Environmental Issue

The Sound* Environmental Impact Awards is an environmental accreditation scheme with an awards element designed specifically for students’ unions. The scheme seeks to encourage, nurture, reward and celebrate good practice in students’ unions.

Last year (2009/2010) Queen's Students' Union won the bronze award.

Looking for Environmental Committee Minutes, or any other documentation relating to the Union's work on environmental issues? Click here.

Recycling in the Union

The Students' Union is constantly looking at ways we can lessen its impact on the environment, and make students aware of the difference they can make by being more environmentally aware. All areas of the Students' Union provide public recycling facilities for plastics, paper/cardboard and aluminium cans for the use of our patrons. We also have a battery and mobile phone recycling station located in our ground floor foyer.

Behind the scenes, our bars and retail outlets have made massive strides in the last few years in decreasing the amount of commercial waste (packaging, glass etc) that we send to landfill. You just need to look at our Goods Yard full of recycling bins to see this in action!

Environmental Campaigns

This year during Green Week we are concentrating on the following areas:

Increasing awareness of environmental issues and trying to change the habits of the thousands of Queen's students; Green Week is the environmental highlight of our campaigns calendar.

The Students' Union has led the way in trying to reduce the Carbon emission of the University.

Students' Union VPCS Presentation on Carbon Management

Cycling Initiative

Fairtrade

The Students' Union is very proud of its status as a Fairtrade Union, and leads the way at promoting the Fairtrade message and Fairtrade products across the campus. All coffee/tea sold in outlets and bars withing in the Union are Fairtrade, and the SU Shop stocks a wide range of Fairtrade goods, including; confectionary, stationery, household goods and clothing.

Our annual Fairtrade Fortnight reinforces this message annually to students and staff. Fairtrade Fortnight 2010.