The university’s Alumni and Fundraising team hosted the Alumni and Partners in Sustainability Panel Discussion and Networking event for alumni, partners and university colleagues. The event saw a strong turnout and featured insightful discussions highlighting the importance of collaboration in advancing sustainability and working towards the university’s aims and ambitions.
Highlights from the event
Our guests and speakers were welcomed at the university’s Stockwell Street Building where they heard from Mary Davies, Associate Director, Alumni and Fundraising, who welcomed attendees and emphasised the university’s ongoing commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2030 and the significant role our alumni will play in this endeavour, and to drive forward the university's green initiatives.
The event also marked the announcement of the Sustainability Alumni Community, a new initiative aimed at bringing together alumni who share a common goal of promoting sustainability. Attendees provided feedback on the night to help shape the future of this community.
We will be sharing more about how alumni can get involved in this community. In the meantime, alumni are encouraged to join the online space on Ask Alumni+ which will enable networking, idea-sharing and future collaborations.
Hearing from industry experts
Simon Goldsmith, Head of Strategic Sustainability, hosted an insightful panel discussion featuring our distinguished panel of alumni and partners who are leaders in sustainability.
Our alumni speakers were:
- Bryan Magar, Environment Officer at Environment Agency
- Ximena Chamorro, Research Assistant at Sustainability Research Institute, University of East London
- Mark Pritchard, Retired former manager at Medway Valley Countryside Partnership.
And our two partners speakers from RSK Group include Joanne McCarthy, Higher Education Relationship Manager, and Desmond Doherty, Principal Social Consultant.
These panellists shared their journeys and accomplishments, providing valuable insights into their work in sustainability and addressing questions from attendees.
After this, attendees were able to network with one another, again sharing ideas and plan future collaborations.
One of our speakers from partner RSK Group, Joanne McCarthy recognised the importance of holding events like this and gaining the involvement of students, staff and businesses.
The recent University of Greenwich Alumni and Partners sustainability networking event was a brilliant way to bring the university community together and tap into the wealth of knowledge of sustainability that exists within its alumni and partner base.
The graduates of the future are entering a world where sustainability will be at the heart of every business decision so it’s critical that business and higher education work together to equip students with the skills to navigate careers where environmental, economic and social sustainability are the drivers. By working together and using events like this we can all plan better for the future skills gaps and ensure that we are building a future workforce that can deliver on sustainability.
University context and moving forwards
Back in February this year, the university kicked off its Green Greenwich campaign, a commitment to a sustainable future that saw staff sign-up to pledges, enrol as Green Champions, and much more. The Alumni and Fundraising team was tasked with creating a new sustainability community for alumni to share ideas and bring together industry experts across the world to support our university initiatives.
This was the first Alumni and Partners in Sustainability event in what is hoped to be the start of collaborative events with alumni and partners over the course of next year and beyond. We are excited about the future of the Sustainability Alumni Community and the potential for further connection and knowledge sharing.
We send a special thanks to our colleagues and university teams who made this event possible. The Sustainability Development Unit, headed by Simon Goldsmith, and the Partnerships team for using their strong connections with RSK Group to connect us with excellent speakers.
Want to find out more?
Though this event was not available to watch online, we have shared images and a full recording of the panel discussion via Ask Alumni+. Join our Sustainability Alumni Community on the Ask Alumni+ platform to access these resources. You can sign-up using your LinkedIn account so your professional details carry over.
Our Sustainability Alumni Community will be an active and growing group which we hope alumni, staff and students alike will find helpful and informative.
If you are interested in leading this community, please email alumni@gre.ac.uk.
