Sustainable Development Goals

Our monthly warbles begin with a few paragraphs about our theme for the month and often leads onto how this theme relates to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). The SDG’s are 17 goals, with 169 targets between them, and were adopted by all United Nation Member States in 2015. They are designed to be ‘a blueprint to achieve a better, more sustainable future for all’, and have a target to be achieved by 2030. The goals are ambitious with targets including end poverty, in all forms, everywhere (SDG1) and ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services (SDG 7).

As it stands, we are not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Although progress has been made, the past 18 months have severely impacted this. There had been improvements pre-COVID, such as access to safely managed drinking water had increased, and the percentage of children and youth out of school had fallen. Sadly, we have also seen regression among many of the goals. The number of people facing food insecurity has increased, an issue that was heightened as a result of the pandemic further highlighting the inequalities in communities all around the world. We are now at a point where some countries are looking to recover, in terms of their economy, and others continue to battle the impact of COVID on their healthcare systems.

The SDG’s are global targets that will take collective effort to achieve from each nation and governments. Many targets will need to be worked on in tandem and are interrelated to each other. COP26 will be attended by 196 countries in November 2021; discussions will focus on how we will keep global warming to between 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees, as agreed through the Paris Agreement. Many climate experts agree that we are at a tipping point and the discussions during COP26 will be crucial when it comes to reaching net zero.

How can I get involved?

There are less than 100 days to go until COP26 where world leaders will convene in Glasgow to plan measures to tackle the climate emergency.  Green Chester will be incorporating activities and events as part of Induction week which will extend throughout October building up to the start of COP26 on 1^st November and culminate in Go Green Festival from 25^th to 30^th October.

As mentioned in the VC’s email on 23 July “it’s important that this is a collective responsibility” therefore, we invite students/staff/teams/departments to get involved and suggest ideas for talks, workshops, activities, events, speakers etc that relate to ‘tackling the climate emergency’ and cover the breadth of the SDGs.

We will host an initial meeting to collate ideas, if you are interested in being involved, please indicate your availability on the doodle poll by Wednesday 4^th August and we will confirm the date that is most suitable. If you’re a staff member, please do encourage students to get involved too. If you’re unable to make any of the dates, but wish to be involved please email greenchester@chester.ac.uk.

The Good Goals

The Good Goals look at the SDG’s on a more individual level and the personal actions we can all take. Examples of Good Goals include save, borrow and invest responsibly (SDG1), value mental health and well-being (SDG3) and demand leaders end ocean pollution (SDG 14). There are over 80 personal Good Goal actions, to read more about them, click here.

Earth Overshoot Day

Earth Overshoot Day is the day when ‘humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a year exceeds what the Earth can regenerate in that year’. In 2020, Earth Overshoot Day was the 22^nd August and was calculated to reflect the drop in resource use due to global lockdowns as a result of the pandemic. This year, Earth Overshoot Day is on Thursday 29^th July. There is a global movement to #MoveTheDate that looks at the solutions we can take to push the date backwards, instead of forwards. The five key areas that have been identified are: planet (how we can help nature thrive), cities (how we design and manage them), energy (how we power ourselves), food (how we feed ourselves) and population (how many of us there are).

Taking a Quantum Leap into the future of driving!

I needed a new car. Not just a new car but a decent car. After passing my test about 2 years prior, I had been the proud owner of three cars. Each old, expensive to maintain and, importantly, not very environmentally friendly. Fuel efficiency wasn’t great on any of them, and  CO₂ emissions meant I paid quite a bit of car tax. So, I eventually took the plunge and bought a newish (64) self-charging Toyota Yaris hybrid. I love my hybrid and cannot recommend them enough! CO₂ emissions were suddenly cut in half, from around 160g/km to 82g/km and this reduced car tax to nothing. My fuel bill was also significantly reduced. The fuel tank is a little over half the size of my previous car and I get the same number of miles out of it. Honestly, some days I forget to even glance at the fuel gauge! The car is also quieter. When the hybrid drive kicks in, it really feels like I’m driving a car of the future. In fact, it sometimes sounds like the futuristic car that Al Calavicci drives in the pilot episode of Quantum Leap. Oh boy!

Nick Goddard, DASA Climate Action team member

Climate Action in Corporate Communications

Although we have continued to work from home, taking part in Climate Action has been a regular part of the Corporate Communications agenda and is a standing item at our monthly team meeting.

Growing our own plants has been a key theme this year with the plants taken home from the office flourishing for me and Sarah; Jen has been growing and repotting her cuttings and Darius has dazzled us with a selection of hanging baskets. Jayne enjoyed the fragrance of home-grown hyacinths; Amy re-potted her Christmas tree and covered it with recycled decorations which double up as bird feeders and Sarah and Alison have been wowing the team with their fruit and vegetable growing – both in their own gardens and Alison at the University allotment too.

Volunteering has also been a major part of our contribution as we pull together in our communities. I have continued to volunteer weekly at Cat’s Protection in Wrexham; Sarah has collected hundreds of pounds for a variety of charities; Helena continues in her role as a school governor and Louise has acted as a telephone befriender to those feeling isolated. Everyone had a good lockdown sort out and donated clothes and furniture to charity as a result.

Working from home has had its benefits – we’ve had more participants than ever in our pedometer challenge with Gemma clocking up an impressive average of more than 11,000 steps a day! Fliss has been eating up her leftovers; Jenni has been using her food caddy more; Katy has switched off more lights; Hayley has been washing at cooler temperatures and James has attended absolutely loads of sustainability events including playing a key role in organising the Sustainability in Business event for the Business Growth Partnership.

Taking part in Climate Action has definitely reminded us of the various ways we can make a positive impact in our daily lives and it has been really encouraging to see the results.

Written by Alex Williams, Corporate Communications Climate Action Team.

Our July Recommendations

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020 looks in detail about each of the 17 goals and the progress that has been made to achieve them, as well as highlighting where further work is needed to get on track to achieve them by 2030.

COP26 Explained has been developed to set out why the discussions that take place around COP26 are so crucial in taking action on climate change. The document also includes important events in the road to COP26 and how to get involved.