Host Partnerships 2019-20: Meet Keele University and Students' Union

Keele University and KeeleSU first joined the Responsible Futures programme in 2014 as part of the pilot cohort. As one of three host partnerships, they aim to share their leadership and learnings from the progress they've made as part of the programme.

In 2018, Keele won the Green Gown award for Outstanding Leadership Team of the Year. They aim to share their strong approach to ESD, distributed leadership throughout all parts of University and Students' Union's operations, key in their governance structures and support for cultural change. They also will share their experiences of integrating major campus-wide sustainable infrastructure projects into research, education and external engagement, alongside workshops themed around "failure", sharing stories on projects which have not gone to plan and how we can all learn from our own mistakes.

"We're thrilled that Keele has been selected to be one of the first host partnership institutions as part of the Responsible Futures programme. Since Keele's involvement in the pilot for Responsible Futures in 2014, the partnership between the university and Students' Union has grown stronger and our progress in embedding sustainability into education, research, operations, the estate and the wider student experience has continually developed through our distributed leadership approach. We look forward to sharing our experiences with other university and students' union partnerships on their journeys to achieve Responsible Futures accreditation, including projects and approaches that have been successful, those that have been less successful, and how we learn from failure. We relish this new opportunity to work with the NUS and fellow host partnerships UWE and Anglia Ruskin to welcome colleagues to support days at our institutions and to continue learning and growing together to embed sustainability into all we do. We're embracing this opportunity to continue helping students to develop the skills, aptitudes and knowledge needed to tackle the sustainability challenges they will face through their personal and professional lives."

On the 9th March 2020, Keele will be hosting one of our annual Responsible Futures Support days on their campus.

The day will include:

• Exploration of challenges and successes on issues related to Responsible Futures
• A tour of the Keele University on-campus sustainability initiatives
• A workshop sharing Keele's approach to distributed leadership for sustainability
• Sharing learnings of what can come from failures and challenges when things don't go to plan

To confirm your attendance, please RSVP to Responsible Futures with any access or dietary requirements.

You are also invited to attend Professor Zoe Robinson's inaugural lecture on 9th March in the evening at 6.15pm (click the link below to register your attendance)

• Response and Responsibility: Universities as Actors for a More Sustainable Future