Sustainability updates

We'll keep this area updated with developments and changes which impact our sustainability goals:

Our Adult Learning team held the second Learn4Life event which was themed around sustainability. Presented by Nancy Shefford, Sustainability Officer at Capital International, the event promoted upskilling in sustainability and at the event we launched new sustainability courses. Find out more and watch the recording of the event here.

We encouraged students and staff to reduce, reuse and recycle through a series of social media posts, a staff leaflet and a takeover of our poster holders, screens and table talkers.
Our new recycling points were created with signage to remind students and staff about the benefits of recycling.
Some of our General Studies students have been working alongside Beach Buddies. This has been a great opportunity to develop their employability, communication and teamwork skills, as well as benefiting the environment!

Biosphere Isle of Man published an article from our Vice Principal Geoff Chatwood about our sustainability journey. Read the article here.
Graham Dugdale from Manx Utilities provided a staff drop in session to help staff reduce their energy consumption
We're always looking to embed sustainable practices into our curriculum. Here's an example of a guest speaker who visited our Construction, Architecture and Surveying students to discuss sustainability in this industry.

Have you visited our Annie Gill café? As well as the incredible lunches and cakes you can also enjoy a delicious ‘proper’ coffee. BUT did you know that the used coffee grounds are given to our Land Management team to use in their compost!
With support from their tutor, our Childcare & Early Years Education students made this fantastic Christmas Tree which doubles up as a recycling bin. Thank you to Sadler Agricultural Supplies for providing the materials.

UCM Students visit Douglas City Council recycling centre

Did you know we have a Training Restaurant? As part of their course, our Catering, Hospitality & Food Service students learn Barista skills (we also run a Barista Adult Learning Upskilling course), and when they're finished with the coffee grounds we reuse them in our bakery (also a learning environment where students learn their skills).
Student Services announced the Gift Exchange initiative ahead of Christmas.
Our Student Services Team is continuing to promote sustainability through the Clothes Exchange, which was originally launched in 2022 with read success (read the news article here).
We launched two new Adult Learning 'Just for Fun' courses which promote Sustainable Fashion. Read the full story.
We're encouraging our students to explore Green Careers by getting involved in Green Careers Week through the tutorial programme.
Our level 1 Vocational Studies student recently visited Douglas City Council’s Recycling Facilities to learn all about what happens to our recycling, where is goes and what happens next.

Some of our Art Students were runners up at the Biosphere Isle of Man Awards for a project involving sustainable fashion.
The cups available at our water dispensers are Vegware
In October 2023 we officially launched our sustainability model with events for students, staff and the wider public. The plan was launched to the wider public at the Research Festival - read the story here or click here to watch the presentations from the Research Festival including the presentation of our sustainability plan from Geoff Chatwood.
Our Research Festival included a keynote address from Climate Change Scientist Douglas Fox.

One of our Lecturers, Dr Christa McCartney has her second chapter around sustainability published. Read the full article here.

We launched our Five Year Strategy which includes our commitment to sustainability.

Our management team all completed Carbon Literacy training
In May 2023 we conducted a survey of our students to find out their views on sustainability. The key findings were:
- 25% strongly agreed and 57% agreed that they had a good understanding of climate change & sustainability
- 63% agreed or strong agreed that they know where the recyclings bins are at UCM
- 70% agreed or strong agreed that they recycle paper, cans & plastic whenever they can
- 72% agreed or strongly agreed that UCM is committed to sustainability
In May 2023 we conducted a survey of our staff; they were asked where they think UCM should focus in terms of sustainability. The top 3 answers were:
- Reducing waste, increasing recycling & purchasing environmentally-responsible products
- Conserving energy, making buildings more energy efficient & generating energy from renewable sources
- Conserving water and/or capturing rainwater and runoff

We launched a new sustainability course - read our news story here.

We've been an avid supporter of Biosphere Isle of Man, and since 2018 have played an active role by:
- Becoming a Stakeholder
- Joining the Stakeholder's Partners Group which meets twice a year and is chaired by the Chief Minister
- Support with the Sustainable Mann scheme
- We work with Biosphere Isle of Man on the Undergraduate Sustainability Student Placement Scheme