Sustainable Clubs Guide
Are you an Environmental Club? Hello all Clubs! At the Guild Environment Department we are committed to helping students reduce their environmental impact on-and off-campus. We hope to provide support to Clubs who are interested in helping us to achieve this goal. As such, we have created this list of suggestions, which we hope to develop into a friendly guide to the environmental resources the Guild and the University offers.
Common Rooms Most common rooms or communal areas are self-contained. Some simple choices can help to reduce the environmental impact of your Club a lot! •
To reduce waste to landfill, buy the room a recycling bin and empty it into any nearby University recycling bin.
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Have you noticed there aren’t any recycling bins nearby? Send an email to sustainability@uwa.edu.au and request one!
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Turn off all electrical appliances at the wall (not just on standby) to avoid “electricity leakage” from, for example, phone or laptop chargers, TV’s, kitchen appliances etc.
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Check your water/ electrical fixtures at busy bees and report to maintenance if there are any leaks or if lights etc. need replacing.
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Request to have your lights replaced with compact fluorescent bulbs or LED globes, which are much more energy efficient than other kinds of light globes.
Events Club events engage a huge portion of the student body, and have a lot of potential to be environmentally friendly. When planning your event, keep the following in mind: •
Any event can be carbon offset! This can be great publicity for your club, as an environmentally conscious group. Fill out your event details at carbonneutral.com.au and they can give you a quote on the cost.
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You can save money AND paper by using online promotion instead of hard copy. Many events are now advertised solely online, and ticketed electronically too. If you NEED to print, consider choosing 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Contrary to popular belief, it looks exactly the same as normal paper.
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Hire an acoustic musician rather than a band or DJ.
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Many clubs undertake events/activities involving volunteering, to help with social justice issues. You might want to consider supporting an Environmental cause, such as the Climate Council, a local revegetation group, WWF, or many more. Email us at environment@guild.uwa.edu.au and we can put you in touch with a group who fits your interests!
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Every event should have recycling bins, and YOU need to organise them. Saying you want recycling bins in an EMP is not enough: email Guild Events to request bins. events@guild.uwa.edu.au
Purchasing Everything we buy impacts the Environment. Clubs often purchase large quantities of things for events, common rooms, and general use. Here is our advice for purchasing: •
Often we over-supply, and this can lead to waste, in both plastic/ paper use and financially. Try to avoid single-use disposable items and unnecessary packaging where possible.
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Look for “Fair Trade” products where possible. This could include club merchandise such as t-shirts, tea and coffee for your common room, chocolate, and more.
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Consider providing vegan or vegetarian options if you hold a bake sale or sausage sizzle.
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Make sure to buy “Free Range” eggs.
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If you are interested in purchasing KeepCups in your Club colours to sell as merchandise, contact us at environment@guild.uwa.edu.au and we can arrange an order for you!
Study It is up to us as students to demand an education that will shape our environment for the better. •
Encourage your committee and club members to sell books on to each other rather than purchasing new copies.
If you’re a FacSoc: • Talk to your faculty about adopting an online-only Unit Outline policy: students can request for tutors to print unit outlines for them, but not everyone needs them printed. You have a lot of power to influence the way your faculty operates. •
Education and research in sustainability is so important for the future of our planet. Is there potential for units that cover these issues, in your Faculty? Maybe they already exist and you could encourage more students to choose them?
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