News
Higher education in the era of climate change
New report urges universities to have zero carbon emissions by 2035 and to rethink knowledge and teaching practices for the era of climate change The Higher Education Policy Institute (http://www.hepi.ac.uk) has published a new report, Beyond business as usual: Higher education in the era of clim...
Posted on 10 December 2020
Sustainability Leadership Scorecard Annual Report 2020
Universities and colleges picking up the pace on sustainability, but must address curriculum reform More universities and colleges than ever from across the UK and Ireland have shown their commitment to sustainability over the last year. The 2020 Sustainability Leadership Scorecard Annual R...
Posted on 10 December 2020
EAUC Members reflect on the impact of Covid19
The Covid-19 pandemic caused unprecedented challenges for the entire world and the Further & Higher education sector was not spared the mayhem of disruption. We at EAUC wanted to better understand how the pandemic impacted the sustainability community and how we can better support members dur...
Posted on 8 December 2020
​Disappointment at misguided Ofsted comments
Last week, at the launch of Ofsted’s 2019-2020 annual report, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman, said: "And increasingly we see efforts to commandeer schools and the curriculum in support of worthy social issues and campaigns. In the last year, many of these calls have been ...
Posted on 8 December 2020
UK sets new climate target ahead of UN Summit
The Prime Minister has today (Friday 4 December) announced a new ambitious target to reduce the UK’s emissions by at least 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. This is an increase of 15% from the previous target of 53%, and is in line with the recommendations made by the Climate Change Commit...
Posted on 4 December 2020
Sustainability Ambition in Education Week
It’s coming to the end of a tumultuous year and never has it never been clearer that we need to address the global challenges the world faces, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, justice and of course, health and well-being. So at the end of 2020...
Posted on 1 December 2020
University of Glasgow sets 2030 carbon neutral target
The University of Glasgow has pledged to go ‘further and faster’ in its response to the climate emergency with a raft of new commitments, including a target for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The ambitious aim is one of a series of actions set out in a new stra...
Posted on 30 November 2020
Become a net-zero college by using the FE Climate Action Roadmap
What can colleges do to tackle climate change? The recent plan to reach net-zero emissions unveiled by PM Boris Johnson last week comes as a confirmation that many colleges are leading the way. The FE Climate Action Roadmap for FE Colleges provides colleges with practical steps they can take...
Posted on 26 November 2020
Aston University named Guardian's University of the Year
Aston University has been crowned university of the year in the Guardian’s annual awards for its work eradicating the gap in grades between black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students and their white peers, as well as its emphasis on sustainability. In a year during which UK ...
Posted on 26 November 2020
Finnish universities commit to 12 principles of Sustainable Development
Carbon neutrality by 2030, sustainable development at the heart of strategies, and strong support for the Finnish Government’s climate and biodiversity goals. All of the above is included in the plans of Finnish universities through 12 mutual principles on sustainable development and respo...
Posted on 24 November 2020
Global Climate Conference - Day 5: Wild times and nature-based solutions
It was the final day of the conference today, and what a week it has been! We have been amazed and inspired by the range of plenaries and workshops from across the globe that we have been privileged to facilitate. Over the course of the week, we have seen over 1000 attendees from 18 countries (in...
Posted on 23 November 2020
Global Climate Conference - Day 4: Net Zero and Global Research
Today was the penultimate day of the extraordinary five-day conference ‘Global Climate 2020’, and there was no sign of let up, with four plenary sessions and the live launch of Mock COP26. The morning started with the sustainability topic on everyone’s lips this year; ...
Posted on 20 November 2020
UK PM outlines 10-point plan for green industrial revolution
The Prime Minister has set out his ten point plan for a green industrial revolution this week, which Government predicts will create and support up to 250,000 British jobs. The plan – which is part of the PM’s mission to level up across the country - will mobilise £12 bi...
Posted on 19 November 2020
Global Climate Conference - Day 3: Student engagement and climate justice
Another day of thought-provoking content at the week long EAUC virtual conference Global Climate 2020. The morning plenary started with an in-depth look at student engagement on sustainability issues and the power this has for transformation within institutions. Liliia Akatova, a studen...
Posted on 18 November 2020
Global Climate Conference - Day 2: The roles of community and the economy
Day 2 of the EAUC virtual conference ‘Global Climate’ was a continued success with a really strong international flavour to the day. The first plenary saw Magda Núñez, a student at USIL (Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola) in Peru, chair a session based ...
Posted on 17 November 2020
Invitation for Tender - Sustainability Leadership Scorecard
The Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) and the EAUC - the alliance for sustainability leadership in education, are inviting tenders for the supply of the Sustainability Leadership Scorecard (SLS) tool, associated services and consultancy. See further details attached. Intereste...
Posted on 17 November 2020
Global Climate Conference - Day 1: Hope and Solutions
The EAUC Global Climate Conference in Education started today, with over 1000 delegates enjoying the huge range of workshops and inspiring global plenary speakers. This year, students were offered the opportunity to attend for free, a hugely positive step to make sure they are gett...
