Sustainability Newsletter ♻️ featuring Sustainability Week Events

What better time to launch our brand new Sustainability Newsletter than right before our first annual Sustainability Week?! As well as a jam-packed newsletter, we have also lined up some exciting events to enjoy throughout next week. Sustainability Week - What’s On? Second-Hand Clothing Sale | 15/03/2022 | 10am - 3pm | Students’ Union It's Sustainability Week, and what better way to get involved than picking up some awesome second-hand clothing items from other PCA students? You'll be helping the planet and their pockets! Find stalls from a variety of students, offering all kinds of clothing at affordable prices - this is not one to be missed! Sustainability Fair | 17/03/2022 | 11am - 2pm | Students’ Union Well, we couldn't host a Sustainability Week without a Sustainability Fair now, could we? We'll be hosting a mini Sustainability Fair in the Students' Union with stalls from; Green Minds, Smart Citizens, The Mindful Hive, Jar Zero Waste. Free Bike Servicing | 17/03/2022 | 10am - 5pm | Decking We have worked with Bikespace CIC to once again enable this opportunity for free bike servicing for staff and students at Plymouth College of Art. Bike servicing will be done in booked slots from 9am - 5pm, so if you want to take advantage of this amazing offer, please email studentsunion@pca.ac.uk to book a slot. Plymouth College of Art Shortlisted for International Sustainability Award Plymouth College of Art has been shortlisted for the CSR/Sustainability Transformation Award at this year’s international Think Global Awards, based on the college’s active embrace of sustainability best practices, alongside leading international organisations such as Amnesty International and Sony. Recognising global success in individuals and organisations that span multiple industries and activities, this year the fifth annual Think Global Awards programme follows the theme of ‘Reimagining Culture’. With such an unprecedented recent shift in how the world operates, for 2022 the awards have chosen to spotlight the dramatic recent changes to our work life and how we interact with each other. Read more about the work that led to the shortlisting here. Beth Tries… Beth Tries is our latest blog series from Beth Mundy, the Sustainability Lead (HE), where she tries a variety of sustainable products so you don't have to! From lifestyle to make-up and much more - these are non-sponsored, genuine reviews of upcoming and popular planet-friendly products. First up is the 'latest economical laundry solution' from ecoegg - Laundry Egg, read the review on the SU Blog here. Data and Information about PCA’s Sustainable Efforts In January, we achieved a big LED lighting project in the Crafts and Painting, Drawing and Printmaking spaces (Charles Cross campus) by removing old and very inefficient bulbs with LEDs that brighten the space for better precision working, whilst using 60% less electricity per hour to light the spaces. We have also achieved LED lighting installations in the Wood Workshop and are now reviewing the next classrooms to install LEDs. If you have any recommendations, please contact Nicky Turvey. Our solar panels are working well on our Charles Cross roof and, since the 1st August 2021, they have generated a whooping 5,300 kWh of clean and renewable electricity, creating 1.8 tonnes of carbon saving. We are continually working towards increasing our recycling rate and, in February, we recycled over 61% of our classroom waste. Overall we recycled approximately 66% of all our waste as all canteen food, metal, wood, and glass offcuts are also separately recycled. Although we are based in the city centre, we are continually working to increase the biodiversity at our sites and, this Spring, we have already introduced lucious, evergreen subtropical plants at the entrance into Interiors and Wood Workshop (Tavistock Place campus). In April we will be implementing new flower beds, with flowers that generate pollen specifically for solitary bees to feast upon, at our Palace Court campus. What would you like to see in future newsletters? Let us know by emailing studentsunion@pca.ac.uk or writing anonymous ideas and feedback in the Suggestions Box in the Students' Union. Best, Harriet Moore, Student Union President Nicky Turvey, Sustainability & Facilities Officer Beth Mundy, Sustainability Representative (HE)