Call for Collaboration: 2024 Green Action Week
Join us in a festival of environmental inspiration and optimism
Following the success of the first Green Action Week last year, we are delighted to announce that planning for Green Action Week 2024 is now underway. The week aims to enhance networking and exchange of ideas, engage students and staff with research and activities, raise awareness about sustainability, invite more people to join Green Impact and LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework – sustainable laboratory scheme) and celebrate achievements with colleagues.
Green Action Week 2024 commences on 19 February and will feature various activities throughout the University and colleges, including talks, tours, roundtable events and more.
Following feedback from last year, we will limit the number of events in the main programme to 25 over five themes. Additional local events are welcomed, but we will not be able to include them in the main publications.
The themes are as follows:
1. Engaging with research - includes any academic oriented events linked to departments and research projects.
2. Green Careers and entrepreneurship - includes career-oriented events, entrepreneurship and skill labs.
3. Wellbeing + out and about - includes events that support nature and wellbeing, outdoor opportunities and volunteering opportunities.
4. Students for students - Events offered by students, societies, E&E (Environment & Ethics) reps in colleges and others with students as the primary target audience.
5. Take action / Local-global - Events designed to drive behaviour change or other positive action and community events linking the University activities with the greater Oxfordshire audience (eg schools, community centres, local organizations).
Below are some examples of events that you may wish to organise.
- Talk or workshop, for example from an academic in the field.
- Tour of your facility or a nearby site of interest, for example showing how your building is sustainable or energy efficient.
- Social ride, run or walk with an environmental theme.
- Volunteering opportunity (for example creating a community larder in your place of work to reduce food waste).
- Host plant-based potluck lunch with friends and colleagues.
- Clothes swap, second-hand book sale or seeds and bulbs exchange.
- Film or documentary showing on a sustainability related topic
- Crafts workshop.
You can also find inspiration by looking at the events programme from Green Action Week 2023.
If you have an idea and would like to host an event, please register your interest using our sign-up form and we will be in touch with more details. The deadline for submissions is 14 January 2024 EOD. Please note, we will not be able to accommodate any ideas in the main programme after this date.
Don’t worry if you don’t have all the details of your event yet. The form is designed to help you plan. As always, feel free to contact us with questions or requests and we will do our best to assist.
How will we form the main programme?
*The main programme will hold up to 25 events in five themes. This programme will be published under the main Green Action Week webpages and promoted in the main communication plan. Other events (referred to as ‘local events’) can be delivered with the Green Action Week branding, advertised locally (with our support), benefit from and contribute to the overall ‘buzz’ of the week.
The main programme will offer events spread throughout the week and the themes.
For each of the themes, we will choose up to five events that offer a balance of interests, style, day of the week and target audience. The choice will be made with our theme partners (eg Career Services, Oxford SU (Student Union), Thriving in Oxford and others).
Upon making the choice we will get in touch to either finalise details for the main programme or alternatively, offer support to run your event locally (eg in your department, college or area of town). This support will include the Green Action Week branding kit, relevant advertisement channels and other information.
The schedule of events will accommodate various times of the day to support the participation of different people. For example, people with caring responsibility would usually prefer events that end before 5pm, on the other hand, students and people who have more time later in the day would prefer evening events. When you plan your event, we encourage you to think of your target audience and what time of the day will be more suitable for them.
The following describes the process of forming the line-up of events:
- Inviting cooperation from across the University to suggest events in five main themes. Closing date 14 January 2024
- Choosing events for the main programme. Responses to event organisers due by 22 January 2024
- Offering support pack for local events w/c 22 January 2024
- Main programme published. Advertising events and registration w/c 29 January 2024
Additional information
When planning your event, we recommend consulting event management toolkit (SSO required)
Make sure your event is accessible and safe.
Event organisers will be asked to complete a short feedback form for future learnings. Please make note of important learnings throughout the process.
As always, we are available at sustainability@admin.ox.ac.uk.
