Support and take action on World Environment Day!

26th May 2015

On 5 June, the biggest day for environmental action and mobilisation will take place - World Environment Day (WED). Through a global platform, the United Nations’ principal vehicle seeks to encourage worldwide environmental awareness and galvanise the collective power of the people to have a positive impact on the environment.

The theme for this year's WED is "Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care". With individuals consuming far more natural resources than what the planet can sustainable supply, we are at the tipping point of irreversible and destructive change. The well-being of the environment ultimately depends upon the responsible management of the planet’s natural resources.

Consuming with care means living within the limits of our planet to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for us all. Every action really does count! It is an opportunity for people, institutions and organisations to join forces, celebrate and inspire others into becoming agents of change. This will aid us in protecting the natural environment and fighting catastrophic climate change.

Our unique memorandum of understanding agreement with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reflects a strong commitment to bringing British sustainability excellence and environmental awareness to a global audience.

We continue to provide a collective voice through the newly formed global alliance of further and higher education sustainability networks, which convened at this year's EAUC's Annual Conference in Leeds. This alliance shows we are taking responsibility for our institutions and students and ensuring that the UK is leading the way on sustainability and the environment.

Connecting prominent sustainability networks from around the world gives us the opportunity to influence policy at an international level, allowing us to build a foundation to drive new sustainability leadership in the UK. This global alliance will contribute extensively to global developments such as the Paris COP21 taking place in December 2015. In addition to working in line with the United Nation's activities like UNEP’s Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability (GUPES).

Every Action Counts

Last year's WED received 6,437 pledges and over 3,000 activities were registered online, can we go further in 2015? World Environment Day is celebrated right across universities and colleges, both in the UK and globally, so why not encourage your friends and colleagues to make a pledge! A crucial component of the day is education and learning. The more people know about climate change, our carbon footprint and environmental impacts, the more they will be encouraged to take action.

How will you make your voice heard this year for the environment? Tell us what you have planned by tweeting using the hashtag #WED2015 and we will share what you are doing. Also don't forget to share your activity with the rest of the world on UNEP's website. Find out more on World Environment Day at www.unep.org/wed

Make sure you keep up to date with our 2015 events calendar of environment and sustainability days and weeks here (for EAUC Members only).