finding carrots: engaging others in sustainability charlotte bonner - communities program manager...
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Finding carrots: Engaging others in sustainability
Charlotte Bonner - Communities Program ManagerJamie Agombar - Head of Sustainability
AASHE Conference 2014: Student Summit
What are we going to cover?
Communications
Research Funding
Programmes
Ground rules
Introductions
Find someone you don’t know
Introduce yourselves: who you are and where you come from
Key question: what first got you interested in sustainability?
600 FE and HE SUs
7m students
Societies, course reps,
trustees
Who are we? - NUS
• 600 students’ unions• 7 million students (2.3m in HE)• 4,700 SU staff; 500 sabbatical
officers• 230 NUS staff
What is NUS?
• NUS was founded in 1922. In 1973 NUS was the first national body to pass policy in favour of LGBT rights, elected its first women president in 1977 and its first black president in 1978.
• NUS works to promote, defend and extend the rights of students and helps develop and champion strong students’ unions.
• 3 core values of; Equality, Democracy and Collectivism guide NUS’ work
What we do today
Campaign, lobbying and research on issues that affect students• Access to and quality of education, welfare,
liberation
Develop and champion strong students’ unions• HR, finance, strategic support, activities
coordination, digital platforms, sustainability programmes
9,010 actions completed this year, 5,566 (61%) as a result of GI
Green Impact Excellence
• Credit union• Community
environmental audits• Greening the curriculum• Community action• Biodiversity and schools• Computer recycling• Chilli Jam
Green Impact Universities and Colleges
• 62 Universities and Colleges
• 1,205 teams reaching 53,950 members of staff
• 48,834 actions completed this year, 32,000 (65%) a result of Green Impact
• MacEwan University in Canada
• Video
Green Impact in the Community
115 off-campus organizations 12,467 actions completed this year, 6,974 (56%) as a result of GI
Total GI action actions
Student involvement in GI
809 students Project Assistants and auditors
Student Switch Off
• Targets students in dorms• Behaviour discontinuity theory• Energy-saving competition • Eco Power Rangers: films, quizzes• Encourages simple changes• Video
Student Switch Off 2013-14
• 54 universities• 150,000 students in rooms• 28k students (17%) engaged• 5.9% reduction; 1,159 tCO2• Schools pilot prepared• SAVES = Lithuania, Greece, Sweden, Cyprus
The opportunity
Students’ Green Fund
£5m pilot fund from HEFCE for student-led sustainability projects to be run by students’ unions in partnership with their parent institutions
Four key themes:• Student engagement• Partnership• Impact • Legacy
Reclaiming the Curriculum
UMSU Post-Crash Economics Society
Understanding your audience
• Who is your audience?• What motivates them?• What barriers are there to change?
Different attitudes to sustainability
Different motivations and interest
Engaging others
1. Match the groups of people with the types of motivation that may appeal to them
2. Add your own ideas
3. How could you encourage them to engage with sustainability? What could you say or do to gain their support?
Sell the Sizzle
• The Sausage vs. The Sizzle
• Focus on the positives and make it FUN!
How to Start a Movement
Video
The four Es
Enable
Exemplify
Engage
Encourage
Change
The Fun Theory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw
Positive
Everyone is passionate about something, keep it
personal
Focus on here & now, tangible not abstract concerns
Diversity works - target multiple audiences using multiple ‘voices’
Negative
‘Environmentalist’ rhetoric and
imagery is a big switch-off
Gambling frames underplay risks for
some and over-emotive for others
Appeals to ‘concerned majority’ seen as exclusive and
untruthful
And...
Don’t be concerned about ‘alienating’ core audience who respond + to almost
any frame & get need to broaden support
Media seen as ‘negative
influence’ by all (‘poisonous’
by some)
Why do we need funding?
We need to understand the system:
The system
Everyone is asking for
more money
Goals of the university
and key staff
Budget cycles –planning in
Sept?
Proving our worth
Qualitative and quantitative assessment
Different dimensions of the
university and beyond
Sustainability ambitions
Our ambitions
Formal process: budget
estimations and plans
Compelling story, improving
the model
Ambitions of the student
body
Types of funding
University endorsement
e.g. Green Offices, society funds
Self funded
e.g. Student Switch Off and Green Impact
Grant/seed funding
e.g. research pots, government funds
Green Funds
e.g. USF, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Why do we need to research?
NUS HEA surveys: student interest in sustainability
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010(n=5654)
2011(n=1514)
2012(n=4009)
2013(n=3019)
2010(n=5622)
2011(n=1518)
2012(n=3991)
2013(n=2998)
2010(n=5620)
2011(n=1516)
2012(n=3963)
2013(n=2987)
Sustainable development is somethingwhich universities should actively
incorporate and promote
Sustainable development is somethingwhich university courses should actively
incorporate and promote
Sustainable development is somethingwhich I would like to learn more about
Agree
Stronglyagree
Two thirds feel concerned about climate change in general – with one fifth feeling very concernedConcern over climate change in general
Q35. How concerned, if at all, are you about climate change? (base 943)
Don't know
Not at all concerned
Not very concerned
Fairly concerned
Very concerned
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
4%
7%
27%
42%
20%
Evaluating impact: quality of assessment
High• Quantifiable impact evaluation with
control group
Medium• Outputs and reach
Low• Qualitative interviews with key
stakeholders – examples and anecdotal evidence
Measuring behaviour change
• Surveys – before/after• Hard data
– Energy usage– Waste figures– Procurement data– Travel surveys
• Anecdotal evidence of change• Focus groups• Interviews
BUT• Take care when claiming savings – do you know where these
come from?• Take care when people are self-reporting• Don’t underestimate time and effort needed
Dimensions of sustainability in HE
Types of project
Strategy
• Sustainability reports
• Mission and visioning
• Roadmaps• Policies
ProgrammesProjects that are repeated each year
• Student Switch Off
• Living labs programmes
Projects
• One-offs• Business cases• Proposals• Analysis
reports
Events
• Film evenings• Networking
meetings• BBQs• Swapshops
Criteria for good projects
Students, staff and faculty
Education, research, operations and community
Internal and external partners and initiatives
Programme expectation
Programme reality
Exercise goals
1. Exchange and share good project ideas
2. Collect all the knowledge in the room
3. Develop a set of projects to implement
The exercise
1. Mind mapWhat are the benefits of engaging this element with sustainability?What are the opportunities and potential outcomes?2. Develop ideasWhat could be/is already being done to integrate sustainability with this field?3. Sum upDescribe your projects in one-liners4. Shopping tour
What are we going to do?
1. Ideas harvest2. Local action3. Expanding existing
programmes4. Keep us informed!
Recommended reading and viewing
Futerra– The Greenwash Guide– The Rules of the Game– Selling the Sizzle: The New Climate Message
Parkin, S. 2010. The Positive Deviant. Earthscan Ltd
Whitmarsh,L., O’Neill, S. and Lorenzoni, I. 2011. Engaging the public with climate change: Behaviour change and communication. Earthscan
Goldstein, N., Martin, S.J. and Cialdini, R.B. 2007. Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion. Profile Books
Retallack, S. Lawrence, T. and Lockwood, M. 2007. Positive Energy: Harnessing People Power to Prevent Climate Change. Institute for Public Policy Research. London.
Daniel Pinks. The Power of Motivation. Derek Sivers. How to start a movement.
More contact…
www.nus.org.uk/greener
Jamie AgombarHead of Sustainability (NUS UK)jamie.agombar@nus.org.uk
Charlotte Bonner @BonnerCharlotteCommunities Programme Manager (NUS UK)charlotte.bonner@nus.org.uk
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