Category: Green rep

Top 5 ways to help planet Earth this week

 

This year, UNISON’s Green week runs from 15-22 September to coincide with two major global mobilisations Fridays for the Future – a youth led protest about the threat posed by climate change (15 September) – and Fight Fossil Fuels which demands ‘a rapid, just and equitable’ end to fossil fuels (15-17 September).

Here are five ways you can still get involved…

1. Read this

If you don’t know where to start with Green Week, read this feature where two UNISON green activists explain why the week is so important and why UNISON takes the issue so seriously.

The Earth will continue … But we won’t

2. Sign this

Four smoking chimneys

If that article inspired you to take action, your first port of call is to sign UNISON’s petition to tax oil and gas giants.

The fuelers of climate change are regularly in the news this year for making record profits and paying out billions to their shareholders. With people struggling to pay their energy bills, UNISON believes it’s time they paid more of a fair share.

Sign the petition

3. Go to one (or both) of these

Once you’ve done that, here are two webinars you can sign up to:

How to have conversations about climate change that matter – Larger Us 

Register here – Thursday 21 September 12:30-1:30pm

UNISON has teamed up with Larger Us – which works to build broader coalitions for change – to deliver free online training to anyone who wants to up their game when it comes to climate conversations.

This webinar explains the project in detail and explores what the training will look like and what this pilot project will involve.

Sustainable healthcare – why greening the NHS matters for us all

Register here – Monday 25 September 12:30-1:30pm

Haley Pinto from the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare gives a clear and comprehensive round up of the impact of the climate crisis on our health and on the NHS, including some of the initiatives that are already happening and many that need to happen urgently.

4. Support like this

During the week its vital that we spread the message as far as possible. You can do this by talking to your friends, family and colleagues or by posting to social media – below are two easy ways to get the message out.

Click here to ‘tweet’ your support:

Send a Tweet

Or to share information with your friends and groups on whatsapp click here:

Send a WhatsApp

5. Be one of these

If all of the above seems right up your street, you should consider becoming a UNISON environment, or green, rep. Or, if it’s not for you, talk to some of your colleagues who might be interested and get them involved.

The role is very flexible from being a contact point to running campaigns greening your workplace, with lots of training and resources to get you started.

To find out more about what the role entails and how to get involved the best places to start and are this leaflet and poster.

The article Top 5 ways to help planet Earth this week first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Top 5 ways to help planet Earth this week

 

This year, UNISON’s Green week runs from 15-22 September to coincide with two major global mobilisations Fridays for the Future – a youth led protest about the threat posed by climate change (15 September) – and Fight Fossil Fuels which demands ‘a rapid, just and equitable’ end to fossil fuels (15-17 September).

Here are five ways you can still get involved…

1. Read this

If you don’t know where to start with Green Week, read this feature where two UNISON green activists explain why the week is so important and why UNISON takes the issue so seriously.

The Earth will continue … But we won’t

2. Sign this

Four smoking chimneys

If that article inspired you to take action, your first port of call is to sign UNISON’s petition to tax oil and gas giants.

The fuelers of climate change are regularly in the news this year for making record profits and paying out billions to their shareholders. With people struggling to pay their energy bills, UNISON believes it’s time they paid more of a fair share.

Sign the petition

3. Go to one (or both) of these

Once you’ve done that, here are two webinars you can sign up to:

How to have conversations about climate change that matter – Larger Us 

Register here – Thursday 21 September 12:30-1:30pm

UNISON has teamed up with Larger Us – which works to build broader coalitions for change – to deliver free online training to anyone who wants to up their game when it comes to climate conversations.

This webinar explains the project in detail and explores what the training will look like and what this pilot project will involve.

Sustainable healthcare – why greening the NHS matters for us all

Register here – Monday 25 September 12:30-1:30pm

Haley Pinto from the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare gives a clear and comprehensive round up of the impact of the climate crisis on our health and on the NHS, including some of the initiatives that are already happening and many that need to happen urgently.

4. Support like this

During the week its vital that we spread the message as far as possible. You can do this by talking to your friends, family and colleagues or by posting to social media – below are two easy ways to get the message out.

Click here to ‘tweet’ your support:

Send a Tweet

Or to share information with your friends and groups on whatsapp click here:

Send a WhatsApp

5. Be one of these

If all of the above seems right up your street, you should consider becoming a UNISON environment, or green, rep. Or, if it’s not for you, talk to some of your colleagues who might be interested and get them involved.

