The Big Green Guide by Staffs Union

THE BIG GREEN GUIDE

It’s not easy being green-

a student guide on saving the planet.

Students’ Green Fund

www.greenpad.co.ukfind more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

CONTENTS HELLO 3

Welcome page

Living Sustainably – What’s the deal?

So, what can I do?

Green Newby

Green Newby – Top Tips for Heating & Electricity

Green Newby – Top Tips for Cooking & Washing

Green Newby – Top Tips for Saving Water

Green Newby – Recycling & Waste

12-15

Wanting to Do More – Top Tips

16-21

Super Green - Top Tips

Staffs Uni & the Environment - What Do We Do?

What We’re Up To

Find Us

and welcome to your

BIG Green Guide

Sick of hearing “eco”, “environment” and “sustainability” everywhere you go but not sure what to actually do? This is the guide for you. This guide will:give you everyday actions that real people can actually do that make a difference tell you what the Union and University is up to this academic year & how you can get involved (did someone say epic CV experience?) help you save money on your bills if you’re in a local house, or just be green and awesome in halls Everyone can be sustainable. You don’t need to live in a mud hut (but you can of course).

Read on to find out how...

SAVE MONEY, SAVE ENERGY, LIVE GREEN

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LIVING SUSTAINABLY WHAT’S THE DEAL? We do a lot of “stuff” every day. We eat stuff, wear stuff, use stuff, throw stuff away, power stuff etc. etc. In a world with billions of people in it, that’s a lot of stuff, and “stuff” uses the planet’s resources. This is fine, if we do this sustainably (i.e. use enough stuff to be able to keep producing stuff), but currently we aren’t doing that…. What’s the problem? The stuff we use produces greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane. This causes a rise in global temperatures (a.k.a. climate change) which has huge detrimental effects on the planet, and therefore the everyday things we take for granted. Tea, for example, is a goner thanks to climate change, as is chocolate, coffee, popcorn… the list goes on. If temperatures rise, this stuff simply can’t be grown, or if it is, will be super expensive. This is just food too. Not counting all the animals we would lose either. It doesn’t help that we keep destroying the natural “sinks” that absorb these greenhouse gases. Forests, for example (which we are quickly losing) naturally absorb CO2 and turn this into the oxygen we breathe, so we kind of need trees. Problem is, a lot of the “stuff” we use is removing this crucial resource.

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As an example, the meat industry is responsible for the destruction of 91% of the Amazon, another high proportion of deforestation is due to palm oil plantations (more on this later). In turn, less CO2 can be absorbed, and yet we are producing more than ever. We won’t notice these effects until it’s too late. For example, until there is no tea on the supermarket shelves because temperature rise means it can’t be produced any more. This would be just one tiny consequence, so we need to take action now!

There are over 2 million students in the UK at any one time, so the entire student movement making small lifestyle changes could really make all the difference. That’s why we produced this guide, to help you make sustainable changes today! SO FOR THE LOVE OF TEA PLEASE READ THIS GUIDE!

The Key? Sustainability / environmental stuff is NOT just energy. Yes energy matters, and it saves you money to use less, but living sustainably also covers pretty much everything else too. From eating less meat, to buying less stuff, to choosing organic, everything we do is produced here, so it affects here.

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

SO WHAT CAN I DO? Here are a load of sustainable actions you can do right now, starting today! Some are easy, some are at the next level and others take a bit more effort. EVERYONE CAN DO ALL OF THESE ANYTIME. No matter what you know or don’t know about the environment. If we all did one small action every day, it would make a world of difference. So, we challenge you to try some (or all) of these during your time at Uni. We will help you along the way, starting with this guide which has further info on all of the below actions so you can start giving them a go today.

Are you a Green Newby? Energy & water

Or are you wanting to do more?

Recycling!

Flexitarian Diet

Avoiding Palm oil

On yer’ bike

Shop locally, eat seasonally

Go organic

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

Or be so green, you’re nearly a tree!

Eco Cleaning

Meat Free

Get involved in the Sustainability Society

Start growing!

GREEN NEWBY Here are our top tips for you...

