse interdisciplinary research focused on contributing to a more sustainable future. ...

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  Universities today face unprecedented levels of risk and uncertainty – but there is a solution – 24th October 2018

  The EAUC is today launching a new Guide that highlights the business benefits of sustainability and explains why it is key to the success of higher education institutions. The Guide - ‘Sustainability: Key to Long-term Institutional Success’ - was developed by EAUC and the University o...

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  Update to SFC Outcome Agreement Guidance on Leadership in Environmental and Social Sustainability – 23rd October 2018

  New Scottish Funding Council Outcome Agreement Guidance requires all universities and colleges to develop individual 'creative and innovative' approaches to demonstrate leadership in embedding environmental and social sustainability across the whole institution In October 2017 the Scottish Fundin...

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  New plans to ban sale and distribution of single-use plastics announced – 22nd October 2018

  The EAUC welcomes the Government plans, announced today (22 October), to ban the distribution and sale of plastic straws, drinks stirrers and cotton buds. Subject to a consultation, also launched today, the Government is looking to ban the distribution and sale of these single-use plastic items b...

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  University Vice-Chancellors join forces with Government to tackle Carbon Emissions – 18th October 2018

  Vice-Chancellors from five UK universities and Students’ Union representatives met with the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Director General Julian Critchlow, and Office for Students CEO Nicola Dandridge to officially sign the Government’s Emissions Reduct...

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  Grants for Good – 17th October 2018

  The Change Agents UK Charity is launching Grants for Good; funding of £100 to £500 is available to support University Societies and Departments delivering sustainability projects. Beginning this month they hope to capture the creativity of students and staff alike, so find out if your project qua...

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  ​2018-2019 International Green Gown Awards Launched – 16th October 2018

  The first stage of the 2018-2019 International Green Gown Awards are now open for applications. Do you want to inspire and motivate your team, management and students to do more? The International Green Gown Awards, supported by UN Environment, recognise exceptional sustainability initiatives bei...

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  Jobs for Good – 12th October 2018

  More and more candidates want to use their career to make a positive difference in the world. They want to work with organisations who think differently, operate responsibly and are forward-looking; employers with strong values that match their own. Jobs for Good enables you to access these candidat...

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  Diversity in Sustainability – 3rd October 2018

  Do you know that the environmental profession is the second least diverse profession in the UK, after farming?  This was revealed in a Policy Exchange report.  EAUC are contributing to research being undertake by NUS, IEMA and the Equality Trust to investigate the racial diversity of the environm...

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  Name Change Update – 3rd October 2018

  Here is an update following the AGM. As you may be aware we went to the AGM asking for members to vote on a name change. In order for this to be successful we required, by Company Law, to achieve 75% of those voting. The result was 72% so this was not passed.   The Board needed time to reflect on ...

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  Scottish Government: Climate Change Plan Update and Progress Report – 1st October 2018

  In September 2018 two updates were issued on Scottish Government action on climate change. A report from The Committee on Climate Change gives us an insight into progress so far and the Scottish Government have released a Climate Change Plan summary that gives us an insight into the future of govern...

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  New guides show how to talk to different institutional departments about sustainability – 1st October 2018

  We know that all too often, sustainability sits in a Facilities and Estates silo on campuses and it can be hard to engage with other departments in UK Further and Higher Education institutions. We also know that for sustainability to flourish, it needs to be embedded holistically and everyone needs ...

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  Anglia Ruskin University launches pilot programme to engage staff in sustainability and wellbeing – 25th September 2018

  Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has just launched a new sustainability and wellbeing behaviour change programme, known as ARUgreen. Operated by Green Rewards through its JUMP engagement platform, the ARUgreen pilot is for six months and covers 700 employees initially of ARU’s total 18,000 emplo...

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  UCC launch plastic-free cafe and gain prestigious accolade – 25th September 2018

  University College Cork (UCC) has had a hugely impressive sustainability start to the new academic year already. This week they have opened Ireland's first plastic-free café and been announced as the first and only institution awarded a gold rating under the of the Association for the Advancement of...

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  New Green Guide for laboratories launched – 25th September 2018

  The University of Exeter's Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) has released a new Green Guide for laboratories. Laboratories should be on the frontline of cutting-edge technology related to energy saving and reduced use of resources - and so this guide has been formulated to help ensur...

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  A world first: UK food industry commits to a landmark roadmap to halve food waste – 25th September 2018

  Businesses take the lead to drive down UK’s annual £20 billion food waste bill, equivalent to more than £300 per UK citizen. All major retailers and 50% of larger food businesses to Target-Measure-Act and report on food waste by September 2019. 90 organisations begin epic journey - taki...