Posted on 16 November 2020
Government infrastructure policy isn't fit for net zero, says report
The UK’s National Infrastructure Strategy is due to be published very soon which will set the UK’s priorities and provide visibility for investors. But significant shortfalls in the government’s approach to infrastructure policy and investment risk holding back efforts to shift the...
Posted on 12 November 2020
New student marketplace tackles waste on campus
Third year economics student Harriet Noy is determined to tackle single-use plastic and waste on university campuses. The entrepreneurial University of Birmingham student has launched a zero-waste student marketplace called Hazaar. Harriet is in the process of creating a tailored app to run...
Posted on 11 November 2020
The Climate Commission - One Year On
Thursday 5th November (2020) marked one year since the launch of The Climate Commission for UK Further and Higher Education Students and Leaders – the cross organisational initiative led by the Association of Colleges, EAUC (Secretariat), GuildHE and Universities UK. The event attended by...
Posted on 10 November 2020
New reports on role of universities in levelling up agenda
The UPP Foundation has released two reports on the role of universities in the ‘levelling up’ agenda, and on addressing the forthcoming employment crisis Key findings of the two reports (‘Levelling Up Towns Report’ and ‘Covid-19 Jobs Report’) : The Go...
Posted on 5 November 2020
Courtauld Commitment provides annual progress update
A new report released this week is demonstrating good progress being made in the food sector in the UK across all three Courtauld Commitment targets – food waste, carbon and water – in a challenging year for food and drink. The Courtauld Commitments are a series of voluntary agreement...
Posted on 5 November 2020
University of Strathclyde celebrate 15,000 sustainability actions
The University of Strathclyde is paving the way for sustainable institutions with a programme that has engaged thousands of students and staff to take positive actions. Since launching in 2019, Sustainable Strathclyde’s Jump programme has avoided nearly 16,000kg C02 emissions wi...
Posted on 5 November 2020
University of Edinburgh sustainable lab scheme cuts plastic waste and costs
A new approach could reduce plastic waste in a laboratory by more than 500kg a year and result in considerable savings, scientists at the Roslin Institute at University of Edinburgh found. A scheme based on plastic reduction and reuse has resulted in savings of more than £400 over a t...
Posted on 28 October 2020
New EAUC-Scotland Office Bearer Group Vacancies
Are you is interested in helping the EAUC-Scotland team develop their support for sustainability in Scotland’s Universities and Colleges? Do you know someone who might be? EAUC-Scotland are seeking two dedicated EAUC Members, one from the Higher Education Sector and one from the...
Posted on 28 October 2020
LSE launches ambitious plan to embed environmental sustainability across its operations
Share your Sustainability Commitments LSE has today (21 October) launched its plan to tackle the climate crisis and announced it will be the first UK university to become carbon neutral, for all the emissions it currently measures. This status will be achieved through ongoing ...
Posted on 21 October 2020
Skills deficit needs to be urgently tackled to get to net zero
In its latest briefing out today, 'Upskilling the UK workforce for the 21st century', the Aldersgate Group calls for urgent action to plug the deficit in skills that currently undermines the growth of low carbon supply chains across the UK economy. The Group calls in particular for a new l...
Posted on 15 October 2020
NTU study shows air quality danger for cyclists on busy roads
Cyclists are right to wear face masks to protect against pollution and bus passengers and pedestrians should consider them too, new research by Nottingham Trent University shows. A study led by Professor Amin Al-Habaibeh found that cyclists, pedestrians and bus passengers are the most expos...
Posted on 15 October 2020
EAUC launches Future Graduate Skills Study
New EAUC and Change Agents UK Future Graduate Skills Study examined what ‘sustainability skills’ are, which of those are important for employability prospects, and how they could be best instilled in students and young people. This piece of research is particularly relevant as it comes ...
Posted on 15 October 2020
2020 Green Gown Award Finalists Announced
We are proud to announce this year's Green Gown Awards UK & Ireland Finalists, in association with UKRI After a tough judging session, the applicants have been whittled down to 74 Finalists across 12 categories. This year’s UK and Ireland Green Gown Awards’ Finalists, repr...
Posted on 12 October 2020
SUEZ lifts the lid on trends in student recycling
SUEZ recycling and recovery UK’s Lifting the Lid Higher report published today (28 September 2020) offers unique insight into trends in student recycling habits, showing steady progress with opportunities to raise future performance and encourage greater sustainability throughout the higher ed...
Posted on 5 October 2020
New Centre for Sustainability launched at University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde has launched a new Centre for Sustainable Development in support of the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The new Centre, launched on 1st October, brings together all of the University’s education, research and knowledge exc...
Posted on 5 October 2020
New Aldersgate Report calls for urgent policy decisions regarding net zero emissions
Following extensive cross-industry and civil society engagement, the Aldersgate Group launched a new report today, Monday 5 October, setting out some of the key policy decisions that need to be taken in this parliamentary term to put the UK on a credible pathway to building a competitive, net zero e...