Reuse & upcycle

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

10 TOP TIPS FOR HEATING & ELECTRICITY 1. If you have a wall mounted thermostat (one of these thingies) turn it down just one degree to make a difference without even noticing. Doing this will mean you will save up to £65 a year on your bills. 2. Turn off radiators in any unused rooms and make sure no furniture is blocking them so you can benefit from all the heat! Save up to £70 a year. Occasionally you may want to bleed your radiators, this ensures you get the maximum heat, have an internet search to see how – it’s really easy. 3. Try closing your curtains and tucking them behind your radiator to keep heat from escaping out the windows 4. Chuck on a jumper before you whack up the heating or try a hot water bottle to warm up your bed before you hop in

5. Use your timer – ask your landlord how to use your boiler and make sure you know how to put the heating on time so it’s not wasting energy in the day when no one is in, just an hour in the morning and evening during winter will keep it ticking over nicely and find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk help avoid damp!

Green Newby Top Tips

6. Turn off your stuff – everything from chargers to lights, we all do it! Make a conscious effort to turn off lights when you leave a room and stop charging devices when they are full rather than leaving them on. Turning your TV off at the wall at night alone will save you between £40-80 a year. 7. Lighting – replace any bulbs with energy efficient ones, they’ve come a long way in recent years so don’t be put off! You could also speak to your landlord about getting LED lighting, which would save up to £45 over the lifetime of each bulb. In the kitchen… 8. Only boil the water you need in the kettle 9. Don’t leave fridge door open & let your food cool before putting it in the fridge to save power

5 TOP TIPS FOR COOKING & WASHING

Green Newby Top Tips

1. When you’re done cooking & the oven is off, leave the door open to let all that heat out so it doesn’t go to waste! 2. Cook in bulk – make enough for a few days, saves you cooking every day and uses the energy more efficiently.

Use locally sourced, seasonal veg in your cooking to be extra sustainable!

3. When you wash up use a bowl instead of leaving the tap running – this saves a lot of water. 4. Only boil the water you need in the kettle, use a washing up bowl, and washing your clothes at 30°c can save you nearly £50 a year! 5. Try and save up your clothes so you have a full load and when you do wash them keep the temperature at 30 to make it a super energy efficient wash

Use eco-friendly washing products like Method and Ecover to be super green.

10. Put a lid on it – put lids on pans when cooking to reduce heat loss and thus energy loss (it also helps reduce moisture and avoid damp, and it cooks your stuff quicker!) That’s £5 saved!

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

5 TOP TIPS FOR SAVING WATER

Green Newby Top Tips

We use 35 litres of water for your average 5 min shower – get a free shower timer from your water providers website to help you keep track of your shower time & water usage. 30% of your water bill is used up on flushing your loo…each flush uses anywhere between 6-13 litres of water! A hippo bag can save up to 3 litres each flush and they’re free! Just ask your water provider

Saving up to £20 per year!

Invest in a washing up bowl – gather all you’re washing up and do it all at once in a bowl rather than having the tap running in the background. Got a drip? A dripping tap can waste 15 litres of water a day, that’s 5,500 litres a year. Give your landlord a call to get it fixed. Around 21% of the average gas bill is spent on heating water, that’s £140 a year! Another reason to take quicker showers!

Reducing your water usage saves energy, cleaning waste water is an energy-intensive process, so is heating hot water, so it all counts.

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

Green Newby Top Tips

We generate 290 million tonnes of waste each year, only around 17% of this gets recycled.

Don’t leave the tap running when you’re brushing your teeth and save nearly 6 litres each time.

RECYCLING & WASTE Daily rabbishhh If you live in halls, a lot of your waste gets recycled anyway, but if you live in a local house, you may not have a recycle bin. Don’t worry, these are free and you can get one from the council. Ring them or email them to arrange for one to be delivered - 01782 234234 or enquiries@stoke.gov.uk (you may need your landlord for this one). Food waste We produce 7 million tonnes of food waste each year in the UK alone. Globally, we actually currently produce enough food to feed 14 billion people, and yet there are only 7 billion of us. This is why it is so important to reduce our food waste and also choose sustainable foods, to avoid this number getting bigger. A great way to reduce food waste (and money) is by cooking with leftovers, visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for great tips and cost-effective recipes.

Clothes and other stuff Don’t throw your old jumper away! We have several big red British Heart Foundation bins on campus so chuck it in there to benefit a great charity. You can also drop it at a charity shop of your choice, or bring items to one of our swap events. We also have a massive campaign – The Great Donate – which runs from April – June, and you can donate pretty much anything to this, so bear that in mind and don’t throw it, donate it! Plastic and disposable cups You can also reduce your waste demand by investing in some re-usable items like a BPA free water bottle or a re-usable thermal mug, this will help reduce the amount of paper coffee cups we generate which are mostly unrecyclable due to the plastic lining.

