Welcome to your June newsletter
Posted on Thursday 5 June 2025
York Sport Ranked 2nd in Nationality Sustainability Leaderboard
We're proud to announce that York Sport has been ranked 2nd in the Leisure Loop Top 10 Leaderboard, recognising the UK leisure centres making the biggest impact through pool waste recycling.
By recycling 199.20 KG of pool waste and saving 112.75 KG of CO₂, York Sport is playing a key role in tackling landfill, reducing carbon emissions, and leading the way in circular sustainability across the UK leisure industry.
This achievement reflects our commitment to a greener, more sustainable future for sport and leisure.
Celebrating Green Impact Teams
This month we are celebrating the achievements of this year’s Green Impact teams. Staff from 27 Depts and Colleges across the university, supported by student project assistants and auditors, have joined together to help increase the sustainability of their activities through an online Toolkit.
The award ceremony on 10th June will bring everyone together to celebrate this work and showcase some unique sustainability Projects. Awards to be given out range from Bronze to Platinum and we are delighted to introduce the new Diamond award for teams who have achieved Platinum status for 5 years!
The Toolkit is closed for the summer to regular teams, but will reopen in the new year. Anyone interested in taking part can get inspiration from the Green Impact webpages or check out next month’s Sustainability newsletter for a round up of award winners.
Alcuin College wins College Sustainability Challenge competition
College Sustainability Challenge is an intercollegiate competition, with a focus on energy reduction in campus accommodation and also engaging with competitions and fun quizzes to learn more about sustainability!
Alcuin college has topped this year’s final leaderboard with Wentworth coming in second and Derwent Colleges in third place. Congratulations to the students and staff of the winning College and thanks to all others for taking part and making sustainable choices throughout the year.
Over 5,000 students were engaged in College Sustainability Challenge this academic year across the UK, and over 90 tonnes of carbon dioxide saved via energy savings. That’s about the same as removing 100 return flights from Manchester to New York! This year, the University of York had the largest number of students participate in the campaign.
Student Research Spotlight: Deborah's research on transitioning to alternative plant-based textile biomaterials
This month, we're shining a spotlight on Deborah Mackenzie, an MSc student in the Department of Environment and Geography at the University of York.
Deborah is currently exploring whether a sustainable industrial transition to alternative plant-based textile biomaterials is achievable. In particular, she is evaluating the mass market potential of transitioning to alternative plant-based textile biomaterials derived from agricultural waste.
We spoke to Deborah about her research, her experience presenting at a student sustainability conference, and her hopes for the future impact of her work and career.
How is your Students' Union tackling sustainability?
York SU has just launched their first Sustainability Impact Report! Discover their progress on key environmental issues and what they are committed to doing in the next 12 months to build a more sustainable future, for you and for everyone.
Find out more about how you can get involved with sustainability at the SU via their website.
Are you a student moving out of your campus or private accommodation
We hope you’ve had a great year in York! It’s nearly time to move out for many of you, so don’t leave it to the last minute to sort your belongings!
Check out the reminder of what you need to do before you depart, including how to deal responsibly with your waste and items you don’t want to take with you.
Please remember to turn off the lights as you leave #smallimpactbigchange
Do you work in a wet lab? Join GILA!
Following on from the successful launch of Green Impact Lab Accreditation (or GILA) 15 new teams have joined Green Impact to work towards this new sustainability accreditation.
This new initiative will help wet labs in their applications to funding bodies such as Wellcome or Cancer Research UK. Each laboratory completes the necessary actions, is audited, then receives a nationally standardised GILA certificate. The certificate demonstrates progress towards embedding sustainability in research.
Wet lab teams are now invited to join the GILA Toolkit and work towards receiving their accreditation in the autumn. Further information is available on the website.
Opportunities
Returning student opportunity!
The University and SOS-UK are offering an exciting student opportunity, to receive IEMA-approved training on sustainability auditing in labs, and put your newfound skills into practice by conducting Green Impact lab audits. No prior experience is needed, just a willingness to try something new!
We are particularly interested in students with some experience working in labs or from a sciences faculty due to the nature of the audit work, but this isn’t essential.
The training and audits will be all day Tuesday 14th October (with breaks built in). This is an opportunity for students who will still be studying from September.
The training will support you to develop and practice transferable employability skills including communication, teamwork, decision-making, time management, and organisation. You’ll also develop a better understanding of sustainability in the workplace and what the University is doing to be more sustainable.
