FEBRUARY

• Increase their knowledge and awareness of sustainability issues,
• Connect with a supportive community of likeminded people, and
• Learn simple yet effective ways to help build a better future for all.

Organisations that subscribe to the program will get:

• Unlimited access for all staff and students with an organisational email address to the #actsofconnection calendar.
• Access to 30 virtual sustainability themed events and/or activities - planned, coordinated and implemented by the expert ACTS team.
• Access to a weekly #actsofconnection e-bulletin of upcoming events.
• Promotional materials, including communication resources, event listings and social media assets.
• A monthly summary detailing your organisation's program engagement.
• Monthly competitions with prizes up for grabs for active participants (ethically and sustainably sourced of course!).

ACTS is also delighted to announce that the popular Green Impact program is now available in a new lite version, providing entry level access to this award winning behaviour change and engagement program. 

Green Impact Lite is based on the same tried-and-tested framework of the standard program, providing a platform that helps people understand sustainability and social responsibility, shows them what they can do to make a difference in the workplace, and supports them in achieving these actions.

Green Impact Lite provides your organisation with access to a sector specific toolkit of actions (rather than a bespoke toolkit as seen in the full program) and allows you to compete against other participating organisations to be the greenest of them biggest all! 

The ACTS team will be hosting an Introduction to Green Impact Lite information webinar at 12.00pm AEDT | 2.00PM NZDT on Tuesday 9th March 2021. Join us to learn more about this new program, and how it can help support your staff to make impactful action towards sustainability.

The ProSPER.Net Joint Research Project 'Disaster Education for Integrating SFDRR and SDG in Asia' designed an online survey questionnaire in order to understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as coping mechanisms and adaptation of Higher Education institutions.

The initial survey was deployed in 2020 as a joint initiative between ProSPER.Net and International Association of Universities (IAU). ACTS has now partnered with ProSPER.Net to deploy an adapted version of the survey for institutions in the Australasian region.

ACTS members are now invited to complete the survey, which is expected to take 10-15 minutes to complete. Responses are anonymous and the aggregate data will be shared with ProSPER.Net for the purposes of supporting the global education sector.

Part of the UN Race To Zero, the Global Climate Letter is rallying leadership and support from the worlds universities, colleges, students and networks for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth.

In advance of the COP26, we come together to add our support to the Global Climate Letter that will be shared with the media and key UN and governmental officials. Networks from around the world, including ACTS, have agreed to support this letter and we encourage our members to do the same. 

Institutions can sign the Global Climate Letter if they commit to supporting a three-point plan, in line with the Race to Zero criteria, which includes:

1. Mobilizing more resources for action-oriented climate change research and skills creation;
2. Pledge to reach net-zero by 2030, or 2050 at the very latest;
3. Increasing the delivery of environmental and sustainability education across curriculum, campus and community outreach program.

Ideally, the president or chancellor of respective institutions will sign on to this letter on behalf of the institution. However, if an institution has already committed to the actions outlined above via previous agreements, any faculty or staff member of the institution can sign on to reiterate its pre-existing commitment.

The fourth annual Global Goals Teach In has launched and will take place 22 February – 5 March 2021! The annual campaign from SOS-UK calls on educators from all stages of education, and all disciplines, to pledge to include the UN SDGs in their teaching and learning throughout the two weeks. SOS-UK are inviting educators from all over the globe to pledge now using the online form to incorporate the SDGs in their teaching, learning and assessment throughout the Teach In.
 
According to the latest SOS-UK research, 83 per cent of students would like to see sustainable development actively incorporated and promoted through all courses, and the Teach In is a great springboard for engagement in this area. To take part, any educator (including lecturers, teachers and trainers) can pledge to include the SDGs in their teaching, learning, and assessment in one or more of their courses during the campaign. Ideally, students learn about the SDGs in a way that’s relevant to their course.

ACTS has partnered with the green-tech platform UCapture, an online service that helps generate free carbon offset for education institutions. This simple yet sophisticated tool means that staff, students and alumni can help generate carbon offsets for their institution when they shop online. 

There are over 25,000 online stores that fund carbon offsets via UCapture, including Uber Eats, Woolworths, eBay, Ticketmaster, Dymocks, YouTube, Airbnb and much more. When users shop with the extension installed, participating partners pay UCapture a commission, which is used to fund carbon offset projects, such as:

• Reforestation and forest preservation projects
• Methane capture at landfills and abandoned coal mines
• Solar and wind energy production projects

After each transaction, users can see how many kilograms of CO2 were offset and the specific project that they funded (see some examples here).

If you would like to learn more about how UCapture can help generate verified carbon offsets for your institution, please get in touch with us! 

ACTS does not support or encourage excessive and unecessary shopping and consumption habits. We recognise the UCapture platform as an opportunity to help consumers work towards positive sustainability outcomes while undertaking necessary online shopping activities.