Get Involved with Sustainability
Governance for Environmental Sustainability is via our Executive lead for Sustainability – our Chief Operating Officer, Joanne Hynes, who sits on the University Executive Group and reports to the Board of Governors.
The Sustainability Champions Network
The Sustainability Champions Network is the cross-sectional working group set up to support initiatives such as increasing net biodiversity, waste reduction initiatives, and support with behavioural campaigns to support wider scale projects. The Sustainability champions group meets every 2 months to share ideas and track progress on initiatives. Anyone is welcome and should contact Bill Townend Sustainability Manager [email protected] if they wish to join, via email.
Meetings in 2024
- 23/01/2024
- 25/04/2024
- 27/06/2024
- 29/08/2024
- 29/10/2024
- 18/12/2024
Our Engagement Plan for Sustainability
Whilst we are already doing lots of great things to progress social and environmental sustainability through our Strategic Plan commitments, there’s more we can do collectively. We therefore need a new detailed and holistic plan to help us collaborate to achieve these commitments, where everyone has a part to play. Sustainability is a long-term journey, but by working together we can make a difference quickly.
Over the course of 2024, we are embarking on an exciting campaign to engage with our staff and students to start to build a collective understanding of sustainability, what it means for us, what we are already doing and what we want to do about it. Through this, we will develop our new long-term Sustainability strategy and action plan, to create the change we want to see and the positive impact we want to create. This will be created and owned by our whole Leeds Trinity community.
We want everyone to get involved in helping us shape these plans and drive the agenda forward, from staff, students and our wider community. We have therefore developed an engagement plan to do just that. We are running a series of workshops, events and activities over the course of 2024 to help bring everyone together to engage on sustainability and ultimately result in the development of our new Sustainability Stratgey and action plan in 2024/25.
This engagement plan is led and budgeted through the Sustainability Directorate, working collaboratively across the whole University, in addition to external experts, who have been recruited to support the development and delivery of this engagement campaign. We will measure the effectiveness of our engagement plan through feedback, attendance and engagement analytics and will track progress through our Sustainability Strategy Critical Friends working group.
We ran the following activities focused around our staff community during the Spring and Summer of 2024:
- Focused co-creation sessions with students and staff on the proposed engagement plan
- Critical Friends group (of staff and students) to help steer the engagement plan, outcomes and Sustainability Strategy
- 5 interactive sustainability “Be part of the change” workshops for staff to learn more about sustainability, what it means for LTU and their role and explore what actions we want to take forward
- Sustainability embedding workshops with the Leadership community
- Informal Sustainability Walk and Talk events around campus
- Make it or mend it events
- Education for sustainable development embedding workshops – via our Curriculum for Social Justice programme.
- Mechanisms to collate feedback on sustainability initiatives and ideas via email and pop up stands
- Communication campaign to raise awareness of sustainability at LTU
To find out more and book onto events, please see our Intranet pages
In the Autumn term of 2024 we are continuing our sustainability engagement plan, this time with a greater focus on our student communities and bringing these together with our staff community. We are planning on the following activities:
Autumn term 2024/25 Events and Activities
Freshers Fair Sustainability Stall – 16th September 11-3pm – LTU – Sports Hall
Come along and speak to our Sustainability team and find out more about sustainability at LTU, what we are doing about it and how you can get involved in shaping our plans. Come and grab your free reusable and returnable WoW cup too.
PG Welcome Event Sustainability Stall – 16th September 6-8pm – LTU AG33
Come along and speak to our Sustainability team and find out more about sustainability at LTU, what we are doing about it and how you can get involved in shaping our plans. Come and grab your free reusable and returnable WoW cup too.
Dreaming of Sustainability – Creative workshop – 2nd October, 2-4pm, LTU - AG55
This event is a partnership between the SPARK Social Justice Project and Leeds Trinity University. It will be a fun and interactive creative session, where you will be guided to dream, draw and explore your vision of a sustainable future. This workshop is designed using Catholic Social Teaching around sustainability principles and is for everyone of all ages, faiths or no belief system to enjoy. To book your place please visit Dreaming about Sustainability Workshop (google.com)
Green Libraries week – 7th- 11th October, LTU - AKLC
Come along to the ALKC during the week starting 7th October to get involved in Green Libraries activities throughout the week. There will be a big book swap, a treasure hunt around the Library with prizes and a Make it or Mend it lunch. We'll also have free plants available in the 1st floor library Wellbeing space all week.
Wellbeing area – Autumn term, 1st floor Library
Throughout Autumn, escape the rain, chill out in our AKLC wellbeing area (1st floor of the library) - A relaxing space for you to use as you wish, with mindfulness activities such as sewing, puzzles, colouring and books. Keep an eye out for pop up plant exchange and other activities advertised and feel free to donate mindfulness items to the space.
Sustainability and SDG’s pop up event - 16th October 2-3:30pm, LTU - Atrium
Come along and speak to our Sustainability team and find out more about sustainability at LTU, what we are doing about it and how you can get involved in shaping our plans. There will be some free vegan food samples to nibble on.
Woodland wander and nature mapping with Friends of Hunger Hills Woods and Horsforth Climate Action – 30th October - 1:30-3:30pm
Join us for a guided tour of the nearby Hunger Hills woods and be involved in some nature mapping as part of the Horsforth Climate Action Bioblitz project. Meet at LTU for a short introduction to the woods and the project, followed by a guided walk to the woods just down the road. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear for wet/cold weather, we will still go in the rain! We will come back to LTU to warm up with a cuppa after the event. Note in your diaries, booking details to follow.
Be part of the change – LTU Sustainability Actions and Priorities workshop, online 21st November 9:30-11:30
Join us for an interactive online workshop for staff and students hosted by our Sustainability experts. Find out more about sustainability at LTU, have your say and help us develop and prioritise a tangible sustainability action plan for LTU. Note in your diaries, booking details to follow.
Other Student Campaigns
We engage with our students through Love MyLTU week campaigns with an environment-focus, resulting in many pledges made by students to change their habits and help support a sustainable campus. We also support our Students' Union with their Go Green week.
Leeds Trinity University Students' Union is also part of the Green Impact accreditation scheme, achieving “Excellent” in 2020/21 and 2021/22. You can read more on the LTSU website. Leeds Trinity University supports the Students' Union with this student-led accreditation.