Turn USW Green is USW’s innovative way of rewarding you for taking actions that improve sustainability and wellbeing – both on and off campus. It is also a fun way of getting involved with the chance to win prizes. 

Once you are signed up, you can log your sustainable actions through the web platform or app and earn ‘Green Points’. Each month, the four individuals that earn the most Green Points will win a £20 voucher! 

There are over 30 different actions you can earn Green Points for, including saving energy, reducing water use, staying active, avoiding single use plastics, reducing your meat consumption, preventing food waste, and learning more about the University’s Sustainability Agenda, with new activities and opportunities to earn points and prizes. 

There is lots of fresh content, campaigns, and events that you can get involved with throughout the year and you can also submit ideas for activities and photos of your actions - both of which earn you points. 

Join the community of members already signed up and see if you can reach the top of the leaderboard! 

To sign up, you can register on the phone app here for Android, and here for Apple phones. Alternatively, you can use the web platform: https://turnuswgreen.org/  

USW has a growing network of enthusiastic and motivated members who work to make our campuses more sustainable. 

They focus on enhancing and improving the day-to-day operations and activities of USW that they are involved in whilst seeking opportunities to reduce our environmental impact. 

The network is designed to provide staff with a voice to empower them to make positive and sustainable changes to their work environments, while providing development opportunities and wellbeing benefits. 

If you are interested in signing up to the Sustainability Champions network, please contact us at [email protected].  

Do you have a passion for one specific area of sustainability, or do you have knowledge and experience that you wish to share to shape our sustainability action plans? 

As part of our Net Zero Strategy 2040, we have created focus groups that create a platform for raising awareness, sharing knowledge, and collaborating with colleagues to progress sustainability across the University. They have been developed on the key impacts associated with the activities and operations of our estate – with a focus on driving improvements and identifying solutions to some of the challenges we face. 

Our Sustainability Focus groups provide you with an opportunity to make positive contributions in an informal setting that can help shape our longer-term sustainability action plans. 

We currently have 5 groups you can join as follows: 

• Catering and Biodiversity 
• Energy and Buildings 
• Sustainable Procurement and Supply Chain 
• Learning, teaching and research 
• Travel and Waste 

The groups meet quarterly for about an hour, do not require significant time commitments but really help drive our key objectives. They also provide you with an opportunity to engage in the projects and initiatives that you are involved with. 

We welcome new members to all groups who can bring fresh eyes and ideas and if you would like to register your interest, please contact us. 

We want as many of our staff and students as possible to have the opportunity to get involved with sustainability campaigns and events that are hosted at USW. To this end, we are no longer going to focus on a single ‘Green Week’ of activities but will provide a programme of initiatives and events over the year to raise awareness of current issues that increases the chance for both staff and students to get involved. These include Dr Bike Maintenance sessions (a free bike MOT), litter picks, tree planting, pop up shops, local community gardening and more. 

Sustainability Events summary 2023-24

If you are interested in running a sustainability themed event, talk or activity any point during the year, please contact us at [email protected]  

Did you know that USW staff get up to three days of paid leave for volunteering activities? 

We have developed a one stop shop for discovering volunteering opportunities and building connections with people and organisations that are driving positive change in our local, national, and international communities. 

From one-off events to regular volunteering opportunities, there's something for everyone. We all have busy lives so the opportunities provide flexibility around your day-to-day activities with no long-term commitments, that you can dip in and out when you can. Whether you are passionate about the environment, education or wellbeing, the programme of volunteering opportunities will provide you with a list of activities so you can find the right one for you. 

Volunteering also offers valuable insight and experience into how organisations and community programmes operate and can provide you with skills that you can share with others including employers, on applications or on your CV. 

More information on local sustainability volunteering opportunities is available here. 

Lastly, if you carry out regular volunteering, you can record this on the Turn USW Green app to earn points that may result in prizes!