Sustainability Newsletter
Stories from Sustainability Week
Welcome to our April Sustainability Newsletter. In this edition, we’re sharing stories from staff and students who led activities and events during Sustainability Week in early March. They reflect on what inspired them, what they enjoyed most, and what sustainability means to them. Together, their experiences highlight the importance of engaging our University community with sustainability in meaningful ways.
We’ll also share how you can stay involved throughout the year, because sustainability isn’t just for one week, it’s something we can all be part of everyday.
SW26: AN OVERVIEW
600
peoplE
engaged directly with our events.
60
HOURS
across 5 days of events to get involved with.
29
EVENTS
26 in person on Campus East & West, and 3 online.
3,847 VIEWS
on our sustainability week event web pages.
From 2 to 6 March, the University of York hosted Sustainability Week 2026, and what a fantastic week it was!
Across five days, staff, students and partners came together for a packed programme of events celebrating the passion and commitment to sustainability across the University.
From film screenings and sustainability fairs to nature-focused activities, workshops and deeper explorations of sustainability in practice, the week highlighted how sustainability is being embedded across teaching, campus operations and research.
New Year Same Planet Fair
New Year Same Planet Fair
Nature Walk on Campus East
Nature Walk on Campus East
Fixing Our Food System workshop
Fixing Our Food System workshop
The Big Clothes Swap
The Big Clothes Swap
Solar and Geothermal Energy Explored, Institute of Safe Autonomy
Solar and Geothermal Energy Explored, Institute of Safe Autonomy
Climate Fresk workshop
Climate Fresk workshop
Bike Doctor sessions
Bike Doctor sessions
Nature Walk on Campus East
Nature Walk on Campus East
STORIES FROM OUR COMMUNITY
Below, you’ll find stories from event organisers reflecting on their experiences planning and delivering their events, as well as what sustainability means to them.
LIGHT ABOVE, HEAT BELOW: SOLAR & GEOTHERMAL EXPLORED
By Daniel Marfiewicz-Dickinson, Institute of Safe Autonomy (ISA)
We organised an event titled "Light Above, Heat Below: Solar and Geothermal Explored" where we wanted to explore how the University is using both the sun and the earth to advance its sustainability objectives and reduce our carbon emissions. The Institute of Safe Autonomy (ISA) having its own large solar farm made it the ideal place to delve deeper into those topics given our research and facilities.
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION?
The initial inspiration was to hold the event for the University of York's Green Impact initiative. It came up as a possibility at a Green Impact team meeting and we decided to give it a go!
WHAT DID YOU ENJOY THE MOST?
I think the best part of organising this activity was seeing a full room of keen and interested people attend a talk about sustainability and what we are doing in order to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN TO YOU?
Sustainability is of critical importance, now more than ever before, as the world consistently misses emission targets leading to the expected temperature rises that we have been warned about and the instability of the world which has shown that we may not always be able to rely on fossil fuel imports.
A Workshop On How do we fix our food system by 2050
By Emma York, Graduate Coordinator, Access and Outreach Team
As part of Sustainability Week 2026, I debuted my workshop all about how we might transform the future food system for 2050. My session involved an introductory presentation, then a groupwork task focused on the planetary boundaries and future food technologies.
Each group was given a “Challenge” card and a “Technology” card, and discussed how their challenge could be alleviated by the implementation of their technology within the food system. This sparked great conversations and ideas, as well as highlighting how complex and interconnected the food system actually is.
What was your inspiration?
Following my placement year focused on food sustainability at Centre for Process Innovation, I developed a strong drive to raise public awareness of novel foods and emerging technologies that could address current environmental challenges.
I am passionate about communicating complex scientific ideas in an engaging, accessible, and relatable way to spark curiosity and encourage further exploration. I aim to encourage an open conversation around innovative solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises.
What did you enjoy the most?
Attendees enjoyed the interactivity of the groupwork task, where they were able to discuss ideas and got to know other participants.
One participant stated: “The card system to get a random problem and technology was very well done. It made sense to reduce the conversation to a few key bits and the cards had a good level of prompts without giving any answers away”.
I really enjoyed seeing the discussions that were prompted by the presentation I delivered, and hearing some creative and new ideas!
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability is something that affects all of us, and will be integral to every business and organisation in the near future to ensure our planet remains habitable for supporting human life.
Therefore, it is so important that everyone in our community has access to accurate information about sustainability and understand how they can play a part. It doesn’t have to be a massive change that they make, it could be something very simple, but everyone can make a difference and nobody has to be perfect in their sustainability journey.
