October’s Pledge of the Month is from a student at the University of Westminster.
We started working with UoW in 2021. We are about to embark on another round of Carbon Literacy training with the university, so I wanted to reflect on the work we’ve done together in the past.
This pledge stood out to me in particular as there are so many different parts to it. Kenza pledged to use the knowledge she gained during the course not only in her university life, but within her family home and wider community as well.
When working with participants in workplaces (as opposed to students at university), we encourage them to focus their pledges on actions within their organisations. This makes sense, as Carbon Literacy is all about in-context learning.
One of the great things about working with students though, is that they are able to take a broader perspective when creating their pledges, and Kenza has taken one of the broadest approaches I’ve seen.
Working to reduce food waste from MENA society events is a great group pledge on its own, as the changes made have the potential to ripple out as they are taken on by society members into other parts of their lives.
Engaging family members to reduce their food waste is a powerful way to start climate conversations in the home, and can lead to other behaviour changes that reduce emissions such as energy usage and family travel.
The final piece of this pledge is – for me – the most impactful. Bringing together community members to mobilise and use their influence as consumers to positively change the behaviours of large companies – though not specific to climate change – is something we can all be inspired by. Together we are mighty.