Category: Careers (Page 1 of 2)

Student experience volunteering at the London Student Sustainability Conference 2023

This guest blog post was written by Elisabeth Möhlenkamp, first-year English Law and German Law student at King’s College London and volunteer at LSSC23.


LSSC23 student volunteers from various universities.

This year’s annual London Student Sustainability Conference (LSSC) was a collaboration between ten of London’s universities, offering a space for student-led talks, workshops, conversations, and presentations centered around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As one of many volunteers helping ensure the day ran smoothly, I was intrigued to see how the conference would effectuate convergence between the differing ideas and perspectives on sustainability.

I am a first-year English Law and German Law student at King’s College London, and up until my final year, where I can choose to specialize in a particular area of law, I do not think my course will cover climate justice and the law in any great depth (although I will have to see). z. However, I have a profound personal interest in climate justice (which was one of my main motivations to apply to law school in the first place). As a result, I aim to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible to engage with people who work in sustainability, who can teach me about new developments, who can demonstrate how sustainability is incorporated into various fields of study, research, and jobs. I volunteered at the LSSC conference to meet coordinators and students who shared my interest in climate justice and sustainability more broadly. I wanted to listen to the talks and projects that were presented, and also knew that it would be valuable to participate in a conference where everyone, despite their area of study, had an interest in how we can make the UN Sustainable Development Goals a reality.

I left the conference with a few general observations: Firstly, the featured projects were tailored to speak to people with varying degrees of knowledge. Some projects required basic prior knowledge in the respective field to fully understand the studies: One student presented innovative chemical manufacturing processes of an alternative material to plastic. Someone else had creatively designed a card game to indicate a food’s wastefulness, climate-friendliness, and seasonality to consumers. Thereby, sustainability was presented as a broadly applicable topic, from everyday life to specialized scientific research.

Secondly, the conference undoubtedly mirrored that Sustainability hits a nerve with each and every attendee, and it stimulates dedication and interest in an unparalleled fashion.

The closing event, which reunited attendees for a networking session, clarified that sustainability is near to people’s hearts: rarely have I observed and engaged in this many animated conversations, nor have I experienced proactivity and willingness to collaborate to this extent.

At the end, I noted that my perception of sustainability had changed. I find that in a university environment, sustainability as an idea is often closely connected to a certain career path rather than an end in itself: In an academic environment, sustainability is often mentioned in relation to ESG or Sustainable Finance. Surely, this phenomenon indicates increased awareness to the topic, but it causes loss of sight of all the issues that sustainability truly encompasses. Food Insecurity, socioeconomic status, physical and mental health issues, and the intersection of sustainability and humanitarian needs were discussed in the conference. The diversified content reinforced the need for interdisciplinary exchange to maintain an overall perspective.

I am sure speakers left the conference feeling buoyed by the unanimously positive feedback. Two students contently reported that attendees responded to their respective talks with inquisitive feedback and compliments on the exciting insights. Indeed, a successful event such as this acts as a propelling stimulation for those considering dedicating themselves to a sustainability-related project. To me, the conference meant newly acquired knowledge, exciting ideas, illuminating conversations, and several thrilling book recommendations, which all touch on sustainability, in all ways imaginable.

Elisabeth Möhlenkamp volunteered at LSSC on 20 February 2023. Whilst the conference has now taken place, you can still view the poster submissions for the event here. The conference will take place again in February 2024.

Showcase your work at the London Student Sustainability Conference 2023

Calling all students at King’s College London! 

Join this unique opportunity to showcase your sustainability work in front of an inter-university audience and to network with other like-minded students.  

Group picture from LSSC 2022 showing people holding up SDG signs.

Group picture taken at LSSC 2022.

The London Student Sustainability Conference (LSSC) is back again in February 2023 for its fifth edition. This conference is a platform for any students at a London University to showcase their work related to the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The event welcomes students, staff, professionals, and members of the public to listen and engage with student research and projects in the field of sustainability. During the event, students exhibit their research and projects through presentations, posters and workshops, followed by an early evening networking reception. 

This year’s Conference is a collaboration between King’s and 9 other London universities: City, GCU, Imperial, Kingston, LSE, South Bank, UCL, Greenwich, and Westminster. 

This is a great opportunity to share your work with a diverse audience, practice presentation skills and network with students, staff and professionals interested in sustainability from universities across London and beyond! 

Find out how to apply here. Deadline: 4th of December. 

