A look at the news around the world makes clear that there is an urgent need for workplaces to adopt more sustainable practices, but there are very few examples of what people and organisations can practically do to make long-term changes.
As an educational institution, UTS is leading by example and has implemented sustainable practices at all levels of operations, considering sustainability not just an environmental issue, but also a social one.
“Sustainability is so big and overwhelming; it can sometimes be depressing. What we’re trying to do with our Climate Positive Plan is to empower people to be part of the solution,” explains Seb Crawford, Sustainability Engagement Manager at UTS.
“We engage the UTS community in sustainability – and when I say community, I mean our students, our staff but also external members of our community, such as businesses that we work with or people who live and work around our campus,” he says.
We engage the UTS community in sustainability, and when I say community, I mean our
students, our staff, and also members of the community that we work with, our businesses, even
people that live and work around the University. One of the greatest sustainability success
stories here at UTS is our people. I work directly with staff and students all the time and one of
the great things is staff and students care about sustainability. They want to get involved in
sustainability. At its core, we're hoping to inspire the next generation to get involved in
sustainability and to be part of the solution. Here at UTS, when we say sustainability, we're not
just talking about environmental sustainability. We're also talking about social sustainability. So
how do people fit into the whole picture? If we're not involving the people, then we won't be
successful. A great example of what we're doing here at UTS is our plastic-free plan. We've got
a plan to phase out single-use plastics.
We also have the Green Impact Program for staff and students, which encourages positive
behaviour change. And another initiative is the development of a strategy to embed the UN
Sustainable Development Goals into our research, teaching, and learning, engagement,
partnerships, and operations.
Here at UTS, we've got five rooftop gardens. So we're right in the city centre. We don't have a
lot of space down at ground level. So we've built our green space up in the sky.
And one of our short-term goals is to supply 100% of the University's electricity needs with
renewable energy by 2025. And by 2025, we would like to achieve net zero for our scope 1 and
2 emissions. The social impact that this kind of work has is that it reduces the carbon footprint of
the University and that has economic, social, and environmental benefits for the University, but
also beyond the University's boundaries.
Responding to new challenges also calls for the need to innovate, and UTS offers staff and students support to workshop ideas and come up with new solutions.
Among such programs are UTS Startups and also the Green Impact Program. Such initiatives have led to some out of the box ideas that were implemented on campus, such as new green spaces.
“We are located right in the city centre and don’t have a lot of space at ground level to establish green areas. Instead of thinking it can’t be done, we’ve simply built our green spaces up in the sky and now have five rooftop gardens,” he says.
Danielle McCartney, Head of Sustainability at UTS supports the idea that sustainability is a community effort and must be part of the curriculum and research.
Engaging students in sustainability and social justice enables them to graduate as globally responsible citizens which is very beneficial to local, national and global communities.
“Similarly, UTS researchers who are working on solutions to climate change have a really broad impact beyond the campus boundaries,” McCartney explains.
Among other achievements, UTS now has several Green Star certified buildings, an award-winning plastic-free food court and produces solar power on several roof tops.
The greatest social impact we’ve had through our initiatives is a reduction in the carbon footprint of the university, and that has economic, social and environmental benefits beyond our university.
Importantly, the initiatives increase the confidence of staff and students to become active participants in finding solutions and gain an understanding of what they can do at individual level, says Crawford.
“One of my favorite parts of the job is working with the students, many who have come to UTS caring about sustainability. By the time they graduate they feel they have the skills and are empowered to solve the sustainably challenges we’re facing,” he concludes.
