Sustainability at UNSW challenged staff and students to go green this year with some friendly competition as part of the "Green Impact" change and engagement program.
The 2019 program was popular at UNSW drawing 200 staff and students from many different parts including the Schools of Arts & Social Science, Medicine, Science and Engineering to the divisions of Estate Management, External Relations, Human Resources.
Green Impact, run by Australian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS), is a program for universities which uses friendly competition to motivate people to be more sustainable with 14 universities across Australia and New Zealand participating this year.
The three-month program engages staff and students who form teams to compete with one another for who can be the most sustainable by making the most "green actions" i.e. actions which are more sustainable choices such as adding a pot plant to the office; setting up a composting food waste separation system in the staff kitchen; or encouraging co-workers to switch off their computer when they finish work for the day.
The 36 teams from UNSW completed 768 green actions to be more sustainable in the way they travel, dispose of waste or save on carbon emissions. Their records were audited by students, who had had audit training, to tally up the results and finalise the scores of the competition.
UNSW Provost Professor Anne Simmons said that the Green Impact initiative demonstrates that among students and staff, and at every level of our university, UNSW is prepared to lead on environmental sustainability.
“A place like UNSW that holds such rich knowledge of climate science and renewable energy, and which has a true commitment to having a positive impact on society, must lead by example,” she said.
The Bronze, Silver, Special Awards and the annual winner's awards were created by the UNSW SMaRT Centre from waste plastic, fabric and glass.