Category: UN Sustainable Development Goals (Page 1 of 13)

Get involved in climate and sustainability action at King’s  

September 7, 2023 /

Are you interested in all things sustainable and want to make a positive impact whilst at King’s? The King’s Climate & Sustainability team have a range of volunteering opportunities, events and resources to help you learn more about and take collective action on climate and sustainability. 

Sign up for the Sustainability newsletter and follow King’s Sustainability on Instagram and Twitter for all updates. 

There are also KCLSU student groups dedicated to sustainability such as the Climate Action Society, Eco Soc and the Vegetarian & Vegan Society. 

Find out how to get involved below or view all opportunities here. 

  

Learn and boost your CV: Sustainability module and seminar series 

The KEATS module on Sustainability & Climate is an open-access and interdisciplinary module covering the biggest topics in sustainability, from climate change and food to sustainable finance and social justice. Fully co-created by a Take Action Team of students, staff and alumni, it is a module that is designed by the King’s community, for the King’s community. The module aims not just to equip you with sustainability knowledge, but to help you develop the agency to take action on the issues that most concern you.  

To boost your employability, you can gain a King’s Experience Champion for Change Award upon module completion, which goes on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) that you receive when you graduate from King’s.  

A Sustainability Seminar Series accompanies the module and runs monthly between October and July with seminars from climate justice to sustainable economics.  

Register online to keep updated.  

  

Take collective action: King’s Climate Action Network 

The King’s Climate Action Network (CAN) is an open forum bringing together more than 400 people from the King’s community who are passionate about climate action. It is a place to foster innovation, brainstorm new ideas and discuss what action King’s needs to take to reach our targets.  

By joining the King’s CAN, you will get an opportunity to hear from stakeholders about progress in theme-specific sessions, discuss fresh ideas and get a chance to implement them through the Sustainability Projects Fund.  

Find out more and join the King’s CAN. 

  

Make a difference: Volunteer for sustainability  

Volunteering is a great way to give back to the community and the King’s Climate & Sustainability team offer exciting opportunities to help drive sustainability and gain valuable employability skills.  

You can become an ambassador raising sustainability awareness across King’s, a Sustainability Champions Assistant supporting staff teams to make their work environments more sustainable, and much more.  

Check out all opportunities on King’s Volunteering platform (look for: King’s Climate & Sustainability) 

  

Learn & take action: King’s Climate & Sustainability Month 

King’s Climate & Sustainability Month takes place every year in February, offering you an opportunity to learn more about sustainability topics, collaborate and connect with others from across King’s and take action on the climate crisis. The month includes an inter-university London Student Sustainability Conference with an opportunity to showcase your sustainability project or research to a London-wide audience.  

Interested in organising an event? That is possible! King’s Climate & Sustainability Month includes exciting social and educational events organised by people from across the King’s community focused on one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

Subscribe to the newsletter to keep updated.  

  

Discover: Spotlight on Sustainability podcast 

The King’s Spotlight on Sustainability podcast aims to draw attention to sustainability at King’s and beyond. The goal is to get you thinking about some of the issues and challenges we face regarding climate change and the natural world by highlighting the excellent work on sustainability happening at King’s and on local, national and global levels. 

Start listening online.  

  

Climate and sustainability ambitions and progress  

King’s Climate & Sustainability Action Plan was developed in consultation with students, staff and alumni members of the King’s CAN and went live in February 2023. The plan sets new targets across 13 key impact areas, including at least a 25% reduction in carbon emissions by 2025 and a 50% reduction by 2030 across energy use, business travel, our supply chain, commuting and waste. The plan includes a 2030 net zero target and prioritises the absolute reduction of carbon emissions over offsetting and carbon removals.  

Our annual Environmental Sustainability Reports summarise the efforts made by the entire King’s community to make the university more sustainable: from managing our estates and providing sustainable food to engaging with our local communities and driving Education for Sustainability. Have a look – we hope it inspires you to take action on climate and sustainability, whatever your role within or beyond King’s! 

  

We’d love to hear from you! 