After the day you will get a digital badge to demonstrate your experience. You can apply to participate by filling out this short form. The deadline to sign up is the 5 June 2025.
Volunter opportunity: Join York Climate Commission's new Communication and Engagement Working Group
York Climate Commission is seeking volunteers to join a new Communications and Engagement Working Group. They’re looking for a Working Group Lead and members to help raise awareness of climate action across York.
No formal experience is required — just a passion for sustainability and the time to contribute. Find out more and apply by Monday 30 June.
Upcoming events
Friday 6 June 2025: Upcoming Climate Fresk with Festival of Ideas
Interested in joining a climate science workshop? Climate Fresk is a three-hour workshop based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.
This interactive session will teach you the fundamental science behind climate change and empower you to take action through small-group discussion, reflection on emotions and collaborative action planning. The session takes place 6 June, 12.30 - 3.30pm in our Sustainability Clinic. See full details and sign up here.
Geothermal Energy Project Open Day: Wednesday 11 June, 11am-6pm, Drop-in at Ron Cooke Hub Atrium, Campus East
Staff, students, local residents, and landowners are invited to attend a drop-in Open Day exploring the University’s Deep Geothermal Energy Project, delivered in partnership with Echo Geo.
The event offers an opportunity to learn how deep geothermal energy works, understand the seismic surveys planned for September 2025, and find out how to stay informed and involved in future stages of the project.
More information about the project on the website.
Kyoto: Come play climate negotiation! (13 June, 2pm - 4pm, Sustainability Clinic)
Join us in the Sustainability Clinic to play "Kyoto", our latest Play for the Planet game session.
"Kyoto" is a board game that asks you to act as a delegate from different countries and negotiate at a climate conference. Will you meet emissions reduction targets and provide funding to prevent severe damage to the planet? Or will you prioritise your nation's wealth? Can you win this climate game?
To play, contact esay@york.ac.uk
Upcoming Carbon Literacy Training dates
Want to learn more about climate change, its origins, its impacts and tangible steps to address it? Join one of our cohort training sessions below by emailing sustainability@york.ac.uk with the month you’d like to attend, and become carbon literate certified. Open and free of charge to staff and students.
June 2025 - Cohort 21 (online Zoom)
- Session 1 - Fri 13th June - 9:00- 13:00
- Session 2 - Fri 20th June - 9:00- 13:00
July 2025 - Cohort 21 (in person on campus)
- Full day session - Fri 25th July - 9:00- 17:30
York Festival of Ideas: "Natural World" themed events
York Festival of Ideas 2025 is now live, featuring an exciting and diverse programme running from 31 May to 13 June. This year explores 'Making Waves' with over 200 mostly free in-person and online events designed to educate, entertain and inspire.
In particular, explore one of this year’s key themes, 'Natural World', featuring a range of inspiring events focused on nature and the environment. Take part in some balsam bashing on a guided nature walk, discover the alien microbes living in the Earth’s crust and hear from BBC Countryfile presenter Tom Heaps.
Explore 'Natural World' themed events
Upcoming SOS-UK webinars
Wednesday 11 June 2025: Inhale with Intention this Clean Air Day: why we can't be passive about the air we breathe
Join us for a session focusing on Clean Air Day, where we delve into the causes and far-reaching effects of air pollution on our health and environment.
We will share practical steps that citizens and organisations can take to reduce pollution and contribute to a healthier, more sustainable future. Discover how small actions can lead to significant improvements and learn how to become an advocate for clean air in your community. Sign up here.
Wednesday 9 July 2025: Supporting nature over the summer holidays
Join us to find out some fun and interesting ways you can lend nature a helping hand over the summer!
We'll cover tips on how you can help support nature's recovery with wildlife friendly gardening, some fun family-friendly citizen science projects, and some wildlife ID skills to help you find out what species live on your doorstep. Sign up here. Sign up here.
Sustainability events
Find out more about this month's sustainability events.
Links and further information
Don’t forget to follow UoY sustainability on social media.
You can also check out UoY Sustainability on our wordpress blog, or click the links below to find out more!
- UoY Sustainability pages
- Our Sustainability Plan 2021-2030
- Staff can join the Green Impact slack channel: #green-impact.
- Green Impact toolkit (registration code: 40238)
- Green Impact google site
- SOS-UK webinar series