Green Impact

How to identify your most significant environmental aspects and impacts

What are the ‘quick wins’ with maximum impact?

How would you implement these

Getting started

B029: The team has identified, ranked and documented what it believes are its five most significant environmental aspects & impacts. 

What are impacts and aspects

Environmental Aspect

• any element of an organisation’s activities, products or services, that can interact with the environment.

Environmental impact

• any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organisations activities, products or services

Cause Effect

EXAMPLE - Printing agendas for meetings

Aspect: Use of printer

Aspect: Use of paper

Impact: contributes to global warming

Impact: use of fossil fuels: burden on earths resources

Impact: Deforestation

Environmental Aspect Environmental impactCause Effect

Your turn… Identifying your own environmental aspects

and impacts:

Brainstorm your activities What environmental aspects are associated with these? What are the environmental impacts of this? Identify the significance of each impact:

• Intensity• Likelihood

Themes to consider

Embedding Communication & Administration Greening the curriculum & charity in the wider community

EnergyHeat & lightning

Waste & RecyclingReuse, recycle & compost

ProcurementWorker’s rights, Fairtrade & sustainable suppliers

TravelBike schemes & Liftshare

Wellbeing, Biodiversity & CommunityNature trail & bee hives

General Considerations Direct or indirect Real or perceived Occur under normal operating

conditions Occur under abnormal operating

conditions Due to accident Due to incident (eg vandalism) Due to past (or future) activities

Contact detailsSustainable Behaviour Assistant:

Jane Nursej.i.p.nurse@swansea.ac.uk

01792606391

Your NUS Green Impact Project Officer:Odette Wills

Odette.Wills@nus.org.uk 07813921439