If you want to set up your own sustainability project, you have any ideas or feedback to share, or you would like us to promote any of your initiatives, please get in touch with the team: sustainability@kcl.ac.uk 

Sustainability at Welcome to King’s September 2023

August 24, 2023 /

Are you interested in all things sustainable and making a positive impact whilst at King’s? This Welcome Fortnight, the Sustainability team have prepared an exciting range of events for you to learn more about climate and sustainability. Check them out below. You can also find us at various hubs, fairs and inductions – come have a chat!

Introduction to sustainability and climate action at King’s 11/09/2023, 14:00-15:00 Microsoft Teams Are you passionate about sustainability and making a difference? What action is King’s taking on the climate crisis? How can you take individual and collective climate action while at King’s?

Join the King’s Climate & Sustainability Team to learn more about what King’s is doing around sustainability and climate action, and how you can get involved.
How to be sustainable in London 13/09/2023, 14:00-15:00 Microsoft Teams Do you care about sustainability but not sure where to start? Join this session to hear some useful tips from the King’s Climate & Sustainability Team on how to be more sustainable – and possibly even save some money!
Explore King’s campuses and try a bike for free 18/09/2023, 16:00-19:00 (time change) Meet at Swapfiets (E1 6LT) Want to get to know King’s campuses? Want to save money and get active? Unsure about cycling in the city?

Cycling is a great way to get active and to get around London. However, it can be scary in London with lots of other traffic on the roads.

Join this guided cycle tour around King’s campuses led by King’s Cycling Club. Bikes will be provided FREE of charge by Swapfiets for the afternoon and you’ll learn the rules of the road and tips for staying safe whilst cycling. The tour will start at the Swapfiets store so that you can pick your own bike (including e-bikes) and will take 2-2.5 hours including a coffee break.

Great way to meet new people!
How to champion sustainability in King’s labs 19/09/2023, 14:00-16:00 Meet at Guy’s Memorial Arch Join this session to learn more about sustainable labs at King’s!

Labs are extremely energy and resource intensive, so you’ll hear about what labs at King’s are doing on their sustainability journey. You’ll explore why lab sustainability is important, while also experiencing a guided tour of two labs to see what they’re doing.

There will be lots of space for questions with lab sustainability champions, and you’ll hear more about how you can get involved!
Building and connecting King’s climate communities 21/09/2023, 15:00-17:00 Macadam Building 4.2 (Strand Campus) Join us in exploring ways to change the world during your time at King’s! We’ll be tackling the UN Sustainable Development Goals through collective action.

We’ll get creative and listen to YOU – what are your priorities? What would you like to see King’s do? We’ll provide a range of creative prompts and art supplies to help you collaboratively create solutions to some of the biggest climate and sustainability challenges.

You’ll get to know other fellow students and passionate staff teams, think about social and environmental impact, and work together to shape the future direction of the King’s Climate & Sustainability team.

Snacks, refreshments & supplies will be provided!

Have a look at how you can get involved with King’s Sustainability. Make a difference during your time at King’s!

How to register

  1. You’ll need to download the Welcome to King’s app from the App store (you can download onto iOS and Android.)
  2. ​​​​​​You’ll need to download the Welcome to King’s Guide for all information for new students. To access this guide, you’ll need to enter our passphrase reggielion23 (no spaces)
    • The Welcome to King’s Guide will be the first stage of welcoming you into university, offering a range of information from ID card collection to new opportunities at King’s.
  3. ​​​​​When you’ve downloaded the Welcome at King’s app, you will need to create an account; we advise that you use your King’s email address to create an account. ​​​​​​
  4. Once you’ve set up your account, allow ‘push notifications’ on your device, so you can receive important messages.
  5. Go to Welcome Events & Workshops and scroll down to “Climate & Sustainability”
  6. Check out our events across the two weeks and register by clicking “+”

King’s progress in responsible investment

August 7, 2023 /

The Ethical Investment Policy commits King’s to making no direct investments in tobacco, divesting from all fossil fuel investments and investing 40 per cent of its funds in investments with socially responsible benefits by 2025.

