Green Forest Tasks
Seed Level - 10 points each (@home)
Switch to a renewable energy provider
Look into the possibility of switching to a renewable energy provider.
Save water
You can save water at home on the following activities:
-
Brushing teeth -
Showers -
Doing dishes -
Laundry etc
Use chemical free laundry detergent
You can try using Soap Nuts or chemical free powder for your laundry. Great for your skyn and for the oceans! Snap a picture of your replacement.
Reduce your waste volume
You can do this by shopping without packaging, repurposing and donating.
Compost
Show us that you compost your food scraps. There are a few scenarios that can take place here:
-
Your concil does collects the food -
You have your own compost in your garden/allotment -
You are using a shared compost facility (neighbours or community gardens) -
You have a wormery -
You have tried everything but can`t find anywhere to take your compost to :(
Prevent food waste
Show us that you are mindful about food waste and are taking steps to make sure that this kept to a minimum. You can do this by making shopping lists in order to avoid impulse buying. You can also use apps like OLIO for your surplus food.
Declutter
"Clutter is bad for your physical and mental health" Lynne Gilberg, professional organizer.
Grow your own
Do you grow any veggies, berries or herbs? Show `em off!
Buy in Bulk
Can you find shops that sell bulk items? You can start off by using the Bulk locator app
Refuse plastic straws
"Can I please have a gin and tonic, no straw please!"
Refuse plastic bags
Make a habit of taking a tote bag anywhere you go - you never know when you`ll be tempted to pop in a shop.
Tap water
We are blessed with drinking water here in the UK and should be grateful for it.
Offset flights
Are you a frequent flyer? Did you consider offsetting your flights?
Leaf level - 20 points each (@work)
Let your colleagues know that you are a Sustainability Rep/Champion
Communication is key. Make sure your colleagues know that you are a Sustainability Rep/Champ and that you should be their first point of contact on anything environmental related. You could send a departmental email, announce it at team meetings or put up a poster (kitchen noticeboard, near the printer etc)
Mini induction for new colleagues
When someone new starts in your team/department, make sure to introduce yourself and explain your role as a Susty Rep. Go through the recycling and switiching off basics (computer, monitors and lights) and any upcoming events. Ask if they`d be interested in becoming a rep themselves.
Promote the Jewellery Recycling sheme
We are collecting old/broken/unwanted jewellery for recycling with the Friends of the Earth charity. Details can be found on their website: https://www.foe.co.uk/page/recycle-old-jewellery
Promote the recycling of small, personal electronics
A collection bank for small electronics is located on the side of Russell Sq Park, opposite IALS (Institute of Advanced Legal Studies)
Energy Fairy Campaign
The Energy Fairy (you) will reward colleagues who turn off their monitors at the end of the day. This can be done on Fridays for maximum savings. At the end of the day, you will go round and check on the monitors of colleagues who left. If the monitor and computer are off, leave them a candy/chocolate on their desk (maybe with a note to say thank you for turning off). While you`re at it, you can of course turn off anything that was left on.If you`d like a bit of help or have any questions on how to run this, please get in touch. We can help sourcing some chocolate as well!
Promote Cycle Scheme staff benefit
Find out from HR what Cycle Scheme/s do we have in place and promote this with colleagues or keep the information handy in case anyone wants to know at some point.
Create a team - Lead a Green team
Can you create a team of people that will help you run/promote sustainability events/initiatives? If you represent a small team, maybe you can join forces with other teams near you.
Host a stationery amnesty
Surplus of stationery is a common issue in most departments (for us it`s envelopes!).
Discourage personal printers
If you`ve ever had a personal printer, you might have noticed how tempting it is to just print stuff out without thinking too much about it. All departments that have given this up and switched for a big communal printer have seen reductions in printing. Can you convince colleagues who still have personal printers to give them up?