Registrations for tickets to attend will open in January 2023. Stay tuned by subscribing to the King’s Sustainability newsletter and following King’s Sustainability on Instagram. 

Read about LSSC 2022.  

We want to hear from you! Have your chance to win £500 cash 

Graphic with the text "Fancy winning £500? Complete our survey by 13th November 2022 on what you're learning and the skills you're developing and it could be you! Visit https://online.snapsurveys.com/UniSkillsSurvey" and the Students Organising for Sustainability United Kingdom logo,All students at King’s College London can be in with a chance of winning £500 by completing an online confidential survey about your time at university or college and the skills you develop for getting a job. 

The short survey, which is being run in conjunction with SOS-UK, will take about 15 minutes to complete. The closing date is 13th November 2022 and students will be entered into a draw to win £500 or one of 10 £50 runner-up prizes. 

To take part in the survey log on to https://online.snapsurveys.com/UniSkillsSurvey  

The Careers & Employability Festival starts next week!

How does sustainability tie into a career in healthcare or arts & entertainment? What jobs lie in the environmental sector?

Join this Careers & Employability Festival to hear from professionals who studied subjects from clinical medicine to museum studies to geography and are now part of the Greener NHS Programme, own sustainable fashion businesses, work in climate finance, renewable energy, and more. They will be discussing how they incorporated sustainability into their careers.

Sound intriguing? Find more information and sign up here.

12 April: Be a sustainability changemaker in any and every career.
14 April: Assessing your future organisation’s commitment to sustainability.
26 April: Build your employability for a sustainability career.

Apply to be a Sustainability Projects Assistant!

Are you passionate about sustainability? Keen to engage with King’s students and staff to make the university more sustainable? Then this full-time Sustainability Projects Assistant role might be the right thing for you! Among other things, you would be supporting the King’s Sustainability Team with the ongoing delivery and development of the staff Sustainability Champions network and other staff and student engagement activities in order to achieve an increase in the sustainability awareness and behaviours within the university community.

Click here to find the full job description and apply!

Finding your sustainable career path and practical next steps

This blog post was originally written for and posted to the King’s Careers blog. If you’re looking for more careers advice, we invite you to look at the wonderful collection of resources, blog posts, and wider services the Careers team offers. 

Young people are as passionate as ever about working in the field of sustainability. However, the field remains a difficult one to break into, and the pandemic has placed additional challenges on job seekers. This blog offers practical steps to help you reflect and consider how you can embed sustainability into your career planning.

Throughout this blog, I define a job in sustainability as a job that overlaps, in some way, with the UN Sustainable Development Goals agenda.

Defining your sustainable career path

  • What about sustainability interests you?

Originally defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, sustainability can be understood as a framework for thinking about societal development across a wide variety of interconnected issues. As a result of this rather general definition, sustainability has become somewhat of a buzzword that means many different things to many different people.

Have a think about what sustainability means to you. You could be passionate about environmental issues, human rights, social justice, global health or food systems. And while you may be passionate about more than one specific area of sustainability, a good place to start is narrowing down what about sustainability interests you, which topic(s) drive you, what you are most knowledgeable about.

  • Who would you like to work for?

Similarly, a “job in sustainability” does not fit into one mould. Sustainability cuts across many industries. You could work in government, charity, business, finance, consulting, research, filmmaking, fashion, marketing etc. Sustainability could be the core focus of your work or simply represent a small aspect, and you could be searching for a job in sustainability because of your values or because of your knowledge base, or both. For example, you could be an administrator or accountant who aspires to work for a company or NGO that promotes sustainability in its core mission. Or you might have studied and gained experience in a related field such as geography, environmental science, biology, human rights, gender studies etc. and aspire to work in this given field.

  • What is your skill set?

While employers value passion, they’re also looking for skills. So thinking about how you fit into sustainability also means reflecting on your skills. Think about your technical skills (climate change, climate modelling, engineering, business, management, communications, knowledge of a particular industry, etc.) and soft skills (innovation, commercial/business awareness, creativity, systems-thinker, teamwork, leadership, etc.), as well as how you can develop these. With each opportunity and experience, think about what you enjoyed and what you didn’t enjoy, and reflect upon the skills you’ve learned and developed.

Thinking about how your answers to the above questions intersect will help you better define your next steps – further work experience, graduate studies, volunteering? 