In 2021, King’s fully divested from fossil fuels almost two years ahead of target and since 2023, armaments are also excluded from investments. King’s conducts ethical screening for cash deposits, which excludes companies that generate over 10% of their turnover from armament, tobacco and/or fossil fuels.

In 2022–23, we also met our commitment to invest 40 per cent of funds in investments with a positive purpose two years early and King’s only purchases green bonds to raise debt. We have invested £44 million in the Northern Trust’s World Green Transition Index Fund, which not only screens out fossil fuel producers and the worst 10 per cent of companies by carbon emissions intensity but also has a positive ‘tilt’ towards companies that generate ‘green’ revenue, such as energy efficiency and alternative energy. We also have £14 million invested in RobecoSAM’s Sustainable Water Strategy, which invests in companies with innovative technologies and products across the water value chain that will help deal with the issue of water scarcity. During the year, £10 million was invested in the Polar Capital Smart Energy Fund, which invests in companies involved with clean power distribution, energy transmission and distribution, energy conversion and storage, and energy efficiency. £8 million was also invested in the GMO Climate Change Select Investment Fund, which invests in companies dealing with clean energy, batteries and storage, electric grid and energy efficiency.

The Ethical Investment Policy is due to be reviewed in 2023–24, which will provide an opportunity to work with the Finance Team to set new targets and further embed responsible investment principles in our policy.

King’s Climate Action Network: Education for Sustainability project

June 26, 2023 /

This blog post was written by Sophie Ball.

One of the King’s Climate Action Network (CAN) projects this year aims to develop an Education for Sustainability (EfS) strategy that addresses the barriers in place to embedding EfS into the curriculum at King’s. My name is Sophie Ball and in addition to being a first-year international relations student at King’s, I am the project team coordinator for this project. In this role, I have the opportunity to work with students, staff, and academics at King’s to help shape the direction of Education for Sustainability (EfS) in the university and work on developing various resources for it. As a student with a long-term interest in sustainability, I have seen how enriching knowledge of sustainability has been in many of my academic pursuits. In a world where unsustainable actions are negatively impacting every area of people’s lives, it is vital that every student has the ability to understand and help combat this complex issue. By joining this project, I hoped to help all students at King’s, regardless of their field of study or their capacity to seek it out on their own, gain a solid understanding of sustainability to apply throughout their lives.

To encourage dialogue, collaboration, and participation in this project, the Education for Sustainability (EfS) project conducts monthly meetings where academics who are currently implementing ESD in their curriculum are invited to pitch their ideas and discuss them with the meeting participants, including students and other academics. Additionally, a brand-new series of networking events led by King’s Climate & Sustainability brings together researchers, staff and students engaged in the climate and sustainability field to share knowledge and foster connections. On 6 April, the event featured pitches from the King’s community including King’s Sustainability Team, the Institute for Responsible Business, the Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society, Enactus (KCLSU), and King’s start-ups. The second event on 24 May had a special focus on sustainable healthcare innovations. 

Furthermore, to support the development of resources for EfS, the CAN EfS project team is gathering case studies of best practice examples of ESD at King’s to be shared publicly on the sustainability blog. Along with this, King’s Academy has been conducting a comprehensive Advance HE literature review about (Higher) Education for Sustainable Development, led by Mira Vogel and Maria O’Hara.  

Finally, the EfS project adopts a community organising approach and the team is working on training materials to empower students to conduct 121 conversations with their academics to identify examples of and barriers to EfS implementation at the university. Using the information gathered from the 121s, the toolkits to assist academics in EfS implementation will be better tailored to their specific subject needs. Furthermore, the project is gathering survey information from students on the current state of EfS at the university to identify where the biggest gaps lie. By engaging students, the project aims to bring together bottom-up and top-down EfS efforts and give students a bigger say in shaping their sustainable curriculum.  

King’s as a Living Lab: Sustainability in Practice module

June 23, 2023 /

The ‘Sustainability in Practice’ module was launched to third-year undergraduates and postgraduate students in September 2020, led by Dr. Emma Tebbs and Dr. Helen Adams from the Department of Geography. Following its big success, it ran for the second time in September 2022 led by Dr Emma Tebbs and Dr Rowan Gard. 