The role is very flexible from being a contact point to running campaigns greening your workplace, with lots of training and resources to get you started.

To find out more about what the role entails and how to get involved the best places to start and are this leaflet and poster.

The article Top 5 ways to help planet Earth this week first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Get set for Green UNISON week

As we head towards Green UNISON week, which runs from 15-22 September this year, it’s the ideal time to start planning.

Green UNISON week is a chance to raise awareness of green issues nationally and locally, plan activities to encourage and enable members to get more active and to celebrate all the things they are already doing in support of the green agenda – not just in work but anywhere.

There are many things that you could do to mark the week – here are just a few ideas.

Hold a UNISON green event

You could run a lunchtime stall in the canteen, show a film or arrange a talk. Why not invite a speaker from a nearby environmental campaigning organisation to come along? Ask people to make personal – or team – green pledges, such as committing to create less waste, to recycling targets, green office practices (less printing, switching from plastic to cardboard folders etc) anything green.

Promote our Green UNISON week webinars to your colleagues

Two webinars are being planned this year – there’ll be more details in the coming weeks.

Run a green workplace training activity

Talk to your UNISON learning rep and look into running a lunchtime activity session for green reps and members who’d like to learn more.

Run a green survey

Ask your friends and colleagues for ideas on how to ‘green up’ your workplace. Get people involved and offer a prize or raffle.

Find out what your employer is doing to reduce their environmental impact

Ask your employer to share this information with UNISON and consider how you could bring climate change commitments onto the bargaining agenda.

Find out if your UNISON branch has an environment rep

If not, encourage your branch and any interested members to get involved and become green reps.

A downloadable poster and leaflet are now available here and here respectively.

Set up a local green network

You can find other colleagues who share your concerns about climate change and let Green UNISON week be your springboard into starting a new green union network where you work that can link to the regional and national networks for support and to share ideas.

Sustainable healthcare – why greening the NHS matters for us all
Haley Pinto from the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare recently gave a talk to health group members interested in this area. It was a clear and comprehensive round up of the impact of the climate crisis on our health and on the NHS, including some of the initiatives that are already happening and many that need to happen urgently.

UNISON thinks all members would benefit from this engaging presentation and has persuaded her to do it all again as part of the scheduled activities.

This will take place on Monday 25 September, 12:30-1:30pm. You can register now here.

Find out more about UNISON’s green work here.

The article Get set for Green UNISON week first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Get set for Green UNISON week

As we head towards Green UNISON week, which runs from 15-22 September this year, it’s the ideal time to start planning.

Green UNISON week is a chance to raise awareness of green issues nationally and locally, plan activities to encourage and enable members to get more active and to celebrate all the things they are already doing in support of the green agenda – not just in work but anywhere.

There are many things that you could do to mark the week – here are just a few ideas.

Hold a UNISON green event

You could run a lunchtime stall in the canteen, show a film or arrange a talk. Why not invite a speaker from a nearby environmental campaigning organisation to come along? Ask people to make personal – or team – green pledges, such as committing to create less waste, to recycling targets, green office practices (less printing, switching from plastic to cardboard folders etc) anything green.

Promote our Green UNISON week webinars to your colleagues

Two webinars are being planned this year – there’ll be more details in the coming weeks.

Run a green workplace training activity

Talk to your UNISON learning rep and look into running a lunchtime activity session for green reps and members who’d like to learn more.

Run a green survey

Ask your friends and colleagues for ideas on how to ‘green up’ your workplace. Get people involved and offer a prize or raffle.

Find out what your employer is doing to reduce their environmental impact

Ask your employer to share this information with UNISON and consider how you could bring climate change commitments onto the bargaining agenda.

Find out if your UNISON branch has an environment rep

If not, encourage your branch and any interested members to get involved and become green reps.

A downloadable poster and leaflet are now available here and here respectively.

Set up a local green network

You can find other colleagues who share your concerns about climate change and let Green UNISON week be your springboard into starting a new green union network where you work that can link to the regional and national networks for support and to share ideas.

Sustainable healthcare – why greening the NHS matters for us all
Haley Pinto from the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare recently gave a talk to health group members interested in this area. It was a clear and comprehensive round up of the impact of the climate crisis on our health and on the NHS, including some of the initiatives that are already happening and many that need to happen urgently.

