November 2022 – DMU SDG Bulletin

Climate Action Awards launched at DMU

18 November 202218 November 2022DMU SDGs

A new awards initiative to celebrate staff and students who are going the extra mile for sustainability at De Montfort University, Leicester (DMU) and beyond, has been launched.

The inaugural ‘Climate Action Awards’ will celebrate and recognise the sustainable efforts and commitment of staff and students across the university, with the opportunity to come together and celebrate all their hard work at a bespoke ceremony in December.

Staff and students are being encouraged to take part in the awards by submitting any work they have undertaken through; research, teaching and campus activity in the pursuit of acting to reduce global warming and improve sustainability.

Associate Director of Sustainable Development Goal Impact, Mark Charlton, said: “These awards are about recognising the efforts staff and students are making through their efforts and innovations.

“We have made the entry process as simple as possible to draw out as many examples as possible of good work being undertaken to take climate action, no matter how big or small.”

Entries are now open and will close on Friday 2 December.

DMU students encouraged to take 5KM ‘Tiger Run’

15 November 202222 November 2022DMU SDGs

DMU students are being encouraged to take part in a Tiger Run to show solidarity with students at our trans-national education partner Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU). They are being encouraged to follow the lead of Rajveen Kaur (pictured), 21, a graduating FinTech student from APU, who is passionate about animals, the environment and its sustainability, has recently been elected as one of the Malayan tigers’ conservationists. Rajveen was elected by the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) for its Youth for Tigers (Y4T) programme, as youths have a key role to play in bringing about positive change for the Panthera Tigris Jacksoni – the scientific name for this protected animal species. Officially carrying out her duty as a “Stripe” – a title for the five student leaders from respective universities selected as tigers conservationists, with tenure from August 2022 to February 2023 – she is expected to work with other team members to organise a group project, as well as an individual project for Y4T aimed at raising awareness and funds.

Research Associate to join project review seminar

15 November 202215 November 2022DMU SDGs

Long-standing DMU Media Discourse Centre Research Associate and Land Campaigner for the radical NGO Global Witness, Ali Hines, is the author of the recent report Decade of Defiance, which details the sometimes fatal struggle of activists to protect the environment, and the murders perpetrated by those determined to exploit and despoil the land. The Report was covered in news outlets like Le Monde, the Independent and the Guardian. Ali wrote her third year dissertation on green issues and, graduating from De Montfort in 2003, went on to take an MSc in Environment, Science and Society at UCL. She also produced two chapters for the MDC publications Sites of Protest (2016) and Journalism, Power and Investigation (2019), and gave a keynote at our ‘Global Culture’ conference in 2015. On Wednesday, 14^th December 2022 at 2pm, Ali will join a number of guest speakers at an online review and impact assessment of four participatory projects, all of which were conducted in order to gain insights into the actual conditions that determine the social fate of ordinary citizens and indigenous peoples in the Global South – issues linked heavily to SDG16 targets.

DMU Expert joins Cost of Living Crisis debate

2 November 20222 November 2022DMU SDGs

Many people are worrying about the cost of energy. Dr Andy Wright, Reader in Building Engineering Physics at DMU, was on the Ady Dayman show on BBC Radio Leicester on October 19. It was recorded in the house of a listener, talking to the a householder about energy use and how to reduce it. It can be heard on BBC sounds here, starting at 2h 11min 43s in case you don’t want to listen to the whole 4 hours.

COP27@DMU: Campaigners host movie event

2 November 20222 November 2022DMU SDGs

In a collaboration between Climate Action Leicester and Leicestershire (CALL) and Phoenix, The Ants and the Grasshopper will be screened during the 27th United Nations Climate Change conference (COP27). Filmed and made over the span of ten years, The Ants & The Grasshopper follows Malawian farmer Anita Chitaya as she fights climate change, gender inequality and child hunger, beginning in her village and taking the issue all the way to the White House. Staff and students are encouraged to attend. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session hosted by CALL, with a panel that includes DMU Net Zero Research Theme Director Mark Charlton.

COP27@DMU: Launch event in Trinity Chapel

1 November 20221 November 2022DMU SDGs

DMU is set to host a series of events alongside the world’s biggest climate change conference to give staff and students the chance to get involved. The United Nations Annual Climate Change Conference, COP27, is set to take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt between November 6-18, 2022, and will see world leaders meet to try and agree policies and strategy to create a more sustainable global future. To mark this, DMU is encouraging staff and students at DMU to help drive climate action at the heart of campus by hosting activities during this time.

COP27@DMU: Net Zero Football Goals

1 November 20221 November 2022DMU SDGs

Leicester Nirvana FC asked experts at De Montfort University if they could support their ambition to become the United Kingdom’s first Net Zero amateur football club. Using the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as a framework, exciting plans have been developed to progress this vision. Soon other grass roots teams from around the world wanted to join, including SG Eintracht Peitz, a German team leading the way in this project. Since its inception, the project has received a lot of interest and input from amateur sports clubs, researchers, businesses, public officials and the local community. This is an opportunity for anyone interested in the project to learn about the innovations so far, find out more and consider getting involved!

COP27@DMU: Save Money – Go Green (Travel and Transport)

1 November 20221 November 2022DMU SDGs

With the ‘cost of living crisis’ affecting us all, we are all looking for ways to keep costs down and to save money. With the high cost of petrol and diesel there are opportunities to save money by going green and adopting more sustainable travel behaviours. With many people looking for ways to reduce the costs of commuting the DMU sustainability team will be running a webinar to demonstrate how to save money on travel. In this webinar the team will provide hints and tips on how to save fuel while using your car, as well as the support that exists for staff members who want to use alternative forms of travel including public transport, walking and cycling.

COP27@DMU: Save Money – Go Green (Saving Energy)

1 November 20221 November 2022DMU SDGs

With the ‘cost of living crisis’ affecting us all, we are all looking for ways to keep costs down and to save money. With the high cost of both gas and electricity there are opportunities to save money by going green and adopting more energy efficient behaviours at home and in the office behaviours. With many people looking for ways to reduce the costs of energy use the DMU energy team and sustainability team will be running a webinar to demonstrate how to save money on fuel bills.

COP27@DMU: Carbon Literacy Training Taster Session

1 November 20221 November 2022DMU SDGs

The Carbon Literacy Training is a fun and interactive training session that enables participants to better understand the climate emergency and to develop meaningful plans to play their part in combatting climate change. The training is available for DMU staff and students. This short introductory session is a taster session for the full Carbon Literacy Training. In this session we will touch upon some of the full course content which includes a basic understanding of climate science, an understanding of carbon footprints, an explanation of climate justice and how different countries are susceptible to climate impacts and the importance of communication in engaging people on climate issues. It will also be an opportunity to meet other staff and students who are interested in climate change.