Sustainability

In the “UZH Mitarbeitendenbefragung 2019,” many members of the English Department indicated that sustainable development was important to them. However, 80% did not believe that their position allowed them to contribute very much and 60% indicated that they were unsure as to how they might contribute at all.

The present document contains a list of recommendations how ES Staff members can help reduce the UZH’s ecological footprint and work toward a more sustainable use of natural resources (while the main focus is on environmental issues, we also encourage economic and social sustainability). Every little bit helps.

• Do not trash and replace equipment that is not actually broken.
• Buy eco-friendly equipment that was produced under fair, sustainable conditions.
• Turn off electronic equipment (except when instructed otherwise by the IT team).

• Reduce paper use (e.g. avoid distributing hardcopies, print double-sided, etc.).
• Buy re-usable pens, use recycled paper, and re-use cardboard boxes.
• Avoid plastic. If unavoidable, re-use.

• Avoid disposable cups, plates, etc. If unavoidable, use biodegradable ones.
• Reduce eating fish and meat, or avoid altogether.
• Buy organic, fair-trade, sustainably produced, regional, and/or seasonal products.

• Recycle glass, plastic bottles, paper, etc.
• Compost rather than trash coffee grounds and other organic “waste” (green bin).
• Consider ways of reusing materials before trashing.

• Present these recommendations to students, and encourage them to share their ideas.

• Incorporate sustainability issues in your teaching (as course topic or in individual sessions).

• Consider how sustainability could feature in further education courses for teachers.

• Reduce/avoid traveling by plane: attend fewer conferences, consider alternative styles of travel if possible, etc.
• Compensate your carbon footprint (e.g. with Myclimate.org).
• Encourage guest speakers & conference attendees to do the same.

• Turn off lights, computers, etc.
  Use public transport or bike to work. 
• In winter, close doors in the hallways to preserve heat.
• If room temperature is too high, don’t just open windows, but also turn down heating.
• Use hot-water tap as little as possible.

Drinks:

• Coffee and tea: organic and fair trade. (please note, I normally ask for coffee for less people than we actually are, since we often have leftovers)
• Carafes and glasses for tap water
• Juices and Sirups (organic, regional)
• Milk: organic and not individually packaged, preferably in 0.5l containers
• sugar: fair trade, not individually packaged
• Wine: (organic, regional)

Food:

• vegetarian, if possible partly also vegan
• organic and regional (if possible, please mark in the offer)
• seasonal (if possible, please mark in the offer)

Dishes:

• only reusable dishes
• as little waste as possible

For more information, you can also visit the UZH Sustainability website.