People & Planet Grassroots Blog

New Year's Revolutions for a Fossil Free 2018

2017 was an incredible year for the global fossil free movement! In 2018, together we’re going to take it to the next level.
How about some New Years Revolutions* for transforming the face of global finance by taking the fossil free fight to the banking industry this year?

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Manchester University is lagging behind on Sustainability

As People & Planet’s annual University League is published, the University of Manchester has ranked in the middle of the road in 71st place. This is yet more evidence that the University is lagging behind on sustainability and ignoring its students’ demands for action for the environment.

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What it’s Like to Study at a 1st Award Class University

Determining the environmental impact of your degree course can be tough – between greenwashing, behind-the-scenes investments and dodgy supply chains, it can be really hard to know how Green your University really is. That’s why I find the People & Planet University League Table so informative – they ask the big questions, and crunch the big data, then rank Universities accordingly on several different criteria including Environmental Policy, Waste & Recycling, Education and Ethical investment.

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Fall From Grace

Not only has the 2015 #1 failed to make any recognisable progress this year, the University of Plymouth has also failed to maintain it’s ranking between 2016 and 2017, falling a further two places down to 14th.

Two of the University of Plymouths lowest scores are for Ethical Investment and Workers Rights.

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Oxford Students Join #MazaskaTalks Demanding Barclays Divest

This morning (October 24), we held a peaceful demonstration in Barclay’s bank on Cornmarket Street. Our group of students from the University of Oxford and members of the city joined an international effort to demand banks to stop funding fossil fuel expansion projects, “before it is too late”.

Barclays, specifically has invested £48 million in Kinder Morgan, the largest pipeline company in North America and the corporation responsible for Trans Mountain, a pipeline to transport the least efficient, dirtiest oil out of the tar sands in Canada.

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UNISON Goes Sweatshop Free

logo of Unison with banner of sweatshop free victory

UNISON becomes first UK Trade Union to challenge sweatshops in their own supply chain, Who will be next?

Public service union UNISON  became the first trade union in the UK to ensure the electronics they purchase are independently monitored for workers’ rights violations. UNISON joins a growing number of institutions in Europe that have affiliated to Electronics Watch, an independent monitoring organisation that assists institutions in the public sector to improve pay and conditions for those who manufacture the goods they buy.

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Young Labour Supports Divestment and Boycotts Barclays!

This weekend (14-15 October) Young Labour – the youth wing of the UK Labour Party – passed a policy motion that included supporting fossil fuel divestment and joining the #DivestBarclays campaign to boycott the bank until they ditch fossil fuel finance.

The motion was heard at the National Youth Policy Conference 2017 and its success means that it is now the official position of Young Labour and will be proposed to the Labour Party on behalf of its young members to become national policy. See the motion in full below.

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