1. Launch of the Students’ Green Fund
Many thanks for giving us the opportunity to close this year’s AMSU Conference. Congratulations to Loughborough and the CoCo
As Gemma has said we have been going through difficult times at NUS over the past two months as we’ve undertaken a re-structure which results in a net loss of 20 staff, and it’s been nice for the past few days to have been amongst friends and colleagues. I do believe we are through the worst but I’d like to say thank you to all of you who have sent supportive comments to us. You should know that every difficult decision we have made has been taken in order to significantly raise our game so we are adding real value to our members - students’ unions - and so we are all ultimately delivering for students.
I will explain more about the re-structure shortly but for those of you who didn’t attend any of NUS’ strategic conversation events earlier in the year this presentation title may seem a little odd – so I’ll try and give you some context. For those of you who were at the strategic conversation events I promise not to go on about elephants any more after today.
But first here is a picture of me wrestling an elephant.

2. A latent student interest in sustainability: NUS HEA surveys

3. Green Impact Students’ Unions – Gold and Excellence

5. Students’ Green Fund
£5m fund for student-led sustainability projects, to be run by students’ unions in partnership with their parent institutions
Four key themes:
Student engagement
Partnership
Impact
Legacy

6. Objectives
Initiate a step change in student engagement in sustainability issues
Enable students to become meaningful agents for change on sustainability issues in higher education
Ensure sustainability remains an institutional priority within the sector
Put English higher education on the map for its sustainability efforts

7. How will it work?
Competitive bidding process for c25-50 two-year sustainability projects by students’ unions, at c£50k-£150k per year
Open to all English SUs whose institutions in receipt of HEFCE funding, including FEIs
Open call to encourage innovation
Revenue and capital costs; joint projects and partnerships
Formative feedback process
Applications deadline:
EoIs 05 June 2013 (but advised sooner the better)
Full applications 26 June 2013
Student-led funding panel
Projects start Aug / Sept 2013

15. We really need you
Your expertise
Your ideas
Your support
Your connections

16. nus.org.uk/sgf #EAUCconf13 #SGF
@NUS_Greener