If Green UNISON Week has got you inspired and wanting to do more, perhaps becoming an environment officer at your branch is a good next step.
But if you’re not sure exactly what it’ll involve, don’t worry – here are some first hand accounts from different environment officers across Yorkshire and Humberside.
Tom Kistell, UNISON Sheffield Hallam University branch
“Hello! I work as a systems librarian at Sheffield Hallam University and I’m the UNISON branch environment officer here. I’ve worked at Hallam for 10 years and have been involved with UNISON in a few different capacities during that time. I started as a steward, then acted a workplace contact while my children were really little, and joined the branch committee in this role earlier in the year.
I’ve been involved with environmental sustainability staff networks in most of the places where I’ve worked, and was already lobbying the university to make some improvements to our travel policies here when a colleague suggested I might make more headway as the new environment officer for the branch. I wasn’t sure because family life was hectic and my job quite demanding, and I was worried I might not be able to do it justice. In the end though, I decided to stand and see what happened; lo and behold, I got elected!
It’s been a challenge to find enough time in my working week to pursue my environmental activities, but I’m persevering and have had some useful conversations with members, and input into the university’s climate action strategy, and have started reaching out to colleagues in other unions locally. The way I look at it, I’ll do what I can for a year, then it’ll be someone else’s turn to pick up the baton and contribute their ideas, and so on. If you’re thinking about standing in your branch, I’d encourage you to go for it. Even if all you do in your term of office is instigate a few discussions and feed back on a handful of policy documents, then it’s a step in the right direction.”
Julie Forgan, UNISON York City branch
“I’ve been active in the environmental movement for a while, including in protests which pushed the government to declare a climate emergency – which many local councils followed suit with. As someone who works in a school, I’ve been inspired by school strikes and protests in York – we took the UNISON banner to the rallies and spoke about the importance of trade unions in the climate movement. This culminated in a big climate change strike in September 2019, where millions of people took part in a global day of action. As a UNISON branch steward, I reported back on this activity at branch committee; a new role of environment officer came up, and it seemed a perfect role for me!
At this year’s UNISON national delegate conference, the motion on climate said that while individual action has a role to play, collective action and social change are essential. Under the current system, profit is protected at all costs – meaning we can never achieve climate justice. In my role as environment officer, that philosophy underpins most of what I do. I look to the bigger picture most of the time and try and make as many possible links between those who see themselves as environmental campaigners and those who see themselves as trade unionists. For example, a key area of organising was around COP26 in Glasgow. I helped set up the local COP26 coalition and we organised the largest protest around the climate that York has ever seen – which also involved large organising meetings of trade unionists and environmental campaigners.
The recent strike wave has demonstrated the direct power workers have to change things. As the climate catastrophe worsens, I think it will take this kind of action by workers alongside climate activists to force a move away from fossil fuels and to plan for sustainable jobs in the future. I think every trade unionist should consider themselves a climate activist – and every climate activist should recognise the central role trade unions must play in a just transition.”
Jack Edwards, UNISON University of Huddersfield branch
“Why am I the environment officer for my branch? I think everyone knows that we need to change how our human world behaves in relation to the wider natural world. We need to burn less fossil fuel, we need to re-use instead of dispose of our resources, we need to preserve and promote biodiversity all around us. We also understand that we have to do this much faster than we have been doing and much, much faster than some people seem to think.
Making a change isn’t easy, it is often disruptive, expensive and hard to persuade people to take that step – but a big part of being in a union is to create change; to find new ideas, create new outlooks and let that filter into the world. I think that a university holds a unique place in our world, it has a goal to promote learning while a modern institution also has the financial capacity and estate size to drive that change in a practical way. It also serves as a home and workplace for thousands of people, so there’s a responsibility to make that immediate physical environment the best it can be.
As the environment officer for my institution, I want to push for that change at every level – from the ability to cycle to work, to lowering the energy footprint of the estate, to pushing for funding towards progressive and sustainable projects and ensuring environmental impact is considered in all decisions across the university.”
Jessica Franklin, UNISON York St John University branch
“I wanted to get more involved in my branch, and the climate crisis is one of the biggest threats facing my generation. I wanted to be able to play my part in creating a safer and greener work place, setting the foundations for a sustainable future.
The role involves monitoring the environmental policies my workplace has, making sure they are relevant and meaningful to members. I encourage members to tackle green issues, and raise awareness of workplace issues related to the environment.
I think Green UNISON Week is key in highlighting how the climate crisis is a trade union issue. We can be bombarded with media coverage of climate change, both negative and positive, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming. This campaign highlights the immediate issues facing our members daily.”
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