The new student's guide to sustainability at Liverpool

Posted on: 11 September 2024 in Issue 8

At the University of Liverpool, we are building sustainability into everything we do, but we believe that creating a community of sustainability advocates is undoubtedly our biggest opportunity to make a difference.

If you're starting with us this semester, welcome to #TeamLivUni! We want sustainability to be a fundamental part of your student experience, so we have developed a range of opportunities to encourage you to be proactive in helping us achieve our sustainability goals.

Our sustainable University

The University is actively taking steps to look at its impact on climate change and wider sustainable development. As a signatory of the SDG Accord, we have pledged to put the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the heart of all of our activities across research, teaching and campus operations. We have developed an ambitious Sustainability Strategy and Climate plan, setting out our ambitions, principles, and commitments in relation to addressing the climate crisis and outlining how we are going to move forward in developing our pathway to achieving net zero carbon.

Get involved

We will only achieve our sustainability aspirations through collaboration and innovation, real progress happens when the whole community works together – so that’s where you come in! We have a wide range of opportunities on offer at Liverpool, such as volunteering, development opportunities, events, campaigns, and initiatives. Here are some of the ways in which you can get involved in sustainability during your time at the University: 

Welcome Week: A great place to start is to come and meet the sustainability team in person at the Liverpool Welcome. We will be at Harold Cohen Library on Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th September 2024, from 10am – 4pm welcoming you to the University and will be on hand to answer any questions you may have. Come and test your carbon literacy and play the How Bad are Bananas? carbon footprint game, and win some eco-friendly goodies.

Visit the Student Sustainability Hub: The Student Sustainability Hub is a central point of reference, to find resources on sustainability related societies, volunteering, career development opportunities, activities, lifestyle choices, and social networks. The Hub is home to the award winning Sustainability in Action online course, which introduces you to the SDGs with fun activities and engaging content, and upon successful completion of a series of short assessments, you will receive HEAR accreditation; something valued by employers and will appear on your final degree certificate! You can find this module through your Canvas courses tab or on your Canvas dashboard. 

Sustainability Week: Each year, the University and Guild of Students, with the help of staff and students, host our annual Sustainability Week, a week of free events and activities designed for both students and staff. Highlights of Sustainability Week include recycling workshops, swap shops, lectures by our esteemed academics, film screenings, cycling events, guided tours, and much more. Take a look at what we got up to during Sustainability Week 2024, and stay tuned for updates on next year’s Sustainability Week, set to take place in Spring 2025. 

Become a Curriculum Mapping Volunteer: Take charge of your education by mapping your modules against the Sustainable Development Goals through this unique volunteering opportunity with SOS-UK. Gain insights into how your degree prepares you for future challenges while developing valuable skills in auditing, evaluation, and analysis. As a volunteer, you will assess undergraduate modules against the 17 SDGs, addressing issues like poverty, hunger, equality, and sustainability. This project fosters dialogue among students, academics, and Course Reps, and helps measure SDG integration in curricula. Full training is provided, and 7+ hours of participation can be recognised on your HEAR. Join us to make a meaningful impact on your education and shape a sustainable future!

Start a sustainability student society: The are many student societies that you could join at the University, so take a look at the Societies’ Page to see all that is on offer. If you can’t find what you’re looking for then you are welcome to submit a new society application for the next academic year. 

Green job and internship opportunities: Handshake is the University of Liverpool's career platform, connecting students with a vast network of over 425,000 employers worldwide, including many committed to sustainability. Trusted by 900+ universities, Handshake offers exclusive opportunities for students seeking green jobs and internships, along with access to virtual and on-campus career events and 1-to-1 chats with employers in the sustainability sector. It also provides valuable career guides, resources, and peer insights through employer reviews. All University of Liverpool students already have a Handshake account—just activate it to start exploring sustainability-focused roles.

Gardening with the Guild: Join the Guild of Students for some gardening fun on Wednesday, 18th September, from 2pm to 4pm at the Oliver Lodge garden, as they launch their first weekly gardening session of the semester. Become a volunteer every Wednesday at the food-growing space, and enjoy the opportunity to plant, harvest, and help maintain the campus gardens, all while contributing to reducing the University's carbon footprint. Gardening gloves and equipment will be provided!

On your bike! Adopting sustainable travel methods can help you save money and are essential to achieving our net-zero target. You can hire a bike from the Guild for a full academic year for just £60 or one semester for £40, with secure storage available in free cycle pods across campus. Our campus is also home to Bikiosk, run by local co-operative, Peloton, offering bike maintenance, beginners’ bike events and city bike tours. Start building sustainable travel habits by joining the Welcome Week City Bike Ride on Friday, 20th September, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm and discover the best routes while enjoying some fresh air. With bikes provided, it's a perfect opportunity to explore Liverpool! 

Hedgehog friendly campus scheme: The University of Liverpool Hedgehog Friendly Campus group is a group of University staff and students working together to improve outcomes for hedgehogs on our campuses and in local communities. They undertake a number of activities and have recently won gold re-accreditation. The Hedgehog friendly campus scheme is a national initiative across several universities to raise awareness for the plight of hedgehogs and formulate practical steps to improve their habitats across a variety of campuses. Find out how you can get involved here.

Volunteer for a sustainable impact: Sign up as a Student Volunteer with the Guild, to find your perfect opportunity. Participate in Guild Schools to deliver free workshops on science and sustainability to Primary and Secondary school pupils across Merseyside. Join Sustainable Halls for herb pot planting, vegan cooking, upcycling workshops, nature walks, and bike rides. Or become a Flat Sustainability Champion and promote energy-saving, recycling, and sustainable behaviours among your flatmates, with training and paid recycling audit opportunities available. Learn more about all these initiatives through the Guild website.

Contribute to our blog: Sustainable Liverpool is the University’s sustainability blog; highlighting how we are working to make the University more sustainable.  We bring you the latest news and celebrate our staff, students, and partners achievements, so if you would like to contribute to the newsletter by sharing your sustainability related events, projects, or activities, we would love to hear from you. Please complete this online form or email sustainability@liverpool.ac.uk.

Leave Liverpool Tidy: At the end of every academic year, the Guild work with the Halls of Residence teams and Liverpool Student Homes to offer the chance to Leave Liverpool Tidy. The way it works is quite simple, if you’re moving house, or leaving Liverpool, gather all the items that you do not wish to move to your new place (such as clothes, kitchen equipment, or housing decorations or tinned food), and bring them - using a reusable bag - to one of our drop-off points and fixed donation points and ourselves, BHF and Fareshare will collect them to be repurposed. Find out more about Leave Liverpool Tidy here. 

Brush up on your sustainability knowledge: We have developed a bespoke Sustainability Toolkit with top tips on the simple ways you can reduce your own carbon footprint and things you can do to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Whether that’s saving energy, reducing waste or buying sustainably, there are many options to choose from. You could use the Toolkit alongside the Sustainability in Action module and volunteering opportunities to become a sustainability expert in no time!

Find out more

For a full list of activities to get involved in during your time at Liverpool, such as swap shops, student switch off, student societies, student campaigns and much more, visit our get involved pages.

For more information about our commitments and activities visit Sustainability or follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook and LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest news. If you want to know more about our work, please email sustainability@liverpool.ac.uk