Advocacy Updates May to August

Over the last couple of months we have been involved in a series of initiatives, events and projects to ensure EAUC's continues to have a greater voice at societal level. Below is a summary of these core activities:

Key Green Gown Awards updates include the: The complete selection of updates regarding EAUC and its involvement at COP26 can be accessed here.

The latest updates regarding the Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education are available here. 
 
Timeframe Initiative Strategic Partner Key areas discussed and outcomes Benefits for EAUC Members
ONGOING EAUC and the Race to Zero Campaign UNEP and Second Nature Over the past couple of months, EAUC has been engaged in a series of conversations with representatives from further and higher education institutions from New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, Fiji, as well as Embassies in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, South Korea, Mexico and India, as well as the Climate Student Movement to engage their pledge to join the Race to Zero campaign  We were delighted to welcome numerous EAUC member institutions as signatories of the Race to Zero pledge (Cranfield University, Borders College, University of Birmingham, City of Glasgow College, Fife College, Edinburgh College, The Glasgow School of Art, Craven College, University of Liverpool, The University of Manchester, etc.) and encourage those that have not signed up yet, to do it here. 
May & June EAUC & British Council in Algeria partnership British Council The future of collaboration across institutions embedding the SDGs Profiling EAUC Member understanding and leadership of key agendas and building partnership between UK/Ireland and Algeria
Yale Global University Climate Forum The International Sustainable Campus Network - ISCN Student-led Climate Leadership in Uganda Connecting EAUC and climate leadership between UK and Uganda
Made at Uni Climate Campaign Universities UK - UUK Advice on the proposed campaign Bringing members insight to support the UUK campaign
Launch of the SECR Tool exclusively for FE Members Hillside Environmental Services Following on the Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) recommendation that colleges in England should submit their carbon reporting through the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR), we offered EAUC FE members the SECR tool which provides them with an easy-to-use solution to creating their SECR. This tool saves members time in developing  own spreadsheets to collate the data and then to convert the data. The tool does this and members can be confident that the conversions have been correctly applied.
Scottish Colleges’ Statement of Commitment on the Climate Emergency CDN
Colleges Scotland and 
SFC (Scottish Funding Council)		 EAUC Scotland worked with the CDN Climate Expert Emergency Group over many months to develop a Scottish Colleges’ Statement of Commitment on the Climate Emergency, including 10 key actions which colleges will take. The Statement was launched in May, with follow up meetings underway to ensure progress against the actions.
 		 Identifying key actions to address the climate emergency relevant to Scotland’s colleges (and others)

Ensuring senior level support for action to address the climate emergency

Outlining the Climate Commission’s ‘Climate Action Roadmap for FE Colleges’ as a valuable tool individual colleges to use for monitoring progress and identifying next steps

Highlighting the ambition and leadership which exists within the college sector in Scotland – and inspiring action elsewhere in the UK and Ireland.
Establish an FE members Advisory Group Association of Colleges - AoC Review and redevelopment of FE sustainability and in particular climate needs Ensure FE member needs are met through the membership offer
July Public Bodies Climate Change Duty Reporting Guidance SSN
Scottish Government		 EAUC Scotland is part of a working group with SSN and Scottish Government to co-develop and co-write upcoming Scottish Government PBCCD Reporting Guidelines. Expected publication 15th September 2021 Recognition of sector progress and best practice within guidance

Ensuring language used in guidance is appropriate to Scottish colleges and universities (e.g. aligns to GHG protocol definitions)

Strengthening expectations due to recognition that majority of the sector has exceeded initial Scottish Government draft expectations
EAUC Annual Global Climate Conference EAUC & UNEP We were delighted to welcome over 280 delegates and speakers from 29 countries worldwide to enjoy a range of inspiring sessions at the Virtual Global Climate 2021 ran in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The event offered the unique opportunity to bring under the same (virtual) roof Signatories of the SDG Accord and those of the Race to Zero Campaign, as well as International Green Gown Awards champions  from around the world to collaborate and lead on addressing the climate emergency with new research, learning and practical solutions ahead of COP26.
Green Jobs Taskforce Report released Aldersgate Group -  Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education Publishing a detailed Net Zero Strategy and using policy to promote good green jobs, skills and competitive supply chains;

Industry, the education sector and the UK government working together to ensure green careers advice and pathways into good green jobs;

Building on the UK government’s skills reforms to support people to work in the new green economy		 EAUC provided a response outlining the hat this report gets circulated to FE & HE and more overt messaging is made clear to university leaders that it is their curricula which needs to catch up and deliver future-oriented, net zero and circular thinking employees for every job in the economy.
August EAUC's activities featured in the Sustainability Business Magazine Sustainability Business Magazine An overview of how EAUC is teaching a green future through the Green Gown Awards and numerous other initiatives such as the Race to Zero campaign, Climate Commission, and the SDG Accord Opportunity to showcase the incredible support members and partners receive from EAUC

National and international audience

EAUC members offered the opportunity to also showcase own institutional projects to a wide range of stakeholders. 
EAUC's response to the latest IPCC Report  N/A Described as “a code red for humanity”, the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that major changes due to global heating are inevitable and irreversible with devastating consequences for all life on Earth.  We hope the IPCC report will be the central discussion point at the UN climate talks, otherwise known as COP26 (latest EAUC updates available here), which are to be held in Glasgow in November 2021. There is little evidence that leading states are successfully persuading each other to improve their commitments, however it is at this level that people must focus much of their attention, to outweigh the influence of fossil fuel companies, find novel ways to fund decarbonisation and steer the economic recovery from COVID-19 towards a low-carbon future.
Release of the latest EMR data HESA - The Higher Education Statistics Agency These environment statistics are some of the most useful and telling when it comes to assessing where the Higher Education sector is with sustainable development and emissions reduction. The open data publication HE Provider Data: Estates Management includes the area of universities’ buildings and grounds, renewable energy generation, water consumption, emissions, waste, recycling, transport, and environmental management. From the data available, we understand that FE and HE providers who submitted environmental information for 2019/20 consumed a total of 6.6 Terawatt hours of energy during the year – a reduction of 7% on the previous year for the same group of providers. EAUC's full response, including a series of suggestions is available here.
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