Tips for building experience for a career in sustainability

If you’ve been offered an internship or entry-level job in your chosen field, congratulations! If you haven’t, that’s ok too! There are many things you can do to gain experience and further your employability in the diverse fields around sustainability. All of the below can help you build experience and should be highlighted on your CV. And, of course, you’ll also meet new people, build your network, and open up new and exciting doors for your future! 

  • Consider a skills-building job.

Getting a job in your chosen field is never easy – even more so during the pandemic. However, it’s important to remember that, for many people, career paths don’t follow a straight line. Fortunately, because sustainability links to so many different areas, finding a job that can help you develop technical skills and/or transferrable skills that all employers value will undoubtedly help you move forward in your career. Additionally, gaining industry knowledge will provide you with a greater understanding of the need for sustainability in your sector. Finally, remember that every organisation and industry can be more sustainable, so why not consider joining (or creating) a sustainability working group within your current organisation? Even if your job doesn’t naturally fall within the realms of sustainability, you can always find ways to incorporate it!

  • Develop your knowledge about sustainability.

Make sure you’re familiar with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Take an online course – Coursera, Future Learn and Open University are great places to start.

Another way to develop your knowledge and hone your analytical and communication skills is by researching and writing about sustainability – you could become a guest blogger for the King’s Sustainability blog or start a social media account about something you’re passionate about.

  • Volunteer for or join a local community organising group.

If you can, volunteering is a great way to develop skills, learn more about the sector, and network. Check out the KCLSU volunteering pages for opportunities, and follow Service at King’s on Instagram for more opportunities.

  • For the next academic year, make the most of the opportunities at King’s.

From the Sustainability Champions Scheme, King’s Climate Action Network and sustainable societies to King’s Think Tank, King’s Civic Challenge and King’s Entrepreneurship Insitute – there is always something happening at King’s. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for, create it yourself with the help of the Student Opportunity Fund!

Make sure to follow the King’s Sustainability on Instagram to keep up to date with opportunities. And feel free to get in touch with us if you’re interested in learning more about opportunities to get involved.

Some recommendations for job search ideas and resources:

  • King’s Careers KEATS services.
  • The Kickstart Scheme – for those aged 18-25 on Universal Credit (many organisations and NGOs are hiring through the programme right now).
  • Charity Jobs
  • Guardians Jobs Environment
  • Environment Jobs
  • LinkedIn – set up weekly alerts for specific organisations and/or job titles (i.e. research assistant, communications intern, etc.). Many individuals also post weekly or monthly job boards… searching #jobfairies is a good place to start.
  • The Bloom send out a weekly jobs newsletter.
  • Bookmark the companies and organisations you’re interested in and keep checking their job pages!

Finally, thinking about the future during a pandemic can be difficult. Make sure to take care of yourself and your mental health, and reach out to support if you need to (you can read more about King’s mental health help here).

 

Sustainability Month – February 2021

King’s Sustainability Month (February 2021)

Continue reading

Join the King’s Climate Action Network

Recognising the urgency of the climate emergency, King’s set the ambitious target to be net zero carbon by 2025 in March 2017The university has made significant progress on reducing emissions so far, reducing total carbon emissions by 41% since 2005-06. This year, we are launching the King’s Climate Action Network (King’s CAN) to develop a strategy that will take us to net zero carbon 

An image of solar panels at King's, with the text "Join the King's Climate Action Network"

King’s CAN will be an open, interdisciplinary forum to bring together the skills and energy from across King’s to take climate action. The network will tackle a wide range of impact areas, including our university operations, procurement, travel, research and education.  

The aim of the network is to propose solutions to the climate crisis by minimising our negative impacts, and maximising the positive impact we can have in our role as a university. 

We are now looking for staff and students to join the King’s Climate Action Network and help us lead King’s to be net zero carbon by 2025. There will be regular events throughout the year, and you can get involved in one or more of the groups below, each looking at a different aspect of carbon and climate change: 

  • Zero carbon estate (energy and water use, sustainable construction) 
  • Procurement and waste (purchasing policies and data, waste management) 
  • Travel (flights, business travel and commuting) 
  • Responsible investment (divestment from fossil fuels, investment in socially responsible funds) 
  • Students & Education (formal and informal education on climate change and sustainability) 
  • Community & Engagement (creating a positive impact as part of our net zero carbon target) 
  • Zero carbon research  

Groups will be made up of staff, students, and members of the wider King’s community such as alumni, partner institutions and local community members. We hope that through this network, we can build meaningful positive change at King’s, and share our strategy and findings to benefit our wider community.  

