• Green Week launches today and encourages people across Coventry and Warwickshire to make one small change to their lives in an effort to become more sustainable
• A range of talks, workshops and activities are planned aimed at helping individuals, businesses and organisations on their journey to become more green
• In its fifth year, Green Week is a collaboration between University of Warwick, Coventry University and Coventry City Council and involves many local organisations, communities, businesses and schools
• Green Week runs from 7 - 13 March

Communities across Coventry and Warwickshire are being urged to make the fifth annual Green Week a launchpad to begin their sustainable journey.

Green Week this year will take place between Monday 7 and Sunday 13 March 2022, and there will be a range of talks, workshops and activities aimed at helping individuals, businesses and organisations take steps to become more sustainable.

Events on offer include upcycling textiles, jewellery making, wildlife gardening, a swap shop, repair café and workshops on Environmenstrual products.

Sustainability Fairs will be held at Coventry University on Tuesday 8 March and at the University of Warwick on Wednesday 9 March.

University of Warwick also hosts its Sustainability Summit on Thursday 10 March, and there will be a Coventry and Warwickshire Community Summit on Sunday 13 March featuring some of the many community groups tackling sustainability across the region and how the public can get involved. There will also be an evening of fun and discovery on campus at Warwick on Saturday 12 March. One Night of Wander will feature talking recycling bins, smoothie bikes and performances by Highly Sprung in the piazza.

Events will be a mixture of in-person, online and hybrid to make the programme as accessible as possible. A full list of all events is available online here: www.GreenWeek.Coventry.Domains

Green Week originated from talks between the University of Warwick, Coventry University and Coventry City Council, and has since encompassed many sectors including schools, business, community groups and charities. The aim is to educate and evoke action at all levels from grassroots projects up to local government change.

This year Green Week aims to remind people that every small change adds up, and if everyone contributes there can be a huge collective impact. People are being encouraged to take part in Green Week by making one change to their lifestyles. Suggestions include taking a shorter shower every day, eating vegetarian one day a week or even trying to reduce overall consumption.

Green Week is a chance for the region to concentrate efforts and focus on the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals within. The goals aim to address the need for focus on transport, energy and waste but also seek to end hunger and poverty, improve health and wellbeing, ensure quality education and gender equality, make cities and industries more sustainable and protect life on land and in the oceans. The aim is to bring everyone together in partnership towards these goals.

Green Week this year also falls within Coventry’s UK City of Culture celebrations, and is a chance to demonstrate how the arts combines with green culture and to showcase the work people across the region are doing at all levels to tackle the climate and ecological emergency.

Professor Christine Ennew, Provost of the University of Warwick said:

“In 2019 the University of Warwick declared a Climate Emergency and set net carbon goals for 2030 and 2050 as an integral part of our broader responsibility to protect our environment. We are equally firmly committed to working with our staff and students to reducing our waste, increasing reuse, recycling and recovery. The way to a sustainable future will be unpredictable and demanding but it’s a path every one of us will have to take and action now will surely help alleviate future issues in the region.

“During Green Week we are proud to host and promote a range of different activities on campus and with our regional partners and local community to engage individuals, groups and business and demonstrate how we can take simple steps to achieve better outcomes for our planet.”

Ian Dunn, Coventry University Provost, said: “We are delighted to take part in this fifth edition of Green Week. At Coventry University, sustainable development and social responsibility are central to our corporate strategy, as reflected across all our campuses.

We are implementing a zero-carbon approach to address the direct and indirect sources of emissions and have made education for sustainable development one of the key strands to our curriculum framework.”

For further information about the events and activities happening during Green Week, visit the website: www.GreenWeek.Coventry.Domains or the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/GreenWeek2022 or follow the hashtags #GreenWeek2022 #WeAreGreen

ENDS

7 March 2022

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Way to Sustainable at Warwick

The University of Warwick is playing its part in tackling the climate emergency. Building on existing research and education programmes and connections to industry and society, Warwick is focusing on The Way to Sustainable – the real-life implications of creating a sustainable future and the practical challenges of getting there.

For further information about Green Week visit: http://greenweek.coventry.domains/

For further information please contact:

Andrea Cullis

Media relations manager

University of Warwick

Email: a.cullis@warwick.ac.uk

Mb: 07825 314874