Sustainability news

The catering team at our Walton Hall campus has achieved the Food for Life Served Here Bronze certification from the Soil Association, for serving food that is good for our climate, nature and health.

In a remarkable display of community spirit and dedication, the OU CAN campaign has not only made a significant impact on our local communities but also set a Guinness World Record. The OU Can campaign, which began in August, united our teams across all four nations, resulting in the collection of over 1,000 cans for local food banks. 

The OU in Scotland Social Club organised two highly enjoyable clothing repair workshops for staff with funding from The OU's Go Green Team. Twelve staff attended the workshops in the first two weeks of June run by Jen Skedd of Artisan Stitch www.artisanstitch.co.uk. We learnt how to repair seams, a revelatory new way to hem, top tips for sewing on buttons, some darning and making a hole in your jeans into a piece of art!

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Over 550 Open University (OU) staff and students have taken part in the ‘How bad are bananas?’ game in the last twelve months. The game was played at over 25 events, across the OU, with staff and students from all four nations in the UK taking part.

The ‘How Bad are Bananas’ game is a fun and engaging way to promote and prompt discussion around climate impacts with any audience. The game takes about 30 - 60 minutes and can be adapted for different formats (face-to-face, online, large or small groups) and audiences.

A new report has been published following a consultation event at St George’s House, Windsor Castle in February 2024. Representatives from Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs), young people, education institutions and employers came together to explore ways to improve sustainability education for students across all disciplines.

Ramla Khan, a PhD student in The Open University’s School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences recently wrote for Climate Perspectives magazine.

In the article Ramla discusses her research ‘Investigating the effects of temperature extremes on urban trees’. Her work is part of The Open University's mission to deliver impact-driven research to ensure a sustainable planet.

Responsible Futures is a whole institution accreditation programme with the aim to embed sustainability across all aspects of student learning. Responsible Futures has been created by the charity Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), this is a unique accreditation being student led and audited by students.

Go Green recently ran a workshop for students and staff about Responsible Futures at the OU which you can watch below.

The Institute of Educational Technology (IET) at The Open University have recently launched a much-needed free OpenLearn badged open course (BOC) supporting educators across multiple sectors and subjects in addressing the climate emergency in their teaching.