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  Salix Finance announces dates and locations for 2018 Colleges workshops – 24th September 2018

  Salix Finance are pleased to announce the dates and venues for the 2018 Colleges workshops. The workshops will run from late October to November at locations across England. Thursday 25th October - Lewisham Southwark College Friday 2nd November - Leeds City College        Friday 23rd November -...

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  University College Cork Plastic Free Restaurant – 19th September 2018

  University College Cork's Bio Green Cafe is Ireland's first plastic-free restaurant. Plastic drink bottles have been removed from the café, replaced with glass bottles and cans.  Plastic sachets have been removed and replaced with reusable crockery containers.  Chocolate bars are wrapped in paper...

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  EAUC launches new SDG webinar series – 18th September 2018

  EAUC are launching a new webinar series to celebrate Global Goals Week! 'A cup of tea and an SDG' will be 5 webinars, one a day at 11am between 24th - 28th September. They will be 15 minutes in length and presenters will have just 2 minutes to outline an initiative they have undertaken that contr...

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  UK must accelerate transition to zero emission vehicles – 13th September 2018

  Coinciding with the global Zero Emission Vehicles Summit held in Birmingham on Tuesday, the Aldersgate Group has launched a new briefing, 'Driving ambition: accelerating the transition to zero emission vehicles',  setting out key business recommendations for rapidly cutting road transport emissions ...

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  Rootability launches new online Green Office course – 10th September 2018

  Rootability have launched a new, free Green Office Model Online Course. The course is for students and staff who want to establish a sustainability office - based on the Green Office Model - in less time and in a more effective way. Unlike establishing your Green Office alone, you learn from peer...

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  Universities adding value to society, economy and environment – 4th September 2018

  Adding value to society, the economy and the environment - are you aware of just how much universities contribute? This excellent video from BUFDG shares some really important information. The aim of the video is to help the sector communicate to those beyond about what universities are, what ...

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  Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence Winners – 3rd September 2018

  Congratulations to the winners of the Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence 2018 delivered by Advance HE. The Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) recognises and rewards collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning. Introduced in 2016, the sc...

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  Two news reports from NUS reveal continued student demand for sustainability – 3rd September 2018

  The National Union of Students (NUS) have published their 8th annual Sustainability Skills research report. This includes perspectives on sustainability in education from students studying in the UK in both higher and further education.    This year’s research shows student expectations for ...

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  Impressive increase in sustainable and wellbeing behaviours at University of Strathclyde – 30th August 2018

  After a successful pilot, the University of Strathclyde is rolling out its sustainability and wellbeing engagement programme to all of its employees this October. The programme, known as JUMP, was launched in February 2018 to a pilot audience of 250 employees at the University. JUMP is an interac...

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  ​The hunt is on for the best student business ideas – 30th August 2018

  The hunt for the best student and graduate business ideas has officially launched, with £10,000 and other money can’t buy opportunities to get your hands on. NACUE has partnered with Tata for another year to fuel fantastic ideas with their national business pitching competition. This is ...

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  Edinburgh Napier University support Turing Trust project in Malawi – 27th August 2018

  We're always delighted to hear about new partnerships that are making positive change. Read below about the recent partnership to reuse PCs from Edinburgh Napier University. In an initiative also involving input from Procurement, Information Services and Environmental Sustainability, the School o...

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  University of Leeds Annual Sustainability Report highlights major progress – 21st August 2018

  Huge strides have been taken towards further embedding sustainability in schools, faculties and services at the University. The University’s Annual Sustainability Report highlights the many success stories achieved during the past 12 months. This year, Leeds has linked its approach and c...

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  University warns of long-term effects of UK heatwave – 20th August 2018

  Dr Nicola Cannon, Principal Lecturer in Agronomy at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) explains why the 2018 heatwave will have long-term consequences for crops and livestock nutrition with farmers having to reach into winter reserves of food and forage:   "The extreme heat and very dry condi...

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  Bournemouth University cut 400 tonnes of CO2 emissions – 14th August 2018

  Bournemouth University (BU) has seen improvements to sustainability and wellbeing at the University after introducing the Green Rewards behaviour change programme to all staff.   The programme was rolled out to all staff in January this year (2018), after a successful six month pilot in 2017 which...

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  Students and meat consumption - new research – 14th August 2018

  The National Union of Students (NUS) has worked with Friends of the Earth to find out more about students' views on eating meat.  Commonly cited as one relatively easy way to reduce carbon emissions, reducing your meat consumption has long been a topical discussion point. NUS and Friends of the E...

