GUPES Europe and World Environment Day

1st June 2015

We are pleased to inform you that the celebration of the biggest day for positive environmental action is fast approaching! June 5th is the World Environment Day (WED). World Environment Day (WED) is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment. It also serves as the ‘people’s day for action' for doing something positive for the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet. This year, WED will be celebrated under the slogan of ‘Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care' to promote resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production.

As a university or a college, you are big part of those seven billion dreams. The well-being of humanity, the environment, and the functioning of the economy, ultimately depend upon the responsible management of the planet’s natural resources. And yet, evidence is building that people are consuming far more natural resources than what the planet can sustainably provide.

If you do not have any plans to celebrate WED, we invite you to join billions around the world to make your voice heard on June 5 by marking the day through simple actions at your university or college (a press release, an e-mail to all staff and students at the university reminding them on the significance of that day or even a debate on environment sustainability). Every single action counts, and as the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon has put it: “Although individual decisions may seem small in the face of global threats and trends, when billions of people join forces in common purpose, we can make a tremendous difference.”

We would like to publicise your work and activity that address these issues. If you have registered an action or have a piece of work relevant to the themes could you please send details to Wayne at wayne@wtaeducationservices.com as he is collating the information so UNEP can publicise your work.

Read more about World Environment Day