TOP TIP Take your own mug to Squeeze Box and get money off your cuppa!

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

SO YOU WANT TO DO MORE?

Wanting To Do More Top Tips

You’re already aware of energy use and are a keen energy saver, but after the turning the lights off and you’re not sure what to do next, here’s our top tips for you! 1. The M Word Meat is a touchy subject we know, but it’s inherently unsustainable. The animal you eat must be fed and watered, then transported to various locations before it makes it to you. With over 50 billion animals used for meat every year (that’s a lot of land, water and food used up) the one sure fire thing you can do to make a difference is eating less of it. Giving it up completely may not be realistic for everyone, but even one meat-free meal a week can make a huge difference to your health and the planet (in a year this would save over 83,000 litres of water, 1,500m2 of land and 1/2 tonne of CO2 – from one person eating one less meaty meal!)

WANTING TO DO MORE

If you don’t want to give it up completely but want to make positive changes, try buying it from ethical, local or organic sources, cutting down the C02 produced from travelling miles and avoiding harmful chemical-based farming. As more than 80% of the animals raised in the EU each year are factory farmed (a very intensive, low welfare and unsustainable process) this small change is more important than ever. Look out for the Soil Association label to ensure the highest animal welfare standards and also the best sustainability practices, the RSPCA label also assures high animal welfare.

One meat-free meal a week could save:

Here are our top tips for you...

83,000 litres water

1,500m2 land 1 TONNE

1/2 tonne of CO2

- all from one person eating one less meaty meal a week! 12

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

Wanting To Do More Top Tips

SO YOU WANT TO DO MORE?

Wanting To Do More Top Tips

The M Word Facts

51%

13%

The meat industry produces more CO2 than transport put together, and costs over 50 billion animals lives each year.

Livestock covers

45%

of the entire Earth’s land surface.

It takes over 3,000 litres of water to make one burger, the same amount as showering for two months!

Even one meat-free meal a week can make a huge difference to your health and the planet. In a year it would save over 83,000 litres of water, 1,500m2 of land and half a tonne of CO2!

TOP TIP Our Union Venues will give you a FREE 6TH MEAL after purchasing 5 meat-free meals using the Meat Free Loyalty card, pop in and get yours today!

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

2. Using more public transport or cycling more. We’re lucky on our campuses, as a lot of stuff is really close. Parking is also a pain, so use this as an opportunity to get travelling sustainably. Walking, taking the bus or train, or even cycling can help you keep fit and have fun whilst reducing your environmental impact. Want a free bike? Come see is in the EcoHub in Stoke as we have a free bike rental scheme you can get involved in throughout the year. 3. Switch up your cleaning products Students sometimes clean stuff. I know right, it’s true. Try baking soda + water as an alternative to harsh chemicals for cleaning, super cheap AND super effective! You can also chose products like Ecover and Method, for chemical free, cruelty free, sustainable cleaning.

TOP TIP You can also get great organic teas, such as clipper organic everyday tea!

4. Try more organic fruit and veg (and tea!) This one sometimes confuses people as the impact isn’t really clear. Put quite simply though...organic farming works in harmony with nature, which is crucial for mainting the healthy ecosystems we rely on. Genetically modified crops are banned, and pesticides are not used, only natural resources are relied upon to support plant growth. This helps all sorts of animals, including the wonderful bee (who helps pollinate over 1/3 of our food) as well as the environment in general. By buying organic, you are supporting nature which is always a good thing, and is a super simple way to make an impact. Try picking just one organic item in your shop, maybe carrots, blueberries or even tea bags! You can have a search for “the dirty dozen” which are the veggies and fruits which absorb the most amount of chemicals and are best bought organic. It’s also been shown to be better for your health too. Look out for the Soil Association label to ensure the highest organic standards.

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

SO YOU WANT TO DO MORE? 5. Get stuck in! This year we have a brand new Sustainability Society doing all sorts of amazing stuff on campus to make a difference. No matter how much you know or donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know about sustainability, you can join in and lend a hand. Everything from Blackouts, to planting trees, it provides a great way to gain some epic CV experience, as well as meeting new people and just doing something a bit different. Check out @sustainsoc on Twitter for more info.

