Theme: Student Sustainability Conference

This event will explore all aspects of sustainability and encourage debate, or collaboration across a range of courses. We will have a range of speakers from across the university who will speak about topics relevant to all Leeds Beckett University Students.

CITIZENS' JURY - CHRIS TILL, LAURA DAVIES AND STUDENTS
This year as part of our student sustainability conference, we will have a session run by our Citizens’ Jury Green Impact team. At the conference, they will be covering some of the research and topics which will be covered in the official LBU Citizens’ Jury. There will also be a taster session for the Citizens’ Jury to get everybody thinking about how Leeds Beckett University, on both an organisational and an individual level, can become more sustainable.

A Citizens’ Jury is usually built from a collection of people who will represent the community they are making recommendations for. This means that we are hoping for a well-balanced jury based on the make-up of our university community. The official Jury will hold multiple consulting sessions to try and develop ideas and plans for tackling sustainability-related issues. There will then be a report written with some main ideas discussed in detail and this will be sent to the managers of the university and out to further stakeholders who can make a difference.

We will also have a range of presenters at the conference who will be discussing pieces of work which they have completed and how this work can contribute towards a more sustainable future both in Leeds Beckett and the wider world.

LEEDS BECKETT ECO SOUP - FOZIA IQBAL & ELEANOR CLAXTON
The presentation will address the following topics:
How much food we waste as a country
Amount of food we have diverted from landfill
Employability skills gained through volunteering
Effect on student outlook
Pay as you feel profits
Why volunteers get involved
Impact, Scale, Long term goals

LEEDS BECKETT ZERO WASTE STORE - ANNA CROOKS AND LUCY MACDONALD
The presentation will address the following topics:
Why refilling is better for the environment
Global change of opinion on waste reduction
Supply chains and fair trade
Leeds as an example to the UK – Our refill revolution
Why every university should have a refill station
Impact, Scale, Long term goals

LEEDS BECKETT ALLOTMENT - WILLEM KLEINSMIEDE AND EVA MCQUADE
The presentation will address the following topics:
How has the site been developed
Challenges of starting from new
The effects of growing your own
The benefits of “living of the fat of the land”
Tied in with Eco Soup
Impact, Scale, Long term goals

MEASURING WHOLE HOUSE FABRIC PERFORMANCE - MARK COLLETT
Understanding how our buildings perform in terms of heat loss, significantly reduces the amount of energy needed to keep our homes warm, in turn reducing carbon emissions. Mark Collett explores a new measurement technique that can monitor a buildings performance literally over night! A technique that should radically change building standards in the construction sector.

A selection of TEDx Countdown short films will also be shown as the conference is part of the TEDx Countdown global movement. You can find out more about TED x Countdown here.

THE TEDX COUNTDOWN VIDEOS WHICH WE WILL SHOW ARE:
55GT Animation: Interstitial - Animation describing the sources of the 55 Gigatons (billion tons) of CO2-equivalent we put up in the atmosphere every year.

Clean Air Advocate - Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah video: My daughter was the first person in the world whose death certificate indicates the cause of death as "air pollution". We need to act.

Susan Graham video: Environmentalist, entrepreneur. Susan Graham works to restore biodiversity to Earth's natural ecosystems. A new way to restore Earth's biodiversity - From the air.

Thomas Crowther video: Ecosystem ecology professor. In collaboration with vast networks of ecologists around the world, Thomas Crowther works to address the global threats of biodiversity loss and climate change. Restor.eco Q&A + Demo.

TEDx COUNTDOWN artwork

TEDx COUNTDOWN photography collection

Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Beckett University
Calverley Building
Leeds, Leeds, LS1 3HE
United Kingdom

Anna Crooks

Activities and Events Officer, Leeds Beckett Students Union

Eleanor Claxton

Eco Soup Supervisor

Eva McQuade

Student Allotment Volunteer

Fozia Iqbal

Former Eco Soup Supervisor (2020)

Lucy MacDonald

Welfare and Community Officer, Leeds Beckett Students Union

Mark Collett

PhD Researcher

Willem Kleinsmiede

Student Allotment Volunteer