Partnership, communication and engagement

Partnership, communication and engagement are key to achieving our sustainability aspirations. The University offers students, staff and the local community opportunities to get involved in our work to improve practices across our campuses and to help cultivate a conscious community which shapes sustainability.

Partnership

The University makes a major economic and social contribution to Liverpool City Region. We directly affect the city region’s performance and prospects. through our expenditure, investment, infrastructure, outreach, education, cultural offer, research and people. Find out more here.

We have a strong sense of civic responsibility and run a number of programmes that reach out to the local community and engage with the public, some examples include: 

• The Widening Participation and Outreach Programme has partnered the University with 40 local Secondary Schools and around 80 of their Feeder Primary schools, providing free outreach events. This has enabled them to work with approximately 11,000 students per year with activities taking place on campus, in school and in community settings.  The University believes that every student has the potential for higher education and haves strategic partnerships with Realising Opportunities, IntoUniversity and Shaping Futures, showing a collaborative approach to outreach 
• The Knowledge Quarter Sustainability Network which is co-chaired by the Sustainability Officer reports into the Knowledge Quarter Board and is a vibrant group of local organisations dedicated to enhancing the life of the workers, students, visitors and residents in the area. The network is instilling a collaborative style of working, with subsidiary groups forming to progress sustainability in areas such as food, waste resource and travel.  

Communications and engagement 

The Sustainability Team undertake a range of communications and engagement activities to support the delivery of the Sustainability Policy and Strategy.

We recognise that it is vital our students, staff and the wider community understand how they can individually and collectively contribute to environmental and social impacts. We aim to foster a culture of engagement and collaboration around sustainability issues within our local and wider community and equip staff and students with the knowledge, skills and confidence to create a more sustainable future and the University offers a range of initiatives and activities to support this: 

• University communication streams and channels used for sustainability engagement inlcude our sustainability website, social media, University news articles, external press, University announcements, blog posts, departmental newsletters
• The Sustainability Team has a growing following on social media. Our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn profiles are very active and are used to reach both staff and students but also enables interaction with partner organisations and the wider sustainability sector
• The Annual Sustainability Report provides a retrospective of our performance over the previous academic year and our progress towards achieving the aims and objectives set out in our environmental policy, sustainability policy and sustainability strategy
• Staff and students can get involved in a range of events, activities and initiatives available to help to maximise involvement and engagement in sustainability
• The Guild is the University’s greatest asset when engaging with students. Students can get involved through the many volunteering opportunities available such as, becoming a Sustainability Champion or a Student Switch Off ambassador, assisting with the Education for Sustainable Development project, Litter Picking for our Hedgehog Friendly Campus campaign or becoming a beekeeper and much more
• The University recognises the importance of staff and student involvement in the development of sustainability strategies and policies, and monitoring of progress against their objectives. For example, a Guild Officer sits on the Sustainability Board and student officers are given the opportunity to feed into the new Ethical Investment Policy
• The University offers curricular development opportunities for staff and HEAR extra-curricular opportunities for students which contribute to the development of sustainability literacy and citizenship skills, attitudes and behaviours.