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Sustainable #SEC2020

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The Student Education Conference 2020 is the most sustainable yet, according to organisers

Among the changes made this year by LITE is a significant reduction in the amount of paper to be used at the event.

Delegates can now download a conference app that will allow them to register, manage a 'live' online programme over the two days,  and access floor plans and maps for the conference.

There will also be a reduction in the amount of plastic used during the event with no bottled water or disposable cups and more environmentally-friendly name tags which don’t use the usual plastic casing.

Attendees will also be encouraged to hand in lanyards to recycle and reuse at future conferences.

All catering  will be vegetarian and vegan - helping to reduce the conference's carbon footprint; and there will be distribution of previous year’s promotional materials, such as bags and stationery, rather than producing new ones.

Professor Tina Overton, Director at LITE, said:

We understand that sustainability is a journey, rather than a destination, but we are proud of the small but significant changes we have made to make the Student Education Conference 2020 more sustainable.

This year, LITE was awarded a 'Blueprint Working Towards' Sustainability Award, which support the University’s sustainability strategic goals.

The Sustainability Service at the University works with teams to scope out their potential impacts and opportunities in order to produce an action-plan bespoke to their team.

Once signed off by the Head of School or Service, this becomes their ‘Blueprint’.

Dr Louise Ellis, Director of Sustainability at the University of Leeds, said:

It is brilliant to see the Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence taking the initiative to make changes within their operations in line with our seven principles for tackling climate change and our #2023PlasticFree pledge.

This is the perfect opportunity for the Blueprint community to share best practice on organising sustainable events.