If you’ve made a promise to yourself to be more eco-friendly but keep telling yourself you’ll start tomorrow, Sussex University is hosting a week of activities, events and talks designed to raise awareness and take action on environmental issues.
Highlights include a vegan cocktail mixology evening, a bike train to campus, and the relaunch of the popular campus food waste cafe. Brighton & Hove Energy Services Co-Operative Ltd will also give a talk on all the latest updates in the world of renewable energy.
Sarah Gibbons, the society and citizenship officer at the uni, said: “Go Green Week is a great opportunity to showcase the wonderful sustainable initiatives that are going on already around campus as well as giving people a chance to try new things and learn more about how we can make small changes for a more sustainable future. There’s a great mix of events, activities and loads of food and drink offers so there is something for everyone!”
There will also be a clothes swap, so you can have a clearout and bag some beautiful new clothes in the cheapest and most eco-conscious way possible. The Revival Collective, an eco-friendly fashion and lifestyle blog run by Sussex graduate Hermione Berendt, states: “In a society obsessed with consumption, brands and business are sucked into an unceasing cycle of mass production at increasingly low price points, which encourages selling high volumes of cheaply-made products to generate as much profit as possible. The population as shoppers have come to see this as the norm and therefore expect it, which means that the demand only increases, causing a rise in binge buying and waste.”
Top tips towards a greener lifestyle
- Quit ‘fast fashion’Â – Having a wardrobe full of on-trend items which look good for a season and then get binned might help your Instagram aesthetic, but it’s killing the planet. Buy only what you need, take good care of good-quality pieces, and don’t be afraid of outfit repeating. Check out the #30Wears tag for some motivation to ditch fast fashion for good.
- On your bike – It’s no wonder that Brightonians love their bikes. Not only will switching from car to bike save you money and keep you fit, it’ll also cut your carbon footprint.
- Reduce your meat intake – The livestock industry produces almost a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases. You don’t have to go full-on vegan to do your bit; having one or two meat-free days a week will save the same amount of gas as switching your car to an electric one.
- Re-think your weekly shop – Did you know that we collectively wast 10 million tonnes of food in the UK each year? Even worse, 60 per cent of that food could have still been used. Buy only what you need and avoid being tempted by deals which will have you buying perishable food in bulk. It’ll save you money as well as helping the planet.
- Thermostat down, layers on – An old tip, but a good one. It may seem tempting to turn the heating way up after a cold commute home, but it’s much more conscious to don a cosy jumper and slippers.
- Come prepared – Always carry a re-useable carrier bag and water bottle. You never know when they may come in handy.
For the full list of Go Green Week activities, click here.