News / Sustainability
University of Bristol launches new environmental campaign
Be The Change is the new campaign in town, recently launched by the University of Bristol.
With the slogan “challenge yourself to change the future”, the campaign aims to empower the academic community, both staff and students, to take on tangible decisions and actions that can make a difference.
The challenges include taking shorter showers, making more conscious fashion choices and even adopting a more plant-based diet.
is needed now More than ever
According to the University of Bristol (UoB), there’s a common feeling of ‘powerlessness’ around the campus. Be the Change campaign seeks to help people better understand the impact of consumerist lifestyles and the opportunity they have to create a more sustainable future for the planet.
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The University of Bristol declared a climate emergency back in 2019, being the first UK university to do so. In order to achieve its zero-carbon targets, the university supports schools, departments and individuals to be more sustainable through policies like climate action plans and Be the Change.
“Be the Change is based on evidence that the individual choices people make have a significant impact on our chances of limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees,” said a university spokesperson.
Despite the campaigns’ focus on individual choices and actions, UoB recognises that “governments and businesses must focus on decarbonising electricity and implementing policy to drive down emissions”.
However, this doesn’t exclude individuals and local communities who also hold the potential to create change.
The campaign is based on evidence shared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and a report on ‘The future of urban consumption in a 1.5 degrees world’.
This report also shows that shifting consumption patterns has the potential to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 40 to 70 per cent by 2050.
The university says the campaign is inspired by high-profile behaviour change campaigns including grassroots project, the JUMP, and the UN campaign for individual action. Act Now.
This piece of independent journalism is supported by NatWest and the Bristol24/7 public and business membership
Main photo: University of Bristol
Read next:
- Endangered trees and local plan on agenda for Bristol Tree Forum
- ‘How can we reach net zero when our public transport system is in shambles?’
- ‘How can we escape the vicious cycle of buy, wear, repeat?’
- Tackling the big questions climate change poses
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