Green Impact launched last week to a crowded Council Chamber and got off to a flying start! We were particularly pleased to see so many students attending: many have applied to become Green Impact Project Assistants, who we hope will be an asset to assist teams on their Green Impact journey, gaining vital employability skills in the process.
The Vice Chancellor spoke of the need to prepare students to engage with a low-carbon future, and mentioned some of the unique challenges faced by University of Salford staff: old and draughty buildings, for example. Presentations from the Sustainability team and Sophia Perkins of NUS helped potential teams and student volunteers to see how Green Impact offers ways of overcoming these challenges. Sophia highlighted the way Green Impact functions as a ‘grassroots’ programme, including all staff in their varied roles and environments. It aims to recognise and reward their efforts, however small, and provides a platform to inspire, share and celebrate innovation and positive, proactive solutions to the problems of sustainability and resilience in our work places. Charlie Spring showed a video: the chuckles raised hint at how Green Impact can be a tool to make sustainable change fun: it’s not all doom and gloom and pointing fingers.
After a shared lunch, Sophia led a workshop to introduce teams and project assistants to the online workbook, explaining some of its key features, such as special tabs for lab users and catering teams. We already have a few teams signed up and can’t wait to see more!
Thank you to everyone who attended: we look forward to celebrating your Green Impact success!