Submitted by Susannah Cook on Wed, 2022-10-19 15:38
New for 2022
Throughout the Green Impact programme of 2021/2022 we were collecting feedback from our teams and auditors on how they thought our workbook actions should be updated in the next year. From this feedback, the Sustainability Team has reviewed the workbook and made some updates that we hope will address these points and the appetite for more ambitious targets in 2022/2023.
We have been running Green Impact for over 10 years now, and as our teams have become more adept and successful at using the workbook, they have also asked us to make sure the actions in our workbook are as impactful as they can be. The aim of all of our sustainability programmes in 2022/2023 is that we want to raise the level of ambition in line with the accepted scale of the challenge of climate change. We want our programmes to be collaborative and inclusive, encompassing a more holistic and intersectional definition of sustainability, with staff and students working together to help make the University more sustainable.
What has actually changed?
Firstly, we have changed the language of some of our actions to make sure they are in line with these aims. For example, we now require at least 2 students to be a part of a Green Impact team, and for some actions we want to see evidence from the last 6-months, not 12.
Additionally, although the threat of Covid has by no means gone away, we have updated the Green Impact workbook to more accurately reflect the way we are working now in 2022. Accordingly, we have now removed the specific working from home actions that we had included for 2020/2021, as most staff are now back in their workplaces at least once a week.
Lastly, to reflect the above and in particular through feedback from our student auditors, many of the actions worth 8 points and above can now be awarded on scales detailed in further information. For example, in CT015 (Colleges action concerning Catering – embedding and communication), teams can be awarded 5, 10 or 15 points depending on how successful they have been in reducing ruminant meat consumption, with 15 points awarded for no ruminant meat being served to anyone. This proliferation of scales is so that teams are not dissuaded from attempting more ambitious actions, as they will get credit even if they are not 100% successful, and to award these efforts.
What points do I need?
In points terms you are not required to complete 100% of actions to attain an award because of the increased number of scaled actions. We have also tried to make the jump between awards more standardised and have an accepted percentage required for each award level. For each award you will need to earn the following percentage of points from the general workbook:
- Working towards Bronze: 60% of 84 points available, 50 points total.
- Bronze: 90% of 84 points available, 76 points total.
- Silver: 100% of Bronze points (84), and 90% of 100 Silver points available, 174 points total.
- Gold: 100% of Bronze points (84), 100% of Silver points available (100), and 50% of 440 Gold Points available, 404 points total.
- Platinum: 100% of Bronze points (84), 100% of Silver points available (100) and 80% of Gold points available (352), 536 total.
For the Colleges workbook:
- Bronze: 15% of 500 points, 75 points total.
- Silver: 30% of 500 points, 150 points total.
- Gold: 50% of 500 points, 250 points total.
- Platinum: 80% of 500 points, 400 points total.
What support can I get?
In the spirit of collaboration and knowledge sharing we have also set up a dedicated Microsoft Teams Team for our engagement programme, of which Green Impact is one. This is where we will be sharing templates, key dates and resources for the 2022/2023 project year. It also provides a space for teams to talk to each other and share their own expertise.
We hope these changes address the comments and suggestions you have kindly given us. Good luck making Green Impact !