Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.37
Liaison Suzanne Davis
Submission Date Oct. 26, 2020

STARS v2.2

University of Queensland
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Yes

Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:

UQ Environment Collective
This collective, is part of the University's student union (UQ Union or UQU) and is for students, staff and the general public. The Enviro collective offers an inclusive platform to share ideas and contribute to UQU policy.

The UQU environment collective is committed to encouraging sustainable practices on campus, promoting greater awareness of, and increasing students’ interaction with Queensland’s native flora and fauna as well as promoting a clean and green St. Lucia. The Environment Collective hosts a range of events throughout the year. Some of our previously most successful events have included our start of semester events: the Waterfall Crawl, Earth Day Breakfast and No Meat Mondays.

More information is online
https://www.uqu.com.au/representing-u/uqu-collectives/environment-collective
https://www.facebook.com/uqenvirocollective/
https://www.instagram.com/uquenvironment/

Please follow the links for information on each of the following student groups:

UQ GEMS, UQ Geography and Environmental Management Society
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/geography-and-environmental-management-society-uq-gems

Oxfam UQ
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/oxfam-uq

Climate Action Now! (UQ CAN!)
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/climate-action-now-uq-can

Marine Society UQ (MSUQ)
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/marine-society-uq-msuq

Action Aid UQ
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/actionaid-uq-2

Enactus UQ
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/enactus-uq

UQ Veg Society
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/uq-veg-society

UQ Finance and Investments Network for Sustainability (UQFINS)
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/uq-finance-and-investments-network-for-sustainability-uqfins

UQ United Nations Student Association
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/uq-united-nations-student-association

UQ Greens
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/uq-greens

Effective Altruism UQ
https://www.uqu.com.au/club/effective-altruism-uq


Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:

The UQ Plant Science Society's hard work and creativity of a keen group of students has allowed this group to flourish.

The society led the development of the UQ Gatton Community Garden which is used as a living laboratory by the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences (SAFS) and the School of Veterinary Science (SVS), complementing what is being learnt in the classroom.

The facility assists with teaching of crop production, plant disease identification and soil science through a dedicated soil pit. There is also a fenced off area to grow plants that are poisonous to animals, assisting the veterinary students to be able to identify these plants.

https://www.facebook.com/UQPlantScienceSociety/
https://gatton.uq.edu.au/about/facilities-and-services/uq-gatton-community-garden


Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
Yes

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:

UQ has a number of programs supporting students in entrepreneurial activities to support the establishment of student-run enterprises. These come under the umbrella of UQ Ventures an include Idea Hub, LeadHers, StartUp and iLab. More information on these programs is online
https://ventures.uq.edu.au/
https://ventures.uq.edu.au/our-startups (scroll to base of page to see full list)

Examples of sustainability student-run enterprises from these programs include:
Brisbane Tool Library https://brisbanetoollibrary.org/
Earth Offset https://www.earthoffset.io/
HOMECUBE https://homecube.co/ and featured in an on campus display https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/event/session/2216
Powerwells https://www.powerwells.org/
Redback Tech https://redbacktech.com/
SOSbio http://www.sosbio.com.au/


Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:

UQ Sustainability’s Student Green Fund provides grants for student-led projects that improve the University’s sustainability performance. Projects must either reduce the University’s environmental impacts or improve on education, outreach, or community involvement.

Full information on the program is online
https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/get-involved/uq-student-green-fund-grants


Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:

Next Generation Resources 2019: Student conference
https://www.uq.edu.au/events/event_view.php?event_id=14235

The 2018 Sport & Event Sustainability Congress
https://www.uq.edu.au/events/event_view.php?event_id=13752

Panel discussion and Chasing Coral film screening
https://www.facebook.com/events/781131585590932/

Climate crisis and Human rights panel discussion
https://www.facebook.com/events/2584733164923316/

EcoSpeak annual speech and poetry competition
https://www.facebook.com/events/1958295464386812/

Vegan Markets
https://www.facebook.com/events/693455007837982/

Green Pathways Sustainability Careers Night
https://www.facebook.com/events/304846179995985/

Debate Night: Australia's Energy Future
https://www.facebook.com/events/465458310503242/


Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:

The University of Queensland Art Collection is one of Queensland’s most significant public art collections. UQ's Art Museum holds a number of exhibitions each year, recent exhibitions with a sustainability focus include the following:

Shirley Macnamara: Layered Threads
https://art-museum.uq.edu.au/whats/past-exhibitions/2018/shirley-macnamara-layered-threads

Weaving the way
https://art-museum.uq.edu.au/whats/current-exhibitions/weaving-way

in site: process, performance, documentation
https://art-museum.uq.edu.au/whats/past-exhibitions/2018/site-process-performance-documentation

Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial
https://art-museum.uq.edu.au/whats/past-exhibitions/2018/defying-empire-3rd-national-indigenous-art-triennial

Still in my mind: Gurindji experience, location and visuality
https://art-museum.uq.edu.au/whats/past-exhibitions/2017/still-my-mind-gurindji-experience-location-and-visuality


Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:

UQ Mountain Club practices and educates members on the Leave No Trace principles for all trips and activities throughout the year. The club includes members from beginner to advanced hikers
https://www.facebook.com/groups/uqmountainclub/

Clean up Australia everyday is an activity that aims to repair the damage done by hikers that have not observed the Leave No Trace principles. Clean Up Australia everyday is regularly conducted, typically once a semester, both on campus and also in the surrounding neighbourhood along riverside bush walking tracks, including the Tarcoola Track. An example of the recent events are online
https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/event/session/2660
https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/event/session/2124

Heron Island Research Station operates entirely to the Leave No Trace principles and requires all visitors to commit to these principles as a condition of visiting, including general student and public visitors, student field trips and researcher trips. Trips to the island are typically for reef exploration and marine observation, but also for bird watching. It takes approx 30 minutes to take a slow walk around the circumference of the island, so most activities are the equivalent of 'underwater hiking'. The Island is located within the Great Barrier Reef Marine park. All visitors much complete the induction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMInF2vdkAk&feature=emb_logo
https://www.uq.edu.au/heron-island-research-station/inductions


Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
---

Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:

The Green Programs Assistant position is held by a current UQ student for a minimum of 12 months, filled on an annual basis. This is an employment opportunity for coordinating engagement programs, including Green Office, Green Labs and the Green Ambassadors Program.

The UQ Unwrapped Engagement Officer position provides employment to design waste minimisation initiatives, promote the UQ Unwrapped program, coordinate student involvement in the program.

Social media officer position provides an employment opportunity to manage the UQ Sustainability social media accounts, including creating, scheduling and posting to promote sustainability programs and engagement.

Casual employment opportunities are offered for students in sustainability event management and coordination.

The Student Experience Officer position is held for a a 6 month period (annually) focusing on engaging students with on campus activations, events and embedding sustainability concepts and practices into UQ campus life.


Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
---

A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.