Identifying specific impacts can help us to focus on work areas to improve our sustainability overall within the Union. This is not something that the Union has ever done in a formal capacity however we want to promote transparency and show how we are working towards a greener Students’ Union. As a small and specialist Union it can be hard to quantify how much impact we are having in certain areas so below are the larger negative impacts that the Union team has identified and what we’re doing to combat them.

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Food and Drink Waste: In previous years food and drink waste has been quite high due to inconsistent ordering for society and Union events, ordering specific food for one-off events, over estimating how much students’ would eat at events and ordering perishable food.

Paper, Printing, PVC and Vinyl Waste: we must weigh up our printing in relation to Student Engagement and event advertisement. We had feedback in multiple rep meetings and individually that students were unaware of what events and activities were happening. Roll banners are an effective way to communicate bigger events and campaigns to students (especially around Freshers) however it can be hard to recycle PVC and vinyl effectively. Large displays are often used on the Students Union windows to make the space welcoming and fun which is refreshed each year in the Freshers branding, as well as for exhibitions.

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Travel: Although travel is a fairly minimal impact for the Union, it’s something we continue to monitor to understand how we can reduce this where possible.

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Purchasing of Ethical and Sustainable Products: many student groups and staff purchase items online for campaigns, events and activities. Due to the small nature of the team, there is a need due to the quick delivery to still occasionally use Amazon as a supplier.

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To combat this we are now committed to:

•  Buying as much nonperishable food as possible for society events. When possible we will reduce the need to buy specific food for one-off events and make orders that cover a range of events so that any food left can then be supplied to another society or Union activity.

• When purchasing food for larger events or hot food we will opt to use the Universities cafe who offer fresh, healthy, sustainable food in vegware packaging.

• Send out all Exec Meeting agendas and papers as digital documents for both students and staff to view.

• Promote our Society Leaders to produce as much digital advertising as possible and ask that all Society Leaders print posters through us to be approved so that Union staff can monitor printer usage.Where printing is required the Union will always endeavour to use double-sided printing to reduce paper.

• Printing onto Grafix Repositionable Self-Adhesive Fabric rather than vinyl/rolls banners for Freshers decals and for exhibitions, this material has been requested by the University to phase out the use of vinyl from the print room for all students and staff. This is a much more sustainably made and recyclable material. Due to the nature of the material being able to be printed onto directly and repositioned it is a lot more flexible in the ways it can be used.

• This year for many competitions and giveaways the Union has opted for digital gift cards rather than physical objects, we have found this to reduce a lot of waste with students wining prizes that they may not want.

• When purchasing items from printers such as tote bags and promotional materials the Union researches into the companies we are buying from as well as the products themselves, opting where possible to work with B Corps and companies that promote sustainable printing and operational ethics.

• Organising in person meetings for days when students are already in the University buildings to reduce travel

• Union staff all walk into work where possible or car share.

• When booking Student Representatives onto conferences outside of the city, rail travel has been utilised rather than taxis or cars.

• Our Society Leaders are responsible for researching and providing links to ay materials they wish to be purchased for their society events through our Budget Request Form system.