Promote the good stuff
If your department is doing very well already and you feel there`s not much that you can improve on, then let`s focus on the great things you already do. Come up with ideas to promote and encourage the efforts your colleagues are putting in. Get in touch, I`m sure we can help!
Departmental events
Ensure that any departmental events (Xmas party, conference etc) have sustainability embeded into their organizing and planning phases.
-
no disposables to be used for serving food/drinks -
seasonal fruit and vegg -
make the defauls option vegetarian with opt in for meat -
order a bit less food than number of particiapants
Tree level - 40 points each (University wide)
Promote the energy saving targets in your department
This can be done through emails, meetings or posters. Support and resources will be provided.
Recycling campaign
Conduct an internal audit of your bins and waste segregation (ideally over a week).
-
Do we have enough/too many bins in our area? -
Is it clear how waste should be segregated? -
Is the recycling contaminated? -by what? (eg. food)
Food waste
If food waste collected separtatelly? If yes, that`s great! - just check the food caddie regularly and make sure there is no contamination.
RE-use schemes
Promote the re-use schemes such as Warp-it (BBK and LSHTM). SOAS to find alternative solutions for re-use of items.
Sustainability events
Sustainability team will run events throughout the year. Get involved in the organization of these, help out on the day and promote the events in your team/department.
Greenthing brand
Forest level - 80 points each (community)
Let your colleagues know that you are a Sustainability Rep/Champion
Communication is key. Make sure your colleagues know that you are a Sustainability Rep/Champ and that you should be their first point of contact on anything environmental related. You could send a departmental email, announce it at team meetings or put up a poster (kitchen noticeboard, near the printer etc)
Mini induction for new colleagues
When someone new starts in your team/department, make sure to introduce yourself and explain your role as a Susty Rep. Go through the recycling and switiching off basics (computer, monitors and lights) and any upcoming events. Ask if they`d be interested in becoming a rep themselves.
Promote the Jewellery Recycling sheme
We are collecting old/broken/unwanted jewellery for recycling with the Friends of the Earth charity. Details can be found on their website: https://www.foe.co.uk/page/recycle-old-jewellery
Promote the recycling of small, personal electronics
A collection bank for small electronics is located on the side of Russell Sq Park, opposite IALS (Institute of Advanced Legal Studies)
Energy Fairy Campaign
The Energy Fairy (you) will reward colleagues who turn off their monitors at the end of the day. This can be done on Fridays for maximum savings. At the end of the day, you will go round and check on the monitors of colleagues who left. If the monitor and computer are off, leave them a candy/chocolate on their desk (maybe with a note to say thank you for turning off). While you`re at it, you can of course turn off anything that was left on.If you`d like a bit of help or have any questions on how to run this, please get in touch. We can help sourcing some chocolate as well!
Promote Cycle Scheme staff benefit
Find out from HR what Cycle Scheme/s do we have in place and promote this with colleagues or keep the information handy in case anyone wants to know at some point.
Create a team - Lead a Green team
Can you create a team of people that will help you run/promote sustainability events/initiatives? If you represent a small team, maybe you can join forces with other teams near you.
Host a stationery amnesty
Surplus of stationery is a common issue in most departments (for us it`s envelopes!).
Discourage personal printers
If you`ve ever had a personal printer, you might have noticed how tempting it is to just print stuff out without thinking too much about it. All departments that have given this up and switched for a big communal printer have seen reductions in printing. Can you convince colleagues who still have personal printers to give them up?
Promote the good stuff
If your department is doing very well already and you feel there`s not much that you can improve on, then let`s focus on the great things you already do. Come up with ideas to promote and encourage the efforts your colleagues are putting in. Get in touch, I`m sure we can help!
Departmental events
Ensure that any departmental events (Xmas party, conference etc) have sustainability embeded into their organizing and planning phases.
-
no disposables to be used for serving food/drinks -
seasonal fruit and vegg -
make the defauls option vegetarian with opt in for meat -
order a bit less food than number of particiapants