Posted on 5 October 2020
Salix announces the launch of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme
Salix Finance to deliver Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) £1 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to tackle carbon emissions The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has launched a £1bn Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme as par...
Posted on 2 October 2020
Cambridge to divest from fossil fuels with "net zero" plan
University plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2038. We welcome The University of Cambridge's aims to divest from all direct and indirect investments in fossil fuels by 2030 as part of the University’s plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2038, more than a d...
Posted on 1 October 2020
Kickstart for Sustainability in Tertiary Education
​Change Agents UK and SOS-UK, supported by the EAUC, offer a supported Kickstart scheme designed for colleges and universities. The Government Kickstart Scheme will fund hundreds of thousands of high quality 6 month work placements for young people deemed to be at risk of long term unempl...
Posted on 24 September 2020
Discussions for UNESCO'S Futures of Education
Education plays a key role in climate action. Current and future leaders, and communities in general, need education to understand the complex moving parts of climate crisis, whose consequences offer a myriad of social and environmental challenges. Fortunately, efforts are underway to reform educati...
Posted on 15 September 2020
The Little Book of Nudges Launched
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today (1st September 2020) launched a new publication, "The Little Book of Green Nudges", which aims to inspire up to 200 million students around the globe to adopt environmentally friendly habits and greener lifestyles. The book is UNEP&rsq...
Posted on 1 September 2020
New legally binding targets for Environment Bill announced
The Government has today (19th August) announced plans for new legally binding targets within the Environment Bill. They have outlined that there will be at least one long-term target in four priority areas to drive significant and lasting environmental improvements: cleaner air, cleaner water, l...
Posted on 19 August 2020
Vision for the future of colleges launched by Independent Commission
EAUC welcomes the Independent Commission on the College of the Future newly launched vision for the future of colleges across the UK: a new bold and ambitious strategic remit for colleges to empower people with opportunities for lifelong learning and support, to boost productivity, and to stren...
Posted on 22 July 2020
Rebuilding to last: UK must not go back to the old normal
The Aldersgate Group launched a new report, Rebuilding to Last - commissioned from James Rydge and Dimitri Zenghelis at the Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science. This report provides one of the most in-depth economic analyses to date on the current economic s...
Posted on 15 July 2020
Two new board members elected during EAUC AGM
Last week, EAUC held its annual AGM virtually, and it was a great success! If you missed it, you can find a video recording and other documentation including the AGM presentation, 2019 Annual Report and Summary, and other AGM papers here. We we...
Posted on 9 July 2020
International Green Gown Awards Winners
Announcing the 2020 International Green Gown Awards Winners The winners of the 2020 International Green Gown Awards were announced on 8th July 2020 in an online bilingual ceremony hosted by Sonya Peres, Climate Commission Officer from EAUC and Carina Mutschele, Youth & Education from United N...
Posted on 8 July 2020
The Time is Now
EAUC's CEO Iain Patton outlines civic principles for universities and colleges emerging from the lock-down to ensure they are better prepared for the Climate Crisis: While we recognise the misery and hardship that the pandemic has caused for many people, we also recognise that the recovery f...
Posted on 8 July 2020
Climate Commission: A clear and feasible path to climate action for UK colleges
The Climate Commission for Higher and Further Education Students and Leaders is delighted to announce the launch of the Climate Action Roadmap for Further Education Colleges today. Produced in partnership with award-winning management consultancy, Nous Group, the Roadmap outlines clear...
Posted on 3 July 2020
Retrofit all education buildings to net-zero
Today’s commitment made by the government to invest over £1bn into a ten-year school rebuilding programme has been welcomed by the students who have been calling for educational building retrofit to form a key part of the economic recovery from Covid-19. On 11 May 2020, Zamzam ...
Posted on 30 June 2020
Covid-19 recovery must drive net zero progress
An overwhelming majority of Climate Assembly UK members say Government, employers and others should support changes to the economy and lifestyles which help achieve the UK’s net zero emissions target. The interim briefing from the assembly, Covid-19, recovery and the path to net ...
Posted on 24 June 2020
Leaders call on Prime Minister to create socially just and green recovery from Covid-19
Richard Curtis CBE, Paul Polman, Michael Izza and leaders of more than 100 renowned companies, charities, universities, and trade associations call on the UK Government to ensure the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are at the heart of UK Covid-19 recovery plans The Sustainabl...
Posted on 9 June 2020
Race to Zero launch
Today is World Environment Day which sees the official launch of Race to Zero, the global COP26 campaign, which EAUC through the work of the Global Climate Letter is endorsing. The campaign aims to mobilize leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, investors for a Healthy, Resilient, ...
Posted on 5 June 2020
New dates agreed for COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), with the UK and its Italian partners, announced on Thursday 28th May the new dates for the COP26 UN climate conference, which will now take place between 1 and 12 November 2021 in Glasg...
Posted on 29 May 2020
