Durham University

Greenspace Movement. Small acts. Big difference

The Greenspace Movement is our identity for environmental sustainability at Durham University. Under this banner we have initiatives including our My Greenspace App, the Greenspace Calendar, Ring-Fenced Carbon Budget, and the annual Greenspace Festival.

The Greenspace Movement brings together students, staff, and external partners, with the aim of small acts making a big difference. We have supported the development of a new student-led ‘Durham Climate Society’, which saw over 500 people join in the first term, and several successful events, including a talk by James Close, Head of Climate at NatWest.  

Our annual Greenspace Festival is heading into its 3rd year, and brings together student groups, local businesses, and charities to celebrate sustainability at Durham. At this year’s festival we are hosting a joint session with EAUC and IEMA, covering careers in sustainability.

Our My Greenspace App continues to grow in popularity, and with over 1,200 people signed up and 550 activities recorded each week, we have avoided 58 tonnes of CO2.

Annual carbon savings achieved with the initiative:

• CO2t savings 2022/2023:  58 tonnes (Estimated, figures taken from the MyGreenspace platform).
• CO2t savings 2023/2024: 96 tonnes (Estimated from the target of 2000 users).    
• CO2t savings over the life cycle of the project: 960 tonnes (Estimated over 10 years from the My Greenspace platform).

Top 3 Learnings

1. We learned that face-to-face, regular meetings with our stakeholders (our colleges) improve engagement, and accountability to support positive change.
2. We learned that collaboration between groups (student-led, staff-led, college-based, university-based and community-based) is the key to positive engagement.
3. We learned that rewarding small actions makes sustainable practices more accessible and supports widening participation in climate action.