Going Greener: Creating Transition Universities
Going Greener Campaign Aim
With this campaign, People & Planet aims to kickstart a Transition Universities movement to:
Bring about a low-carbon, resilient and community-led education sector that achieves carbon emissions reductions of at least 50% by 2020
We will do this by supporting student-led campaigns to challenge and transform behaviour, policies and practices.
What is a Transition University?
Our Going Greener campaign is inspired by the Transition Towns movement and brings staff and students together to develop and implement their own response to the twin challenges of climate change and energy security. Students and staff are working together on localised, practical projects designed to dramatically reduce energy-usage and climate impact. The Going Greener campaign is creating a network of Transition Universities which are working to become resilient, low-carbon & more community-led in addressing their environmental & social impacts. To support this transition, there are 3 practical projects for students and staff to get stuck into in the 2011 - 2012 academic year, focusing on energy, food and waste.
Transition Energy: The Big Green Makeover
Launched in September 2011, People & Planet is supporting groups to co-ordinate The Big Green Makeover, a home energy saving project which aims to help students and staff to make their homes warmer, more cosy and cheaper to live in. Trained volunteers teach students and staff how they can save energy, water, waste and money through small behavioural and practical changes in their homes. By building partnerships within the university, the project aims to recruit an army of volunteers who can run energy advice saving clinics, run interactive workshops and carry out home visits to students’ private rented accommodation.
Transition Food: Scoop
Launched in September 2011, People & Planet is supporting students across the UK to launch food co-ops (Scoop groups) . Starting a Scoop at your university can provide your fellow students (and staff) with access to good food at affordable prices - think fresh, seasonal, local, healthy and low-carbon food. Scoops work by pooling their buying power and ordering food in bulk direct from suppliers & local farmers, so that a group of people can buy good food at a more affordable price.
Transition Waste: Zero Waste Halls
Launching to coincide with Go Green Week in February 6 - 11 2012, People & Planet will be supporting students to set up Zero Waste Halls, a campus recycling scheme which aims to help students recycle all their unwanted goods at the end of term. It involves recycling and redistributing all the shoes, clothes, food, cutlery, electrical equipment and even mattresses that students don’t need when they move out of halls each year. These resources can then either be sent to charity shops, used for free shops during Freshers Week or even sold (at a much reduced price) to students for the following year.