Wanting To Do More Top Tips

Look out for these labels!

Look out for the Soil Association label to ensure the highest animal welfare and organic standards and also the best sustainability practices, the RSPCA label also assures high animal welfare.

TOP TIP All events are also on www.greenpad.co.uk

SO GREEN, YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE NEARLY A TREE Here are our top tips for you...

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

SO YOU WANT TO BE SO GREEN, YOU’RE NEARLY A TREE?

So Green Top Tips

You might walk and cycle a lot instead of taking the car, and maybe you’re an experienced energy saver and don’t eat a lot of meat. This is all amazing! Still looking to do even more? Here’s our top tips for you. 1. Avoid palm oil

What do these have in common? Palm oil...never heard of it right? Most people haven’t, it’s usually listed as “vegetable oil” and it’s pretty much in everything the average consumer uses. From peanut butter & chocolate bars to washing up liquid and shampoo, you name it!

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

Why? Its bad news because it is a major contributor to deforestation. Acres of palm oil plantations are put in the place of rainforests and existing natural landscape, in other words it destroys key habitat of things like tigers, orangutans and many more. So how do I avoid it? Easily. You need to keep your eyes peeled for the RSPO label. This means it has been sourced sustainably, and has not damaged the environment or any of our furry friends in the process. OR even better, avoid it completely – just use some epic label reading skills and steer clear of “vegetable oil”.

2. Shop locally and eat seasonally Most of the food we eat gets shipped from all over the place, from Europe to the USA, have a look at your food labels for a whole host of places. This all means it was transported, whether by air, road or sea, it’s a lot of carbon we could save. Try local shops for locally sourced produce to help, or find food with “England” listed as the country of origin. This also usually means its seasonal veg too, have a look at eatseasonably.co.uk for a great guide on seasonal foods.

3. You are what you eat Food is a really great way to make big leaps forward sustainably. If you’re already making sustainable food choices, you probably eat little to no meat, which is a great place to start (see The M Word section on page 13). By eating mostly meat-free meals each week you are saving over 9,000m2 of land, over 2.3 tonnes of CO2 and over 500,000 litres of water – just you alone, that’s amazing! Another great way to make a difference is to choose organic fruit and veg. If you’re already doing this you are making a huge difference to nature, just with this simple choice. The next step would be to actually grow your own organic veggies, which sounds a scary concept but really – anyone can do it! If you don’t do this already, you may want to start with a pre-potted herb plant to get you used to looking after your own food. You can then think about growing carrots, tomatoes and even potatoes!

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

SO YOU WANT TO BE SO GREEN, YOU’RE NEARLY A TREE?

So Green Top Tips

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE WEEKLY SHOP Sustainable labels to look our for in your shop!

4. Re-use and upcycle It takes 2700 litres of water to make a t-shirt. Yup. Just the one. When you think how many items of clothing we have in one wardrobe alone, that’s one thirsty clothes collection! How? Try swapping unwanted clothes with your mates or attending one of our swap shop events to grab some freebies which are new to your wardrobe, also try searching vintage clothes stores or charity shops to grab some bargains. You can also drop in any unwanted clothes or shoes to one of the big red British Heart Foundation bins on campus.

5. Reduce waste We generate 290 million tonnes of waste each year, only around 17% of this gets recycled. How? Reduce your waste demand by investing in some re-usable items like a BPA free water bottle or a re-usable thermal mug, this will help reduce the amount of paper coffee cups we generate which are mostly unrecyclable due to their plastic lining. And other waste? We produce 7 million tonnes of food waste each year - you can help reduce your food waste by cooking with leftovers, visit lovefoodhatewaste.com for great tips and recipes, plus it will save you money!

TOP TIP Where possible, check your labels and get cotton clothes rather than viscose or rayon (and other synthetic materials) as these are made up of tree pulp and contribute to the loss of valuable forest areas.

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

This means the palm oil has been sourced from sustainably certified origins.

A good level of animal welfare and sustainability standards second only to the soil association mark. Look out for this on your eggs, diary and meat!

TOP TIP Take your own mug to squeeze to get money off your cuppa!

Certifies the seafood has been sourced sustainably and does not compromise fish populations for the future Check your tins of tuna and other fish for this label!

This is applied only to certified organic products exceeding EU minimum organic standards, covering all aspects of food production, from animal welfare and wildlife conservation, to food processing and packaging.

