As a student or staff member at the University of Tasmania, you're invited to participate in Green Impact – a program that engages teams of students and staff in shaping the sustainability of our University. You'll work together in-person or online, connect with others and take steps towards sustainability.
Green Impact is an opportunity for students and staff at the University to:
Take practical action to improve the sustainability of their campuses
Collaborate with peers they may not usually work with
Learn about current sustainability initiatives of the University
Engage in new and creative activities with an element of competition.
The program is a holistic, integrated approach to sustainability centred around nine themes:
- Resources and waste
- Biodiversity and community
- Water
- Health and wellbeing
- Energy and carbon
- Travel
- Procurement
- Inclusivity and diversity
- Engagement and education
Green Impact is an international sustainability behaviour change program. It was developed by students in the United Kingdom in 2006, and has been coordinated by the National Union of Students (NUS) for over 16 years. In 2016, the program won the UNESCO prize for Education for Sustainable Development. Today, more than 20,000 people have actively participated in the program across universities, schools, businesses, councils and other organisations.
Green Impact provides a framework for empowering and celebrating sustainable behaviour change within universities, with actions mapped to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In Australasia, Green Impact is supported by Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability. The University of Tasmania is currently one of fourteen universities in Australia and New Zealand taking part in the program.
The University of Tasmania Green Impact reports:
- Green Impact Program 2021 Report (PDF 763.7 KB)
- Green Impact Program 2019 Report (PDF 799.5 KB)
- International examples from the Green Impact teams (PDF 4.8 MB)
Students Program
Green Impact Students is a program coordinated by the University's Sustainability Team. Across the semester periods students are encouraged to take part in a series of 22 sustainability actions, which are co-designed each year with students in the Sustainability Integration Program for Students (SIPS). The actions cover a range of ways of practicing sustainability, from trying an alternative mode of transport, heading outside to go 'plogging', undertaking a pantry audit to find out where your food comes from, or visiting a nearby community garden.
Green Impact Student actions are designed to be:
- accessible for all students,
- able to be completed by students who are studying from home by distance and those studying on campus,
- cost-free (e.g., students don't need to buy tickets or purchase materials),
- educational about holistic sustainability and the UN SDGs, with each action mapped to a UN SDG and a short explanation of both the UN SDG and how the action is relevant to this goal,
- undertaken either by an individual or with a group.
Get involved
Green Impact student registration
- Register for Green Impact students and you'll receive a weekly newsletter with opportunities for you.
Green Impact staff registration
- Register as an individual, create a new team (3-15 staff members) or join an existing team with your colleagues.
- Read the online toolkit and decide which actions you would like to take part in and allocate responsibilities.
- Collaborate and take part in new initiatives or communicate what you are already doing with your colleagues and the wider community.
- Upload your actions to your online toolkit before the closing date.
- Join the end-of-year Sustainability Awards Event.
Key dates
| March | Program opens |
| March- April | Pre-audits for teams |
| September | Program closes |
| September | Auditing day |
| November | Awards ceremony |