This is a special year for Green Impact as we celebrate ten years of the scheme at University of Bristol! We hope that you'll join us in marking this as an especially big year of Green Impact achievements. 

Working with staff and students around the University, we have developed a list of ten actions to take place between now and the awards ceremony on Thursday 6th December to celebrate ten years of green achievements at Bristol. These range from one-off events to training opportunities and University-wide actions - read on for our progress so far!

1. Photography competition

To mark World Photography Day on Sunday 19th August, we ran a photography competition for University staff and students. We accepted entries from Friday 17th to midnight Sunday 19th August, with judging taking place the following week. 
Participants chose one of our ten themes, and submitted a picture taken on their smartphone that best represented the theme. The ten best images were posted on the Sustainability Facebook page in the week following the competition, where they were put to a final vote to select the overall winner. The ten themes were: 

1. My impact 
2. Clean energy 
3. Rethinking fast fashion 
4. Save water 
5. Food for thought 
6. Reduce/reuse/recycle 
7. Wellbeing and community 
8. Going green - travel and transport 
9. Flora and fauna 
10. Learning to be green 

The nine runner up prizes included freebies like KeepCups and reusable water bottles (see below), as well as a green living hamper for the overall winner.

Following the voting period, the overall winner of the competition was Sociology student Anna Dyet with her image of micro-plastics under the theme ‘My Impact’, taken during her research placement at Wildlife Sense, a sea turtle research and conservation organisation in Kefalonia, Greece. Her photo, as well as the ine runners up, can be viewed on the Sustainability Facebook page! 

2. Be The Change

We have launched Be the Change, a new engagement scheme empowering staff to make everyday changes to improve their sustainability and wellbeing both at home and in the workplace. By logging actions online, you can earn points and move up the leaderboard, with the chance to win prizes including vouchers and an overall prize of a £100 donation to a charity of choice for the top three performers in September! Head over to the Be The Change page to find out more and sign up.

3. Reusable water bottles

From September, something very special will be available at Source cafes across the University - reusable water bottles! These bottles are 100% stainless steel, differing from aluminium bottles which often still contain BPA lining. The bottles are completely plastic free and are provided by RAW Foundation as part of their Make Waves Campaign to eliminate single use plastics.

4. Easy to be Green

On Monday 8th October, the Life Sciences Building will be hosting a sustainability takeover! The day will include a sustainability fair showcasing various green initiatives around the University, speaker sessions, and tours of sustainable labs. More information can be found on the School of Biological Sciences website. 

5. Waterless toilets at the Botanic Garden

The latest additions to the University of Bristol Botanic Garden are neither flora nor fauna - they're waterless toilets! Adding water to toilet waste creates a larger environmental problem than it solves, so these newly installed waterless alternatives are not only saving money, they are reducing their environmental impact by conserving precious water supplies. The toilets are entirely off-grid, and in time they can even produce a safe, usable compost for the Garden.