Coventry University Students’ Union’s Sustainability Working Group

About

Over the past 8-12 months, we have established a Sustainability Working Group to support and enhance our ethical delivery as a Students’ Union, in line with our organisational values of being helpful, inclusive and ethical. The group currently meets monthly and has already made strong progress in a short space of time, through a combination of both short-term actions and longer-term strategic planning.

So far, this work has included improving access to resources and tailored training opportunities, from both a student and staff perspective, and increasing engagement in sustainable activity and agendas through event delivery and increased communication channels. 
Alongside this, the group has begun developing a longer-term sustainability roadmap, which will help provide clearer direction, priorities and accountability for future work as we continue to strengthen our approach to ethical and sustainable practice. External recognition has also been achieved through relevant sector kitemarks. 

Top 3 learnings

1. A small group of passionate people can create significant organisational change, momentum and impact.
2. Balancing quick wins with long-term sustainability planning keeps progress visible, yet strategic.
3. Sustainability engagement grows when activity feels practical, collaborative and achievable.

What it means to win

Winning a Green Gown Award would be a significant milestone for Coventry Students' Union and provide valuable recognition for the progress made by our Sustainability Working Group in such a short space of time. The initiative has been driven by a small group of passionate staff who have dedicated their time alongside existing workloads, despite sustainability not forming part of any formal job description. Recognition through a Green Gown Award would be a fantastic way to celebrate and thank those individuals for their commitment, while providing encouragement that we are on the right track, and motivating us to continue building on our progress. The award would also help us to continue to raise the profile of sustainability across our organisation, helping us to engage more staff, students and community partners in sustainability-focused conversations. External recognition and credibility would also strengthen our ability to advocate for additional support, resource, funding and dedicated staff time to further embed sustainability across the SU. Ultimately, winning a Green Gown Award would not only greatly recognise what has already been achieved, but help us to accelerate the next stage of our sustainability journey as an organisation.

SDG