Inclusivity is central to sustainability but it is acknolwedged that some sustainability campaigns and initiatives do not meet the needs of liberation groups and often fail to address interlinking issues such as colonialism.

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To support an increase in understanding that the call for climate justice is also a call for racial, gender, queer, trans, disability and class justice, this hub lists various resources to steer sustainability work and communications, and will over time be developed to provide some examples of how students' unions are collaborating with liberation groups to steer their sustainabilty work. We have grouped resources into each liberation group to help organise them and guide you but several resources draw on the intersections across liberation groups. You could also view the NUS decolonise education library.
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Check out our Sustainability and Intersectionality Resource Hub

In each episode, field-leaders from student liberation movements and academia deconstruct the exclusivity of sustainability activism and education. Episodes cover sexuality, disability, gender, class and race.

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SOS-UK, alongside the National Union of Students (NUS), the University and College Union (UCU) and People & Planet (P&P) are calling for all UK universities and colleges to publicly commit to being net zero emissions for scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2030 to tackle the climate emergency and ecological crisis.

We know that in order to have any hope of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees we need to commit to and start delivering these ambitious targets, and we've created an easy resource to see how your university or college is doing!

Check out your institutions target, and compare across the sector, at www.carbontargets.uk.

Write to your elected reps here

Our current education on the climate emergency is not good enough. Students aren't being prepared to face the effects of climate change, or taught to understand the solutions for a crisis that will most impact our generation. But we can change this.

Sustainability and climate change need to be taught across the curriculum, equipping generations to come with the skills and knowledge needed for the green jobs of the future. A broad climate education will empower every young person to contribute to a more resilient, sustainable society.

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UK universities have over £15 billion that is frequently invested against the interests of students and the world they will graduate into. As part of our Invest for Change campaign, email your University's senior management to ensure their investments are funding environmental and social justice solutions and engaging with investments to change corporate practices.

Use our template to write your email, and see our resources for further support.

Colleges and sixth-forms:

Book our free workshop which will support students in choosing a more ethical bank account. Register here.

Students

Become a student ambassador for the campaign and help spread the word to your peers and beyond. Register here.

Our Invest for Change campaign supports students to call on their universities to reform investment practices to change the financial system. We can run introductory workshops, introducing the issues with the current financial system and how students can change this through an Invest for Change campaign on campus. We also offer more detail campaign planning sessions, to kickstart your campaigns! We tailor workshop each workshop to your group, so let us know what you need.

Head to our website to book a workshop via our form at the bottom of the homepage, or get in touch with melanie.kee@sos-uk.org.

Are you aged 10-14? Are you full of exciting ideas to help improve the environment and the community you live in? Join the Green Influencers Scheme to imagine, make, and share your own projects!

As a young person, you’re not just a leader of tomorrow – you can be a leader now. If you have ideas for getting yourself or your friends to connect with nature, we want to help you make those ideas a reality. As an environmental youth social action project this could include elements of volunteering, fundraising, campaigning or supporting your peers, but projects can be anything you like – for example, creating a community garden. You will be at the forefront of making and carrying out your project from start to finish. Our Green Mentors will be here to support you - to help you make connections in your community and to get funding to make it happen.

To get involved, please get in touch with your local Green Mentor:

• If you live in Southampton and surrounding areas, contact Holly.
• If you live in Norwich and surrounding areas, contact Alex.
• If you live elsewhere in England, you can locate your nearest Green Mentor on this map.

In January 2020, it was announced that over 50% of UK universities had divested from the fossil fuel industry. But universities still have over £15 billion of investments funding companies and practices that consistently act against the interests of students and the world they will graduate into.

The student movement may have succeeded in pushing universities to take their money out of the fossil fuel industry, but that alone is not enough. We need universities to use their investments, and their positions as investors, to lead the way towards a more resilient and sustainable economy.

We need universities to Invest for Change.

Start a campaign at your university now - using our student campaign guide and starter checklist.

Get in touch by emailing melanie.kee@sos-uk.org for support!