The module uses an interdisciplinary approach to help students learn how they can combine their knowledge to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through problem-based learning and a ‘Living Lab’ approach, students address challenges around sustainability at King’s and are encouraged to reflect on sustainability as a concept along with broader global sustainability issues. The students interacted with the Sustainability Team at King’s as well as other King’s entities and partners such as Transport for London and the Westminster City Council on sustainability-themed projects. Nicola Hogan, the Sustainability Manager for Operations at King’s, was heavily involved as a Project Host.  

Projects from the 2022/23 academic year included the following:  

  • The benefits of street trees on pedestrian shading and cooling 
  • What vegetation/tree species/provenance should we plant on our network – with consideration for climate change  
  • Expansion of biodiversity action plan- New garden impacts  
  • Promotion of active travel at stakeholder universities (KCL, LSE and Westminster University) at the Strand/Aldwych as an aid to tackling air pollution 
  • Delivering maximum biodiversity impacts at the Strand Aldwych site through strategic urban greening to provide shading and mitigate the effects of urban heating 
  • Making the King’s online procurement catalogue more sustainable 
  • Sustainable travel at King’s post-covid  
  • Impact of extreme weather on travel for vulnerable groups  
  • Reducing the carbon footprint of food at King’s 
  • Urban Greenery in the Strand and Aldwych area as a means of reducing urban heat islands and urban air pollution 

Students presented their project findings to the project hosts and developed a report outlining their proposed solution. 

Student feedback on the module has been positive, with students agreeing particularly that the module helped develop their understanding and reflection on practical solutions for sustainability, knowledge of sustainability and the UN SDGs, critical perspectives on sustainability, and more practical skills like teamwork and interdisciplinary working. 

Fairtrade Fortnight 2023 at King’s

March 24, 2023 /

This guest blog post was written by George Hill, Library Assistant (Frontline Services) in Libraries and Collections at King’s.

Someone smiling at the camera against a green jungle background and the fairtrade logo with the text "the future is fair"Every year the Fairtrade Foundation organises Fairtrade Fortnight. This celebration of all things fairtrade seeks to raise awareness around key issues like workers’ rights, sustainability, and climate action; alongside encouraging people to swap Fairtrade-certified products. It also offers an opportunity for introspection and reflection, offering a chance for sustainability advocates and organisers to reflect on the successes of the fairtrade movement whilst looking at where we can improve.

As part of this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight, King’s hosted a talk on Ethical and Fairtrade Consumption. Our two excellent speakers included Ruth Strange from Ethical Consumer – a multi-stakeholder co-operative consumer magazine – alongside Lisa Connellan from King’s Food. Each had the opportunity to share what their respective organisations have been doing to encourage more sustainable and equitable consumer behaviour, as well as discuss what the next steps for achieving a more sustainable future might be.

Ruth kicked off her talk with a quick explanation of the excellent work done by Ethical Consumer in the field of sustainability advocacy and consumer choice. She explained how the magazine, founded in 1989, aims to offer consumers a clear and accessible way to compare how equitable and sustainable different brands and products are. The magazine scores particular brands and products out of 20 for sustainability and then ranks them against alternatives. It also offers a range of interesting ‘deep dives’ into everything from palm oil to tea to travel booking companies – helping to raise consciousness around issues like worker exploitation and climate degradation.

The main body of Ruth’s talk was an explanation and evaluation of the work of Fairtrade International and the Fairtrade Foundation. She framed this talk around five key issues: the meaning of Fairtrade, the importance of Fairtrade, its limits, and the accessibility (or lack thereof) of Fairtrade products. We learned how Fairtrade certification helps give consumers the information they need to help foster better consumer habits, in turn helping small producers – especially those producing products that were traditionally colonial cash crops for the west – to gain inroads into markets traditionally dominated by extractive and exploitative business interests. We also learned how Fairtrade promotes producers who guarantee fair wages for their employees; promotes worker democracy through collective bargaining agreements and trade union rights; and protects their workforce through minimum health and safety standards.

