Changes to the Staff Sustainability Advocates Network
Following recent discussion at the University’s Environment and Sustainability Committee, we would like to reconvene and formalise the Staff Sustainability Advocates (SSA) Network into a structured forum that's more capable of empowering and mobilising staff sustainability champions.
We would love for existing SSA’s to stay involved (as well as new staff members joining our friendly network) and we hope that the changes will make a positive impact on what we can deliver on behalf of the University.
In order to make the most out of the SSA roles, we're also requesting that SSA’s gain approval from their line managers in order to attend one in-person meeting, per quarter.
Governance
The Staff Sustainability Advocates forum will have a structured meeting, once per quarter. Agenda items will be circulated ahead of these meetings, but have the basic following structure:
- Update from the Sustainability Team
- Sustainable Campus
- Sustainable Culture
- Collaboration Opportunities
- Round the table - positives and ideas for improvement
These meetings will be minuted, and notes and suggestions from the SSA forum will be reported to the Environment and Sustainability Committee on a quarterly basis.
In addition to the quarterly meetings, the Sustainability Team will facilitate some more informal and social events for the SSAs. These could include volunteering opportunities.
Impact and why the SSAs are so important
It's vital that we work with our staff body to ensure sustainability is embedded across the University. We know that many staff members feel passionate about supporting or even leading on sustainability projects. We'd like to empower them to make a difference from within the University community.
By formally reporting to the Environment and Sustainability Committee, a sub-group of the Senior Leadership Team, we hope to elevate the positive impact that staff members are already having within their departments.
Meeting Dates
The next scheduled meetings will be in-person at Brayford Campus on the following dates. If anyone would prefer to join via Microsoft Teams, this will be facilitated:
- Tuesday 28th June 2022, 14:00-15:00
- Tuesday 20th September 2022, 14:00- 15:00
- Wednesday 11th January 2023, 10:00 - 11:00
- Thursday 30th March 2023, 11:00 - 12:00