We have now also opened applications for the King’s Climate Action Team, a volunteering opportunity for students who would like to get involved in the running of the network. As a volunteer, you will be supporting the Sustainability Team in running network events and sub-groups, gaining leadership skill and experience of carbon management in institutions like King’s. Applications are open until Friday, 9th October. You can find out more here. 

The official launch will take place online on the 16th October. If you would like to find out more, please contact sustainability@kcl.ac.uk or visit the sustainability webpagesTo join the network, please register your interest here. 

Why environmentalism needs to be intersectional

This guest blog comes from Sarah Gold, MSc student, studying Sustainable Cities

Why environmentalism needs to be intersectional

On 28th May, three days after the murder of George Floyd, climate activist Leah Thomas shared a post on Instagram which quickly went viral, popularising the term ‘intersectional environmentalism’, a type of environmentalism which takes into account the ways in which social and environmental justice overlap. In this blog, I explain why an inclusive, anti-racist approach is vital to the environmental and climate justice movement and where we can all learn more.

What is intersectional environmentalism?

‘Intersectionality’ was coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American lawyer, civil rights advocate and leading scholar of critical race theory. The term describes how multiple forms of injustice, such as racism, sexism, ableism and countless others, overlap or ‘intersect’ with each other. These inextricably linked systems of oppression present in our society mean that some individuals will simultaneously face several sources of discrimination.

For instance, as a woman I will inevitably confront sexism throughout my lifetime, however due to my white and other privileges, there are many other forms of oppression that I do not have to face on a daily basis.

Intersectional environmentalism, then, is the concept that environmental issues do not exist in a vacuum, but cross paths with other forms of injustice. According to Leah Thomas, it is defined as “an inclusive version of environmentalism that advocates for both the protection of people and the planet. It identifies the ways in which injustices happening to marginalised communities and the earth are interconnected. It brings injustices done to the most vulnerable communities, and to the earth, to the forefront and does not minimise or silence social inequality. Intersectional environmentalism advocates for justice for people + planet”.

Intersectionality is a powerful tool to connect environmental activists with other social movements such as feminism, Black Lives Matter (BLM) and LGBTQ+. Working together helps to amplify each movement’s voice and create meaningful long-lasting change.

Why is intersectional environmentalism important?

In the past, environmentalism has typically been associated with and dominated by white, middle-class males. At best, this means mainstream environmental movements and NGOs have too often shied away from acknowledging the racial dimension of issues such as air and water pollution; at worst, this can mutate into ‘ecofascism’, a disturbing white supremacist ideology that considers racial purity to be the solution to environmental problems.

The danger of ecofascism was clearly demonstrated in 2019 when two of its adherents committed public shootings in El Paso, Texas and Christchurch, New Zealand. Opening up the environmental movement to all races and minorities and educating ourselves on racism are necessary steps to address this problematic past and present, and the privilege associated with participating in environmental struggles.

Whilst white people are more likely to be able to afford a ‘sustainable lifestyle’, minorities are more likely to be on the frontline of the worst environmental problems. The environmental justice movement that emerged in the late 1970s in the USA first drew attention to the disproportionate environmental burdens borne by economically disadvantaged and minority communities.

In 1976, the ‘Love Canal’ case gained international media coverage for having caused significant detrimental health effects in residents of a working-class area in Niagara Falls, New York that had been built on top of a toxic landfill site. This was the first well-documented example amongst many of the increased exposure to polluted and noxious environments experienced by minorities.

A study in 2016 showed that London’s black, African and Caribbean communities are disproportionately exposed to air pollution, and are more likely than white people to breathe in illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide, a harmful pollutant responsible for increased rates of respiratory problems, particularly asthma in children.

Climate change is no exception to this trend. The climate crisis will – and already is – increasing both global and local inequality. The effects of climate change will hit hardest those least responsible for global warming in the Global South. Australia being the only exception, countries with lower GDPs will warm the most. The effects will be also felt disproportionately by marginalised communities in the Western world.

Non-white people are currently experiencing the worst environmental problems in our world. In the U.S., Black and brown communities are more likely to live near toxic waste sites, live in communities with fewer environmental amenities, be harmed by climate change, inhale fine particulate matter and more. Globally, indigenous people and people living in island nations and Central Africa are facing the brunt of climate change and waste dumping. Likely due to this first-hand experience, a recent study found that Black and Latinx people are much more concerned about climate change than white people. Witnessing the toll of environmental issues can help environmentalists more fully understand the problems we’re facing and share in these communities’ concerns. And amplifying stories from these minority communities can hopefully convince policymakers that these environmental issues are real and deserving of immediate attention.

