Going carbon neutral – with your help

By Professor Robert Mokaya, Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Committee. As we begin our Sustainability Action Week 2023, it’s good to reflect on the actions and outcomes that have characterised our environmental sustainability journey over the past year. I am pleased that the university made great progress and had some significant achievements in 2022. Here, …

Understanding consumer behaviour towards sustainable foods

March 8th is International Women’s Day (IWD), so we’re taking the opportunity to highlight the work of UoN women leading the way to a more sustainable future. IWD is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Hannah Ford is a PhD student in Sensory and Consumer Science in the …

Trying to travel as sustainably as possible by Ryan Neal

Over the past few years, I’ve been making a concerted effort to reduce my carbon footprint. I’ve replaced my meat and dairy diet with a vegan one and I swap my car keys for a travel pass wherever I can. My kitchen cupboards are full of environmentally friendly products, and my supermarket commute is now …

COP26: how we can all take action to tackle climate change

COP26 has begun. Countries have come together to commit to new carbon reduction targets to secure global net zero by 2050 and keep 1.5 degrees within reach. To do this, global carbon emissions need to reduce by 50% by 2030. The message of the conference is clear: We must act now, and act together. This …

Take action for Earth Day

22 April 2021 is the 51st Earth Day, an event which began in 1970 and quickly became the birth of the environmental movement. With a focus on education and activism, Earth Day has grown and now mobilises 1 billion people worldwide to drive positive action for the planet. There are events happening all across the …

Transforming University waste back into resources

Enva is the waste contractor partner for the East Midland’s University’s Waste Consortium (EMUWC), made up of the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University, Loughborough University, and the University of Leicester. Enva recently released their first Sustainability Report, setting out their commitment and addressing the major challenges the country, and the sector, still face. Robyn …

Reducing the University’s carbon emissions

At the end of 2020 we were pleased to announce that the University had achieved significant reductions in energy use and carbon emissions over the last 10 years. In 2019/20 alone, our scope 1 (mainly gas and other fuels) and scope 2 (purchased electricity) carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 10% or 4,386 tonnes from 2018/19. Overall, there has been a …

Sustainable Student Swaps

Third-year student, Eilis O’Keefe, has made a list of her favourite sustainable swaps for returning to university this term. 21-27 September 2020 is also Recycle Week. If you can’t reduce or re-use any of these ideas, make sure you recycle wherever possible. After 6 long months, it’s finally time to head back to uni. It …

The philosophy of life – Humanity living on the precipice

By Maxwell A. Ayamba – PhD Research Student in Black Studies, Department of American & Canadian Studies – Midlands4 Cities /Arts and Humanities Research Council  Growing up in rural northern Ghana in West Africa, the concept of nature to us was bicentric not anthropogenic, we revered nature because as humans we are considered part of …

The Challenge Ahead

The entire University was forced to adapt quickly to Covid-19, and everyone rose to the challenge. We have now moved into the ‘recovery phase’; our Energy team are working hard to reopen buildings, so that we can welcome back staff and students to campus. This new phase presents a fresh challenge, that we must all …