Embedding sustainability at our Southend Campus

Over the last two years, teams at our Southend Campus have been making great strides in reducing their environmental impact and embedding sustainable behaviours into everyday life at Essex.

Here are some of the fantastic things that they have been up to:

• For the last two years the Campus Management team has achieved Silver and Gold in our Sustainable Essex Programme. They have created their own Sustainability policy and are now taking action.
• They have recently implemented their own Sustainability Champions network, appointing a Sustainability Champion in each of the areas on campus. The champions meet regularly to discuss sustainability and how they can continue to improve their sustainability efforts.
• Essex Business School in Southend have completed Bronze, Silver and Gold in our Sustainable Essex Awards this year. They received their Gold award for hosting sustainability themed events for EBS Students throughout the year, like their Sustainability in Business event during Welcome Week, and conducting Sustainable Saving webinars for their students.
• A dedicated area for reusing stationery has been created in the ground floor of the Gateway building. All staff on campus can donate items they no longer need and pick up things that they find useful. Students are also welcome to use it too.
• The Sustainability Champions collaborated on a stand in the Gateway Building and The Forum during the recent Sustainability Awareness Week. The aim was to raise awareness among staff and students about the University Sustainability strategy and objectives, the actions they're already taking and the actions individuals could take.
• Southend's Soft FM team donated unwanted to furniture to a local charity called the Isaiah Project who work with disadvantaged and vulnerable community members to get them back on their feet.

The Southend sustainability survey

In November 2023 all staff completed a survey to help us find out more about sustainability at our Southend Campus and identify next steps for community engagement. This survey follows a previous one which was conducted in 2022. The year-on-year results showed that:

• 17% more staff turn off their computers at the end of the working day.
• 11% more staff know how to report a dripping tap to Estates.
• Less staff turned off lights; so this message needs to be reinforced.
• Reusables cup/bottle usage and subscription to the Sustainability team newsletter had increased.
• A higher proportion of staff who responded were walking to campus.
• 27% of staff stated they had made changes to their behaviours in response to the previous year's survey and newsletters.
• 42% of staff had embedded sustainability within their departments or had run initiatives.

What they are planning next:

The Campus Management team will continue to raise awareness through various actions and activities, collaborating with the Sustainability team and Sustainability Champions network. The survey will be repeated to compare behaviours year on year and to highlight further areas of focus. The aim is to ensure that sustainability is part of business as usual at the individual, department and campus levels.

Southend's Soft FM and Residence Life team will be running an event on arrivals weekend to offer incoming students kitchen equipment and other items left behind in accommodation; so both recycling items and saving students money.

We love to hear about sustainability efforts across all three of our campuses. If your team is taking action for sustainability, please email sustainability@essex.ac.uk.