My experience at the 2016 ACTS Conference

My experience at the 2016 ACTS Conference

In November this year I had the privilege, courtesy of the TropEco Scholarship competition, to attend the conference for Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability. The conference was hosted at Sunshine Coast University and consisted of a range of keynote speakers, workshops and tours.  This annual conference is a chance for university representatives from all across Australia to showcase their sustainable initiatives. It was the perfect opportunity for passionate professionals and skill-seeking students to share innovative ideas, projects, programs and plans that tackle the environmental issues facing each unique institution. This year's theme was 'Connect-Innovate-Ignite!' and it was certainly evident that it lived up to this motivating theme. I connected with a range of fascinating individuals, from inspired students looking to become leaders in the field of sustainability to current leaders and speakers looking to ignite and connect the minds of attendees. The true overarching purpose of the event was achieved before I even reached the conference venue. It was getting to know these people who want to create a meaningful and lasting change in the systems and motivations dominating today's world, and where it can be made sustainable for future generations. The moment I met these sustainability officers, environmental practitioners, scientists, researchers, and students, I immediately knew that these were dedicated individuals out there looking to leave the world in a better state than how they found it. Throughout the conference, we all worked together to share our thoughts and frustrations.

When entering the campus, I immediately noticed the presence of waste recovery stations at the side of each building. It was satisfying to see a smart waste system that easily encourages the public to dispose of waste responsibly with minimal effort. The compostable bins were transported to an On-Site Composting Apparatus, or "OSCA". The system works as a catalyst to speed up the decomposition of compostable waste produced on the campus, which is then used and sold within the community.

I learnt of other universities making a sustainable transition in waste, transport and energy sectors, and gathered a few ideas that I can see JCU adopting in the years to come. The most ambitious and inspiring project that influenced me was that of the University of Technology Sydney’s plan to transition into a 100% renewable campus by 2020. This target had undergone feasibility studies, business cases, support letters and signatures from students and staff, and financing campaigns. If implemented with maximum efficiency it could pay itself off in under 10 years and could serve as a leading example to other universities. The skills which individuals and teams need in order to accomplish such feats involve a great amount of collaboration, purpose-driven goals, and emotional resilience. The range of workshops taught us how to handle any frustration involved throughout this process. A heap of psychology is involved in progressive thinking and persuading stakeholders into supporting new projects. It was all quite fun and interesting to learn from creative thinkers and quirky characters.

Attending the Green Gown Awards let us recognise the achievements of these amazing people, and also gave us the opportunity to enjoy the Sunshine Coast nightlife (which made for a very peculiar evening). I can easily say this conference has motivated me to embrace what JCU has and how we can transform it into a more sustainable campus. I hope for movement to spark within this great university that will create everlasting change for our institution, our community and our planet.

Finally, a big thank you to TropEco for this amazing opportunity, and most notably Kerryn O'Connor and Adam Connell who joined me for this conference.