GCR constitutional amendments & motions (Micha
Motion on College Sustainability Strategy
Action motion to support
Concerning St Antony's College Sustainability Strategy
Proposed by Josh P. Allen
Description/Intention a partnership between the College and the GCR to improve the College’s performance on key environmental issues through a temorary sustainability working group for the 2020-21 academic year or until the Sustainability Strategy is adopted
Motion to support the creation of a Sustainability Strategy by College management in partnership with the GCR
Proposed by: Josh Parker Allen
This GCR notes:
1. that the University of Oxford and its wider community are currently taking action to address the environmental and climate emergency we face globally. Relevant initiatives that have taken place in the last few months are:
- the declaration of a climate emergency by the Oxford City Council in January 2019;
- the celebration of an Oxford Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change in September and October 2019;
- the development of the Oxford Climate Action Plan (OXCAP) as a joint effort between Oxford University’s researchers, students and staff;
- the preparation of a new Environmental Sustainability Strategy for the university, to be adopted in 2020/21;
- and actions taken by many colleges across the university.
2. that St Antony’s College needs to embrace the challenge of sustainability and take responsibility of its environmental impacts –both positive and negative. However, the college does not currently have a sustainability strategy or roadmap, and actions taken in recent years fall short of what should be expected from this institution.
3. that during the last few months, a group of college students –including the GCR President, Josh Parker Allen, the GCR Environmental Officers, Marianna Beltrami and Joaquim Muntane´, and DPhil candidate Jose Maria Valenzuela– have been discussing this issue. The group has been in conversation with fellow students (including a survey which showed clear support for the adoption of more ambitious environmental action), several academic and administrative members from college, and representatives from the Oxford SU and other university colleges. As a result of this, they have proposed the development and implementation of a Sustainability Strategy for St Antony’s College to set a clear direction and a list of commitments to improve the college’s performance on key environmental areas such as energy, water, food, travel, health and wellbeing.
This GCR believes:
1. that the College and the GCR should be doing more to improve the College’s performance on key environmental issues
This GCR resolves:
1. to support the establishment of a Sustainability Working Group to oversee the elaboration of the Sustainability Strategy. The key features of this working group –open to change in discussion with College – are the following:
- It should be composed of members across the college community, including –at least– the Bursar and/or Domestic Bursar, a representative (or representatives) from the Governing Body, the GCR President and the GCR Environmental Officer(s).
- It should be set up as a temporary working group for the 2020-21 academic year or until the Sustainability Strategy is adopted. Further continuity of the group (for instance, to oversee the implementation of the strategy and amend it as necessary) can be later discussed by the group itself.
- It should take on the commitment to ensure that the strategy is developed in a timely, ambitious, realistic and democratic way. The group should make use of all resources available (including knowledge derived from other colleges’ experiences, and St Antony’s own expertise and priorities) and make sure that the whole college community engages in and commits to the strategy.