The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the worlds ‘to do’ list for the next thirteen years. Each of the Global Goals is extraordinarily important, and taken together, present us in education with a potent agenda of unprecedented scope and significance.
We celebrate education having its own dedicated Goal (No 4) but that is only the start of it. The 2017 EAUC Annual Conference theme Global Goals: Local Action recognises the critical role universities and colleges across the planet have to play in finding and implementing solutions to climate change and realising theSDG’s on a local level within their communities and beyond.
The big challenge to deliver measurable and effective solutions to climate change often falls to the Estates Department and this conference will give delegates the tools and resources that they need to respond to this task.
The packed conference will take place on 28–30 March at Lancaster University and will be filled with insight and ideas aimed at delegates from every area of campus life from the further and higher education sector.
Headlining the agenda, we have a number of inspiring keynote sessions which will take place during the main conference on Wednesday 29 – Thursday 30 March 2017. We will welcome Maria Adebowale - Schwarte, Director of the Living Space Project and Julie Hirigoyen, CEO of the UK Green Building Council for a panel session on The Pivotal Role of Education in Creating Sustainable Cities and Communities.
Chair of the Environmental Audit Select Committee, Mary Creagh MP, will deliver a keynote providing insight into how the UK Government has allocated responsibility for UK implementation for the Goals, how well Government is facilitating UK activity and what new opportunities exist for the EAUC community to support, influence and deliver education’s transformational contribution to the SDG agenda.
During the conference, there will also be more than 35 optional breakout sessions, all of which are streamed around the Sustainable Development Goals and allow delegates to tailor their conference experience to suit their job role and experience level. So whether you’re a Director of Estates, Energy, Travel or Waste Professional or an Estates and Facility Manager, the EAUC Conference will offer sessions relevant for your role. Key workshops of interest will include:
· University College of Estate Management considering how universities and colleges can achieve excellence in a sustainable university refurbishment. The workshop will reflect on a range of environmental criteria from waste, energy, transport, materials and procurement, and highlight the opportunities these offer to embed sustainability into the core operations of a building.
· University of London looking at energy use across UK university campuses and finding out what it would take for universities to meet the needs of the treaty in terms of energy use and carbon reduction.
· NUS and Solar SOASexploring how divestmentcan fund energy efficiency and renewables on campus.
· Lancaster Universitydiscussing their end of year recycling project, Exodus, which is now in its ninth year and, last summer, prevented 46 tonnes of waste going to landfill by either redistributing it on campus or dispersing it amongst local and international charities.
As host institution, Lancaster University will also deliver a number of sessions throughout the conference to showcase their sustainability initiatives. These will include a pre-conference workshop exploring their Carbon Management Plan, which will include a visit to their Green Gown Award Winning wind turbine, as well as a workshop to show delegates how they are using their outdoor and food growing spaces to diversify the way that academics from all faculties can embed sustainability within the curriculum at Lancaster.
Book now at http://www.eaucconference.org.uk/