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  EAUC-Scotland Conference to Vision the Future of Sustainability in Universities and Colleges – 13th August 2018

  The EAUC Scotland team are delighted to have launched bookings for their 2018 Scotland Conference, A Decade of Progress, to coincide with the EAUC-Scotland office’s 10 year anniversary.   Since 2008 Scotland has reached 2020 carbon reduction targets 6 years early, became one of the first nat...

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  High Profile Opportunity – 10th August 2018

  Urgent call for sustainability case studies EAUC first published a Business Guide for University Governors in 2014, to make the case for embedding sustainability at the very highest level in universities. With the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals and other recent global trends, in p...

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  EAUC-S Launch Accelerator Programme for new Sustainability Professionals – 7th August 2018

  The EAUC-Scotland Office have launched an Accelerator Programme to help new sustainability staff and interns develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in a sustainability engagement role. The Programme was developed in response to sector requests for basic skills training for new staff...

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  Zero Carbon Challenge – 7th August 2018

  Carbon Reduction is currently a hot topic among sustainability professionals in the Higher Education Sector with many universities aiming to reach zero carbon in the next 20 years. Reaching these targets will require new and innovative approaches to both new build design and major renovations of exi...

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  University of Cambridge working on multi-million SDG research – 23rd July 2018

  The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) has recently launched The Prince of Wales Global Sustainability Fellowship Programme, with the support of some of the UK’s leading companies. The programme will attract researchers from around the world to identify solutions to meet ...

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  UN immediately accept first SDG Accord report recommendation at prestigious HLPF – 18th July 2018

  The SDG Accord report was launched at the on-going UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) last week and one of its recommendations for the UN was immediately recognised and accepted. This was a huge achievement, and it is reflective of the high-level influence and impact of the SDG Accord and its sign...

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  University of Bristol pilots sustainability behaviour change programme – 18th July 2018

  The University of Bristol has launched ‘Be the Change’, a behaviour change programme provided by employee engagement specialists, Green Rewards, to encourage members of staff to improve sustainability and wellbeing both on campus and in the home. The pilot will run for three months to...

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  New report shows post-16 education must shift up a gear in bid to tackle Global Goals – 10th July 2018

  The Global Alliance – a partnership of the world’s universities, colleges and sustainability networks are today (Wednesday, 11th July) launching a new report at the UN’s High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York, exploring the global contribution of Further and Higher Education...

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  NACUE's Varsity Pitch Competition 2018 – 6th July 2018

  On behalf of NACUE We are delighted to have teamed up with Tata for another year, to find the best student and graduate businesses from a diverse bank of sectors, including; social, disruptive, innovation, technical, creative and raw ideas.     Our three stage competition provides applicants ...

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  New Voluntary Emissions Target for England – 6th July 2018

  BEIS have announced a voluntary 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020/21 across public and higher education sectors in England.   PLEASE NOTE THIS IS ONLY APPLICABLE TO UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES IN ENGLAND.   Full details of the notice is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/pu...

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  SDGs must drive a fairer society after UK leaves the EU says businesses & charities – 3rd July 2018

  Urgent action is needed to prevent UK slipping behind other nations on poverty, equality and the environment   A new report released today (3 July 2018) has highlighted why the UK should place the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the heart of its Brexit strategy to galvanise support for ...

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  EAUC Annual Conference Journal – 27th June 2018

  Collaborations for Change: Integrating the SDGs in further and higher education through partnership This special issue of the IJSHE is linked to the EAUC 2018 Annual Conference which, inspired by Sustainable Development Goal 17, 'Partnerships for the Goals'  was themed around 'Collaborations for ...

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  The Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education Survey – 26th June 2018

  The Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education survey explores the quality, indicators and standards of sustainability reporting in higher education. The survey is part of the PhD research of Katerina Kosta, a research intern with the EAUC in 2016. To take the survey, please click here....

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  Ten Years of Sustainable Development Graduates from St Andrews – 22nd June 2018

  The University of St Andrews are celebrating the tenth anniversary of the first graduates from their undergraduate Sustainable Development Degree Programme this summer, and share some examples of where the degree has taken alumni - so far! Set up shortly after the launch of the UN Decade of Educa...

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  University of Brighton opens world's first grid-scale liquid air energy storage plant – 12th June 2018

  The world’s first grid-scale liquid air energy storage (LAES) plant has opened using technology components developed in partnership with the University of Brighton. The ‘5MW/15MWh’ LAES plant works by storing air as a liquid in above-ground tanks and when electricity is required...

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  Launching the Sustainability Leadership Scorecard – 7th June 2018

  Launching a Transformational Tool for the Education Sector - the Sustainability Leadership Scorecard At last we have a transformational ‘All in One’ tool which captures data and performance from many sources and builds one definitive picture of your institutions performance.   EAUC, p...

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