UNISON thinks all members would benefit from this engaging presentation and has persuaded her to do it all again as part of the scheduled activities.

This will take place on Monday 25 September, 12:30-1:30pm. You can register now here.

Find out more about UNISON’s green work here.

The article Get set for Green UNISON week first appeared on the UNISON National site.

‘This challenge unites us as a union’, says new green report

“There has never been a better time to recognise the need, and appetite, for increased engagement on climate change and the green economy,” says a new report commissioned by UNISON.

Compiled by Professor Vera Trappmann and Dr. Jo Cutter at Leeds University’s Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC), the report details the results of a survey of almost 400 UNISON members, compared against a nationally representative sample of 2,000 workers.

The detail and significance of the report will be covered at a lunchtime webinar on 23 March: Register to attend at the link below.

Tackling the Climate Crisis: UNISON members’ views, expectations, and opportunities for action

In the report, a number of key themes were explored, including:

  • how the threat of climate change is perceived by members;
  • who should take responsibility in climate leadership;
  • the hopes and fears, training necessities, and opinions regarding a just transition to a green economy.

The threat of climate change

UNISON members are much more worried about climate change than the average UK worker, the report claims, with 95% of members saying they are very or fairly concerned about climate change compared to only just over three quarters of the wider sample.

Just over 85% of members think we are seeing the effect of climate change in the UK already, and six out of 10 believe the issue should be addressed with extreme urgency – twice the level of the wider sample.

Not only are UNISON members concerned about the threat of climate change, almost two thirds (63%) reported very, or quite, strong feelings of ‘outrage’ compared to the UK average of 40%.

The union’s members also feel higher levels of fear (52% against 37%) and anxiety (54% against 39%) when compared to the wider sample.

The report goes on to argue that people’s emotions about climate change influence the likelihood that they will take individual or collective action. As a result, UNISON members are more likely to: try to reduce their carbon footprint at home; be involved in action to reduce emissions or protect the environment; and be involved in environmental activities or campaigns in their community than those in the wider sample.

From these statistics, the report draws the conclusion that there is a “clear opportunity for UNISON to engage more with members and employers around climate change.”

Climate leadership

The report also addresses the question of who holds the most responsibility to address climate change. UNISON members appear to believe that, in order, it is the government, then businesses, then individuals, then community groups and organisations. 

However, there was a general rejection of a ‘laissez faire’ approach to unregulated, business-led transition, with UNISON members placing a high importance on worker and community engagement.

This ties in with the results of the survey which suggest that members have a very clear idea of the ways in which their workplaces could decarbonise. However, only a third (35.3%) of members are extremely or somewhat satisfied with their involvement in decisions at work, compared to a UK worker average of just under half (46.7%).

Read: A greener planet – the UNISON green reps making a difference in their councils

The combination of having clear ideas of how to decarbonise combined with a lack of involvement in decisions leads the report to suggest that UNISON members believe the union could play a huge role to push through necessary change in addressing the issue of climate change.

This led the report to suggest that the existing body of knowledge held by workers across the public sector – about how systems, jobs and skills will need to change – should be drawn upon, and that there is a clear opportunity for the union to fill the gap between workers and management, to claim more involvement from employers.

Just transition

The report also discusses the opinions of members about how to support workers and communities to ensure that any green transition is ‘fair’.

On the wider political stage, members support a range of climate policies, including carbon taxes and investment in green technologies, and they are also likely to support new forms of public ownership to help drive net-zero.

One of the key findings in this area is that many UNISON members anticipate they will need to learn new green skills in their current role, so that they are able to work effectively in a more sustainable way – with climate education and specific training being seen as critical in helping workers address climate goals.

It was also found that many members would consider switching to green jobs and would be willing to learn new skills, but that access to applicable climate change training, which is currently very low, and the perceived ‘quality’ of green jobs are barriers which need to be addressed.

Conclusions

In summarising the report, Sampson Low, head of UNISON’s policy unit, said: “Climate denial is no longer the issue – the issue is the urgent need for climate action. This challenge unites us as a union and gives us an emotional drive to engage with the green agenda as a workplace and public service union.”

Read the full report

Or for more detailed analysis, join the lunchtime webinar on 23 March, 12:30 – 1:30. Register here.

The article ‘This challenge unites us as a union’, says new green report first appeared on the UNISON National site.