As well as emphasising the importance of Fairtrade and the good work that the Fairtrade Foundation does, Ruth also addressed some of the limits of Fairtrade certification. This includes the ongoing fairtrade certification of products produced by companies implicated in human rights abuses, as well as the problem of the affordability of some Fairtrade products. She nonetheless identified fairtrade as the ‘best option for continuous improvement’ – reminding the audience that it is best to not let ‘the perfect be the enemy of the good’.

Next up was King’s Food Manager Lisa Connellan, who offered an insight into some of the progress King’s Food have been making in implementing sustainable practices, whilst building on their varied and delicious range of food.

First on the menu was a look into King’s increasingly varied range of plant-based food. We learned that 65% of all food offered at King’s 20 outlets is now plant-based, with vegetarian and vegan options now served as default. This includes all kinds of different items, including ice cream, pies, croissants, and vegan sausage rolls (which I highly recommend). The university also no longer serves beef, rarely serves lamb and only sources from farmers committed to high levels of environmental stewardship. The progress King’s has made in reducing the amount of meat and dairy served means the university is now listed as one of PETAs top 10 vegan unis. It has also been awarded 3/3 stars by the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

Lisa also outlined King’s ongoing commitment to ethically sourced ingredients and to using fairtrade certified products throughout the supply chain. This includes King’s continued promotion of Fairtrade products, experiments with ‘reverse menu engineering’, and diligence in looking for the best and most ethical suppliers.

Looking to the future, Lisa said that King’s has a lot of plans for the coming months and years to help build on the university’s commitment to sustainable and ethical practices. This includes working towards getting a three-star Fairtrade University Award, looking into carbon taxing on products, further collaborating with students and researchers specialising in sustainability, and working with King’s Fairtrade and Sustainable Food Steering Group on how to implement policy.

Special thanks to all the wonderful organisers who made the talk possible, and to the King’s Sustainability team for all the work they do in promoting this important topic.

Relevant links:

Student volunteering story: co-creating the KEATS Sustainability and Climate Module

March 9, 2023 /

This guest blog post was written by student and KEATS TakeAction team member Oliver Yu Hurst.

Hello! My name is Oliver Yu Hurst and I’m in the final year of my part-time MSc Climate Change: Environment, Science and Policy at King’s. I’m a Nature-lover, passionate about transdisciplinary approaches to tackling social, environmental and multispecies justice and sustainability issues.

I had loads of spare time during the summer holidays in my first year and wanted to use it wisely. I came across the Keats Sustainability and Climate pilot module via King’s Sustainability newsletter and will never regret enrolling on this fabulous module.

Why I loved volunteering? Aside from the engaging webinars and learning about topics that don’t receive much attention (e.g., digital sustainability and the multitude of stuff King’s is doing regarding sustainability), after completing the module, I gained the opportunity to volunteer with the Sustainability team on improving it for this academic year. Working with this very welcoming team and other students, I led on the What is Sustainability, Climate Crisis, and Social Sustainability sections, contributing at least 12,000 words of content. I also gained experience in creating podcasts and organising different in-person/online events to complement the module. It was a pleasure to apply what I’ve learnt so far at KCL and my BSc Geography with Business Management (Queen Mary University of London), to diversify perspectives of sustainability because this is often framed from a Western-anthropocentric worldview.

Why should you volunteer? Making the most of extra-curricular activities on offer at King’s is one of the best ways to expand your skill/experience-set, network, and ultimately make a difference that lasts. This opportunity (and I’m sure others) also helped me feel ‘closer’ to the university, meeting/working with the staff ‘behind the scenes’ – something which I think all students should get the chance to do.

Want to volunteer, but don’t know how? Sign up to the Sustainability newsletter; browse King’s Volunteering, King’s Edge, and KCL Student Union websites; and ask classmates, teaching and/or professional services staff!

Want to learn more? You can enrol on the KEATS Sustainability & Climate module here and gain a Sustainability Award by completing it before the 8th of June.

