Spotlight on… Sustainability

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‘Spotlight on…’  is our way of showcasing a department or faculty to increase engagement, cohesion and an understanding of who does what at Macquarie. This week, we talk to the Sustainability team

Who are you?

We’re a small but dynamic team with big ambitions to make the world a better place – starting at Macquarie! We do this by working with others to find ways to do good for you, for others, and for our environment.

What do you do?

Sustainability has often been misunderstood, and so a big part of what we do is support staff and students by providing direction, thought leadership and practical tools to help them be a little bit more sustainable at work, at home and all things in between. Like with everything in life, it’s all about balance.

Strategically, we’re focused on embedding sustainability into the curriculum, into day-to-day business as usual, and also by empowering students and staff with our Sustainability M-Power initiatives. For example,  if you or your team love animals we can help you organise a team day volunteering somewhere like Sydney Home for Cats and Dogs or Monika’s Doggie Rescue.

Why do you do it?

There’s a quote by John Muir, a Naturalist who said: “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”  The idea that we’re all connected is incredibly powerful.

Reaching for social, environmental and economic well-being and balance provides a sense of purpose. By its very nature, sustainability encourages you to tap into your authenticity and integrity which leads to positive outcomes and makes you, and others, feel good and as a by-product, it often saves you money and time.

We do what we do because we truly believe in a better future for all. Plus, it gives us a real opportunity to contribute to each other and our environment in a truly meaningful way.

Who do you most frequently work with?

We work with almost every department across campus – both academic and professional – in some capacity. But to give you a better idea, through our Target: Better Futures program, we are working closely with Student Administration (our first professional department to achieve Bronze accreditation through the University-delivered program), Biological Sciences (our first academic department to achieve Bronze), the Chief Operating Office, HR Specialist Services, and the Macquarie Law Centre to embed sustainability into their day-to-day operations.

On a much bigger scale, we’re working with all professional departments and faculties through a strategic analysis exercise, where 16 working groups are being formed to interrogate how we are doing with embedding sustainability into all that we do.

We also proudly partner with our local community, City of Ryde and the local bushcare group to combine resources and bolster outcomes.

What’s a recent achievement you’re proud of?

Last year, we supervised 43 PACE internships, 10 non-PACE internships and 99 passionate student volunteers. One hundred per cent of surveyed interns said they would recommend an internship with us to a friend. One of those interns, Eleanor Katelaris, recently won the Professor Judith Sachs 2016 PACE Prize for the Faculty of Business and Economics short activity helping us promote Co-Hop – the car pooling and transport mapping app. We now have 609 staff and students using Co-Hop thanks to the foundational work Eleanor helped with.

This semester, we are working 20 PACE interns and 10 non-PACE interns on a range of projects. One such project is in partnership with CitySwitch whereby trained students perform sustainability audit placements in local and regional organisations.

What’s planned for the future? Anything exciting on the horizon?

You can bet there’s always something exciting on the sustainability horizon! In the immediate future, we’re working on living labs, whole campus benchmarking, ramped up volunteering packages, revising learning skills, Sustainable Development Goals alignment, a SustainabilityTalks program with City of Ryde, all while continuing to deliver Target: Better Futures, M-Power, and Education for Sustainability Initiative. Never a dull moment.

How do we engage with you? Where can we learn more?

Email us on Sustainability@mq.edu.au or you can find out more about us and meet the team on our website.

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  1. Thank you to Leanne and the team for all the great work they do with Sustainability on campus and beyond (from a Sustainability alum! :D)

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