York Cares Campus Clean up
By the York Cares Team
York Cares hosted a litter pick based on the west campus, starting at the Berrick Saul Building and then spreading out to cover as far as the Sports Centre and the York Science Park. Volunteers were provided with pickers and bags of rubbish and encouraged to roam around the campus, picking up litter to help the environment and appreciate the beautiful nature we have on site.
What was your inspiration?
We were inspired to host this event due to the Great British Spring Clean 2026, a nationwide initiative promoted by Keep Britain Tidy, to host litter picks across the country. We had already been organising such events with our partners at the City of York Council Environment and Community Teams and wanted to bring the amazing benefits of it to our local environment and show the benefits of the activity to staff and students.
What did you enjoy the most?
It was amazing to share casual conversation with our attendees; speaking to them about their personal connection with our shared local environment. How much they appreciated working and studying on a campus with so much green space and how valuable it was to them to protect and clean-up that space.
What does sustainability mean TO YOU?
Sustainability is about doing everything we can as a community to try and protect and heal our environment around us. It is more than one individual's responsibility but something we all have to contribute to. Whether through activities such as litter-picking and recycling, or making sustainable choices such as using public transport and walking when fitting.
CAN DATA CENTRES AND THE DIGITAL ECONOMY BE SUSTAINABLE?
By Jennie Ravenscroft, York for Life
We organised a free online webinar led by Dr Felicia Liu, Lecturer in sustainability at York. The talk was focused on the expansion of data centres and the opportunities to steer this towards more sustainable and resilient pathways.
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION?
Over at York for Life we aim to engage alumni with all the amazing things happening at the University, whether it's research, projects or people. With sustainability being a key focus of the institution we knew we wanted to highlight this to our alum.
WHAT DID YOU ENJOY THE MOST?
The most enjoyable thing about running the event is the learning. We're so lucky to have staff at the University who are top of their field, highly knowledgeable and best of all, willing to share that knowledge. I knew next to nothing about data centres before the event, but I feel as if I now could have a conversation about the topic.
WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN TO YOU?
Sustainability is ensuring that we don't tip the balance too far and that we're mindful of our consumption. I think Felicia made a really important point in her talk, that AI is a commodity, it's not free and the cost will eventually be paid, even if we don't see it or feel it straight away.
Missed the talk? Watch the recording on YouTube!
Offering plant based promotions
across CaMPUS CATERING
By Joanne Hampshire, Catering Manager
We ran two campaigns for Sustainability Week.; a social media push sharing everything we already do on campus, plus an additional campaign offering 10% off selected plant based meals on campus. A total of 96 meals were sold during this time. We offered:
- Plant based Katsu curry at the Link
- Smoked tofu ramen at the Hub
- Bean burger with sweet chilli mayonnaise at Derwent
- Sweet potato, freekeh salad with harissa and coconut yoghurt dressing
- Harissa spiced cauliflower pomegranate and freekeh salad with coconut yoghurt dressing at Library
What was your inspiration?
It was suggested by the Green Impact Project Assistant (GIPA) team "Plant Based Posse" to promote plant based food, and we are always keen to team up with others. We have a selection of options for plant-based around campus and wanted them to be available on both Campus East and West. We thought the best time to promote this was during Sustainability Week.
What did you enjoy the most?
Just the collaboration as a collective team to achieve good once someone has tried a different dish they may select plant based in the future.
What does sustainability mean to you and why is it important to engage our community?
Sustainability to me is the need to be more efficient in my practices and my choices to enable future generations to have the things we do and look after the things we have (reuse recycle repair etc). It's an important topic within the University as we all need to do our bit to empower each other to make small changes to create big wins.
Student-curated plant-based recipe book:
Interested in incorporating plant-based meals into your diet? Download the Plant Based Posse's plant based recipe book for inspiration and recipes! This recipe book has been produced by students as part of the Green Impact scheme.
But sustainability isn’t just for one week of the year...
It’s wonderful that we can come together and celebrate sustainability across our campus in March each year. Outside of Sustainability Week, there are plenty of ways that you can get involved in sustainability initiatives across the whole year. We encourage you to sign up to events, take part in initiatives, and continue getting involved with sustainability across our campus. Here's some things you can do:
- Join us for our first ever "Sustainabili-Tea" drop in (6 May)
- Take part in a climate science workshop.
- Sign up to an upcoming sustainability event.
- Get involved in this year's York City Nature Challenge (24 - 27 April)
- Want to start a sustainability project on campus? Apply for the York SU Sustainable Development Grant.
- For students: apply to study a York Interdisciplinary Module (including the Sustainability Clinic) in 2026/27.
Contact us: sustainability@york.ac.uk | Follow us: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook
Built with Shorthand