Energy from Waste Tour: A Visit to Riverside Resource Recovery Plant in Belvedere, East London

March 7, 2023 /

This guest blog post was written by Hermione Dadone, Events Officer in the Fundraising & Supporter Development Office at King’s.

On a crisp November morning, a group of King’s College London staff and students set off for a tour of the Riverside Resource Recovery plant in Belvedere, East London. The visit was organised by Energy from Waste, a student-led group dedicated to promoting sustainable waste management practices and raising awareness of the importance of waste reduction and recycling. The group was told ‘just follow the big chimney’ and sure enough, it wasn’t too difficult to find our way, as a very tall silver chimney soon loomed in the distance as we walked from the station.

The Riverside Resource Recovery plant, commissioned in 2011 and opened in 2012, is an innovative facility that uses advanced technology to convert non-recyclable waste into electricity and heat. The plant collects waste from 90 vehicles across London and processes 850,000 tonnes of household and commercial waste per year, producing enough energy to power 180,000 homes. The plant operates Monday to Friday, with 200 container boxes unloaded every single weekday.

The tour started with a brief presentation on the history of the plant and the technology behind it. The group then donned high-visibility vests and hard hats before being taken on a guided tour of the facility by a member of Cory Group. The first stop was a view of the barge pier. Waste is transported to the plant via river barges, pulled by tug boats which run on vegetable oil, and can carry 60 containers at a time, equivalent to 22 lorries. The group watched a barge being unloaded and its yellow box cargo being brought up the pier runway via specially designed waste trucks. Next stop is the tipping hall, where the waste trucks tip their loads directly into the waste bunker from an 18-meter height, where the waste is stored before being fed into the furnace. In the waste bunker a colossal-sized round crane, like something out of War of the Worlds, is used push waste to the back of the bunker. There is an oxidizer system that sprays perfume to neutralize odours, and infrared cameras scan the waste to detect any hotspots and manage fire risk. If a hotspot is detected as reaching 60 degrees then the waste hotspot is picked up with the crane and removed straight into the fire chamber. If temperature in the waste bunker ever rises dangerously high then it is instantly cooled by water cannons that come on automatically if the temperature reaches 100 degrees.

The plant also has a system to deal with contamination in the waste. Waste inspections are carried out to identify and correct any contamination, and charcoal is used as a neutraliser for heavy metals, while lime is added to neutralise acids. The lime comes from Lancashire. The group learned that it is four times more expensive to process ‘dirty’ waste eg metals and other materials that shouldn’t be in general waste.

The heart of the plant is the energy recovery facility, where the waste is burned at high temperatures to produce steam. The steam is then used to power turbines, which generate electricity that is fed into the national grid. The biggest challenge for the plant is feeding the waste to keep the fire burning at a consistent level, which is directly affected by weather and how much moisture the waste contains.

Once the waste material has been burned, the plant recovers metals from the ash, which are then recycled for use in construction and other industries. The ash itself is used in making breezeblocks, capping for landfill, or in tarmac for roads.

The group was impressed by the scale and efficiency of the operation, as well as the advanced air pollution control systems that minimise the environmental impact of the plant, turning APCR (Air Pollution Control Residues) material into calcium carbonate pellets.

After the tour, the group had a chance to ask questions and discuss the plant’s role in sustainable waste management. The group learned that an additional neighbouring facility is currently being built that will allow the plant to operate on weekends, and will have a box shape design so that solar panels can be installed. With the addition of this new facility, the plant’s capacity will increase to processing 1.5 million tonnes of waste per year, making it the largest in Europe.

The visit to the Riverside Resource Recovery plant was an eye-opening experience for the King’s College London staff and students. It highlighted the importance of sustainable waste management and the role that innovative technologies can play in reducing our environmental impact. Physically seeing all that waste piling up at such scale should certainly encourage us as a community to be conscious of reducing our waste and always remembering our reusable coffee cup!

Find out more about waste management at King’s here and in King’s Climate & Sustainability Action Plan. 

Student experience volunteering at the London Student Sustainability Conference 2023

February 27, 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.

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