Products have originated from -or contain ingredients sourced from farms and forests that are managed according to rigorous environmental, social and economic criteria designed to conserve wildlife; safeguard soils and waterways; protect workers, their families and local communities; and increase livelihoods in order to achieve true, long-term sustainability.

Fairtrade produced – those who made the product were paid a fair living wage, have decent working conditions and have fair terms of trade for farmers and workers.

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

STAFFS UNI AND THE ENVIRONMENT-WHAT DO WE DO? Your Students’ Union is committed to sustainability and the environment, and we do a lot of stuff to show it.

Opened an EcoHub next door to Squeeze Box for all things sustainable. Come in here to chat to us about your housing needs.

Trained 40 students to carry out two campus blackouts in Stoke and Stafford where everything on campus was switched off saving over 2 tonnes of CO2.

Awarded Excellence Outstanding Award for our NUS Green Impact project 2015 (we’re in the top 6 in the country!)

Received funding to deliver the GreenPad project which has now evolved into a fully operational student lets service, offering sustainable student homes with no fees for students.

Set up the Sustainable Change Student Board – giving you guys the chance to lead on environmental change on campus. Sign up to this year’s crew at greenpad.co.uk.

Planted 250 trees on the University’s Nature Reserve and carried out much needed conservation work to maintain species diversity and encourage use of the space – find the reserve opposite Clarice Cliff halls, just wander in and relax in nature.

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

Welcomed a guest GreenPeace speaker on campus to discuss free careers advice and the work of the international campaign group.

Delivered The Great Donate campaign in which Staffs students donated unwanted items at the end of the academic year instead of throwing them away, to benefit local charities. Thousands of items were saved, including over 200 bags for the British Heart Foundation, 60 bags of duvets and bedding for the local dogs homes and 30 crates of long-life food for local foodbanks!

Your University Staffs Uni has its own Sustainability team who we partner with to deliver all of the amazing events we have going on throughout the year. In partnership with Sustain Staffs, we run a bike rental scheme from our on-campus EcoHub. You can get a rental bike to use during the whole academic year for just £50, including all the gear thrown in for free, and free bike maintenance throughout the year! Just pop in and see us for more details. The University also run Student Switch Off in Halls, a great way to get involved with sustainability in your first year and start building up the CV early with free audit training! Find out more at facebook.com/StaffsSSO

find more info at www.greenpad.co.uk

CHECK OUT WHAT WE’RE UP TO THIS ACADEMIC YEAR Launch of the brand new Sustainability Society find out more and join at www.staffsunion.com or @SustainSoc The Blackout a night with the lights out! Free hoody & pizza as well as environmental audit training to all student volunteers The Big Swap out with the old, in with the new, this free event allows you to swap your unwanted items for something new which catches your eye! COP21 as global leaders meet in Paris in December 2015 to discuss the future of our planet we want our voice to be louder than ever, help us get our message across and join in with our events and activities throughout October and November and join the national march in London! For The Love Of chocolate, coffee, tea, snow sports, dogs, anything! Tell us what you love for the Climate Coalitions global campaign to help bring awareness to Climate Change

Sustainability conference giving student the platform to speak at a dedicated student-led conference, amazing CV experience and an opportunity to share your passion for the environment! The Great Donate it’s big (some would even say great) and it’s back. The Great Donate is returning to your campus in April 2016! Store up your unwanted stuff ready to be donated to amazing local charities rather than throwing it away, from duvets to slippers to tins of beans, we can donate it all! Follow @greenpad_staffs to be informed of the volunteering opportunities when they arise (limited places available)

This is just a flavour of events we have planned, there will be loads more yet to be announced. Find us at www.greenpad.co.uk or on Twitter @greenpad_staffs to keep up to date with all of our events.

Varsity Recycling think we got the skills on Keele? When it comes to recycling we do! Help us recycle as much as possible at Varsity 2016!

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SAY HELLO Want to volunteer and get involved with events, or need help with your house, contact us using the details below or drop into the EcoHub between 10-4pm to see us directly!

Dwight Building

Henrion Building

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ANY PROBLEMS? Check out our website for useful tips and handy guides, or come in and see us, we’re right next to Squeeze Box. @greenpad_staffs greenpadstaffs greenpad@staffs.ac.uk 01782 42 2300

Students’ Green Fund

find more info at www.greenpad.co.ukwww.greenpad.co.uk