Sustainability news

Louisa Hobbs, Operations Manager of Milton Keynes Food Bank thanked The OU Hub in June 2025 for their work:

Willow Neal (They/Them), a postgraduate researcher and Associate Lecturer at The Open University in the school of Earth, Environmental and Ecosystem Sciences wrote for Climate Perspectives magazine’s Summer 2024 edition.

The Open University (OU) has participated in the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Changemakers programme. This initiative partners students with academics from aligned disciplines to co-create innovative approaches to integrating ESD into our teaching and learning practices.

The OU’s Walton Hall campus has recently been presented with a Gold Award in the Regional ‘Thames and Chilterns in Bloom, large parks’ category 2023.

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!

OpenLearn Create (OLC), is an innovative, global learning platform, managed and maintained by Corporate and Commercial in LDS, which enables collaborative development of learning resources.

EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR HOSTED BY THE OPEN UNIVERSITY, PARTNER OF NET ZERO WEEK.

Tuesday 9th July 2024, 14:00 – 15:00 BST

FREE TICKETS HERE

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.