The book ‘Why Women Will Save the Planet’ highlights how women are likely to be most adversely affected by climate change too, particularly in poor and marginalised communities in developing countries, since they often depend on climate-sensitive livelihoods such as agriculture, securing water, food and fuel, and are often the last to evacuate their homes when natural disasters strike, leading to higher mortality rates.

Although these are just a handful of examples of the manifold ways in which minorities are more likely to suffer the consequences of environmental crises, it illustrates the importance of adopting an intersectional approach – it is impossible to extricate them from socioeconomic issues. It is worth reminding ourselves that sustainable development, the holy grail of many environmentalists and human geographers, is based not just on environmental, but economic and social sustainability too.

Where can I learn more about intersectional environmentalism?

As a white environmentalist, it is more important than ever to ‘do the work’ and hold myself accountable! Here are some incredible intersectional and anti-racism environmentalists that have inspired and educated me so far.

  • Leah Thomas, @greengirlleah, shares informative content on climate justice and intersectional environmentalism, the term she popularised online.
  • Check out the Intersectional Environmentalist platform which Leah co-founded. It’s a website full of information on how to dismantle systems of oppression in the environmental movement, with resources aimed at a growing number of communities (at the moment it includes Black, Latinx, U.S. Indigenous, LGBTQ2S+, South Asian and allies).
  • Pattie Gonia, @pattiegonia, who describes himself as an “intersectional environmentalist, ally-in-progress and fetus drag queen” is also one of the co-founders of the Intersectional Environmentalist platform and has some great content on allyship.
  • Mikaela Loach aka @mikaelaloach uses her voice on Instagram to talk about inclusivity in sustainability as well as anti-racism, anti-ecofascism and feminism. She is also co-host of the brilliant @theyikespodcast which I highly recommend! Their episodes have covered topics including the links between coronavirus and ecofascism, fast fashion, BLM, and going beyond white environmentalism.
  • You can also find Marie Beecham at @wastefreemarie for actionable tips for zero-waste living and information on climate and racial justice.
  • Who doesn’t love a good TED talk? Check out Kimberlé Crenshaw’s TED talk on intersectionality, for a great 20 minute introduction to the concept. And if you’ve got just 7 minutes to spare, watch 17-year old youth striker Isra Hirsi’s TED talk on being the ‘Angry Black Girl’ in the climate justice space.

Please feel to add to this list, share with others and start conversations with your friends and families!

Become a Sustainability Champion Assistant!

The King’s Sustainability Team are offering an opportunity for students to gain skills in project and people management, sustainable development, communications, events management and leadership by supporting the team to deliver the Staff Sustainability Champions programme here at King’s.

Join the 300+ staff within Sustainability Champion programme, a programme which is aimed at celebrating and recognising sustainability achievements whilst also providing a framework to improve the sustainable performance of King’s. The scheme is part of Green Impact, a sustainability awards programme run by the National Union of Students (NUS).

Last year King’s had 62 teams and 371 staff and student champions participate and this year would like the programme to be even bigger!

Examples of what student sustainability assistants did over the 2018/19 year include: planting over 200 trees in the Maughan library garden, organising and assisting with events (e.g. swap shops- collecting the clothes, running the event, donating leftover clothes to local charities) (see below images), as well as aiding in the completion of workbook actions each champions team are given, in order to achieve their Bronze, Silver or Gold award.

Planting of 202 trees in the Maughan Library garden, with the library champions team and their student assistants.

 

Fundraising team at their annual swap-shop (2019)

Objectives of a Sustainability Champion Assistant:

Support and motivate a Sustainability Champion team by helping to implement and improve sustainability initiatives in their department or faculty.

Key skills gained for students:

  • Experience of working on a national project in a professional environment
  • Knowledge of environmental management techniques of offices and academic institutions
  • Insight into effective behaviour change methods
  • Experience of communicating using a variety of different means
  • Ability to support and encourage others to perform
  • Events management skills
  • Leadership skills
  • Time management
  • Project management

Apply

Please fill out the application form. You are also welcome to send your CV to alexandra.m.hepple@kcl.ac.uk.

The deadline applications is midnight on the 18 October 2019.

If successful you will be invited to the Sustainability Champions Launch event on the 31 October 13.00-16.00

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