The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) will be holding what has become to be recognised as THE sustainability event of the year for the tertiary education sector at Nottingham Trent University on 7–9 May 2014
The Annual Conference sessions have once again been structured around the four main streams set out in Learning in Future Environments:
- Leadership and Governance
- Learning, Teaching and Research
- Partnership and Engagement
- Estates and Operations
The streams will consist of facilitated interactive sessions with emphasis on delivering practical advice, sharing good practice and aids to delivery of sustainable strategies, projects, paths and challenges. Time will also be available for discussions, knowledge sharing and Q&As with panel sessions. The subject matter of these sessions has been carefully selected by the Conference Programme Panel – a diverse range of EAUC Members, who have ensured that we are focusing on the needs and interests of Members and delegates across the higher and further education sectors.
Sessions will be delivered in three competency levels so regardless of where you find yourself on your own personal sustainability journey, you’ll be able to find something appropriate. For those who are new to the topic we have the ‘Starting Out’ sessions; for those who already have some experience of the area but are looking to advance we have the ‘On the Road’ sessions; and those who are more competent but looking for new approaches will probably want to consider the ‘More Advanced’ sessions. We’re also using this approach for all EAUC events and webinars for consistency.
In addition to the sessions, there will also be the opportunity to learn from winners and finalists from the Green Gown Awards. (www. greengownawards.org.uk). These are real-life case studies of initiatives and inspiration in sustainability to apply within your own institutions. You can view all the Awards good practice from 2011, 2012 and 2013 via over 160 case studies and videos on the Sustainability Exchange (www. sustainabilityexchange.ac.uk).
Inspirational speakers Keynote one: Damian Hughes
Damian is a professor of human organisational behaviour at EAUC Member Institution Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) as well as running his own change management consultancy ‘Liquid Thinking’. He will demonstrate that there are three types of people in the world: those that make things happen, those that watch what happened and those who say, “What happened?”He will show how we can make things happen, show courage, passion, resilience and the will to win, whatever the challenge and will help ensure that attendees fall into the first category!
Keynote two: A panel session discussing just who DOES have the sustainability mandate at your university or college.
The EAUC has positioned itself at the interface of staff and students where we can meet, engage and find new models of leadership for sustainability. However, we have much to learn about engagement and empowerment to get it right. Do we really know where we are heading or what success looks like? Are we simply passing the baton over to students to be responsible for universities’ sustainability mandate or is there a more powerful, and possibly more sustainable relationship in a partnership between staff and students? This keynote panel session will explore this subject in more detail and includes Steve Egan, deputy CEO of HEFCE, and Dom Anderson, vice president of society and citizenship at the National Union of Students.
Venue in the spotlight
The Newton Building at Nottingham Trent University (which will host the Conference) has recently undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment which has delivered large improvements in sustainability.The Grade 2* listed building now hosts one of the largest green roofs in the UK, offers ISO14001 compliance and, despite being in the city centre, it is also home to a colony of honey bees and a returning pair of peregrine falcons too! The conference menus are being designed with sustainability in mind and we’re aiming for all food to be Gold Food for Life accredited – NTU is already Silver accredited for their food. Ivan Hopkins, the executive chef at NTU, was a finalist in the 2013 Green Gown Awards in the Sustainability Champion category, and we are delighted that he will be overseeing the Conference catering.
Who should join us?
If you are serious about driving the sustainability agenda within your institution, then this event will help provide the tools, inspiration and the contacts to do so. With the content and facilitators sourced and driven by EAUC Members, session material will be topical and relevant. What’s more, the three different levels of the sustainability journey means that this three-day conference will have something for everyone. Delegates will be representing a broad range of stakeholders: directors of finance, resources, estates and procurement, senior managers, principals and vice-chancellors, academics and embedding sustainable development professionals, environmental and sustainability professionals, energy, procurement, travel and waste professionals, estates and facility managers, students, student union staff, sector suppliers and many more!
Focus on: Estates and Operations
We have several interesting and thought provoking sessions that sit under the framework of ‘Estates and Operations’, discussing diverse key topics from travel and Scope 3 to embedding highly segregated waste collections, and hearing case studies regarding how energy visualisation can work for you!
Our session on sustainable university retrofits delivered by Buro Happold is just one case study that will discuss the challenges faced and lessons learned, and following on this trend is a joint session by People and Planet and the Soil Association touching on case studies and good practice.
Another highlight of the Conference will be a tour of the Nottingham Arboretum, where topics such as biodiversity management techniques
will be discussed. We also have an ‘exchange’ session on the BREEAM New Construction 2014 scheme following nine months of industry
consultation and development.
Attendees can look forward to:
- A mix of inspirational plenary speakers.
- Smaller, more interactive sessions, where you can select from a range of five topics in each block of sessions, which really allows you to tailor your experience to suit your specific job role and experience level.
- Opportunities to focus on your own health and well-being and re-energise your sustainability batteries!
- A 50-stand exhibition showcasing the best of sustainable suppliers to help you deliver your own institutional sustainability goals.
- The chance to network with likeminded delegates from inside and outside the sector, learn from each other and help fast-track your own sustainability solutions.
- Back by popular demand – ‘exchanges’: 25-minute bitesized sessions that run within the exhibition area. n Major added value for EAUC Members only: see below for information.
Extra value for EAUC Members
We continually build extra value into all that we do to ensure Membership really pays off. At this year’s Conference, being an EAUC Member allows you exclusive opportunities to additional Conference content, extra discounts, multi-buy offers and student packages:
- EAUC Members qualify for reduced Conference package prices n Purchase ‘student day’ passes and new for 2014 ‘student full Conference packages’
- Buy two full Conference packages and get a third half price (does not apply to student full Conference packages)
- Buy four full Conference packages and get a fifth free (does not apply to student full Conference packages)
- Sign up for extra EAUC Member only sessions to inspire and motivate you
- Find out more about EAUC Membership at www.eauc.org.uk/ join_eauc
- Check if your institution is a Member at www.eauc.org.uk/our_members
Built by our Members for our Members: book your place today!
To learn more about the EAUC Annual Conference or book your place, please visit www.eventsforce.net/eauc2014. If you are a commercial company with
a product or service which supports the tertiary education sector and you want to meet sustainability practitioners and decision-makers, then please get in touch via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..