Encouraging 10,000 Staff to Take Action on Sustainability: A Case Study of a Sustainability Engagement Programme in Higher Education

Abstract

Environmental sustainability is central to The University of Manchester’s core goal of social responsibility, the only university in the UK to have this strategic focus. To contribute to this unique goal, the University has developed the biggest environmental sustainability initiative in higher education—10,000 Actions. Based on the University’s own research, 10,000 Actions gives all staff the opportunity to learn more about sustainability and then develop their own action plan to manage their work-based environmental impact. This paper describes the issues in engaging over 10,000 staff simultaneously on a complicated subject to lead to a change in behaviour, how these issues were overcome, tools that were developed to provide staff with a range of actions that were applicable in their job roles, and the data that has emerged from this ambitious and innovative project. Finally, how this activity can be used to inform institutional strategy is outlined. Experiences conveyed in this paper will be useful to people and organisations interested in how to up-skill a wide-range of different types of staff on climate change to lead to changes in behaviour to tackle one of the world’s greatest challenges.