What is the Students' Union UCL Sustainability Council (SusCo)?
The Students' Union UCL Sustainability Council (SusCo) exists to foster collaboration and environmental action across our student community. It provides a democratic space where students can raise and discuss environmental matters in monthly meetings.
SusCo holds monthly meetings open to all students, providing a space to address environmental matters and discuss ongoing sustainability projects at the Students' Union. In addition to these meetings, they have launched student-led Task Forces to drive focused action: Banking, Political, Education, Communications & Outreach and Food Waste.
Education Task Force
The Educational Task Force's core mission is to expand educational opportunities for sustainability across UCL. Going beyond simple advocacy, we aim to integrate exposure to environmental and social causes as a complement to disciplines rather than a single, mutually exclusive subject. Given the urgency in the climate crisis, sustainability must be embedded across all departments and careers to call for collective and informed action.
To achieve this, we have three primary objectives. Firstly, we will advocate for more sustainability inclusion in the curricula across all departments at UCL. Secondly, we will push for more interdisciplinary sustainability-related career events, such as the Careers Fresk - a game inspired by the Climate Fresk - and alumni panels.
Lastly, we aim to embed sustainability across the activities of student societies in different fields, such as law, consulting, finance, medicine, maths, physics, and more. We want to show that sustainability and other disciplines are not mutually exclusive.
If you’re interested in joining the task force or have more suggestions for us, please reach out!
Food Waste Task Force
The Food Waste Task Force is a student-led group committed to reducing unnecessary resource use across UCL, with a core focus on cutting edible food down to zero. We promote a circular system on campus by supporting the redistribution of surplus food and working with UCL accommodation, to expand the donation scheme so usable items are all collected and redirected to students rather than thrown away.
We aim to hold UCL and the Students’ Union accountable for food waste reduction and legal compliance. Our priorities include transparent food waste reporting, raising awareness about the environmental impacts of food waste, and advocating for policies that make sustainability the default across campus.
We’re actively working with UCL departments, Accommodation and the Students' Union to embed student voices in decision making. Current projects include introducing a community fridge to divert near-expiry food and advancing a motion for Students' Union outlets to eliminate edible food waste entirely.
Communications and Outreach Task Force
The Communications and Outreach Task Force is distinct from the other task forces in the sense that it does not have its own unique campaign. Whilst the different task forces have huge potential to make UCL more sustainable, they fundamentally require student engagement to realise that potential. This is where the Communications and Outreach Task Force steps in.
Utilising different social media channels and an on-campus presence, this task force aims to first make more students aware of the Sustainability Council, then increase engagement with ongoing campaigns.
With a clear visual identity now established for each task force through individual logos, the focus is shifting to getting the word out. You can follow what the Communications and Outreach Task Force is up to, and simultaneously all other task forces, on the council’s Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn channels.
Banking Task Force
Think about your bank account for a moment. Yes, that one. The one you opened without a second thought when you moved to London. Now, that harmless bit of admin might be funnelling your money into some of the biggest fossil-fuel financiers on the planet. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds: the list isn’t short. Many students aren’t aware that where they keep their banking decisions have an impact on the climate crisis. The Banking Task Force aims to change that by raising awareness and empowering students to make informed choices.
Our mission is simple: make ethical banking impossible to ignore at UCL and push the shift nationwide. We’re putting the truth directly in students’ faces - posters, workshops, assemblies - showing how something as mundane as an overdraft can bankroll environmental damage. We’re linking up with universities across the UK to spread strategy, training, and pressure. And lastly, we’re building a public toolkit explaining the economics, the fossil-finance system, and how anyone can launch their own campaign.
After all, our money has power. We’re here to stop banks from using it against you, and against the planet.
Political Task Force
Despite sharing a common goal, student-led environmental groups in the UK often operate in isolation, which limits their collective impact. While individual universities may have strong sustainability policies or campaigns, a lack of coordination between them means that student voices are not as powerful as they could be when pushing for systemic change. In the Political Task Force, we are working to change this.
By building connections with student environmental groups across the UK, our aim is to amplify the reach and influence of student-led sustainability campaigns – both within universities and wider political discussion.
Our current work with the Leicester Sustainability Council and Oxford Climate Society underpin our ethos of collaboration. We aim to continue working closely with these student leaders and more across the UK.
Next steps
At the Students' Union, our goal is to live up to our mission and values by:
- Embedding sustainability across everything we do
- Educating and empowering our members to take action on the climate crisis
- Working with UCL to drive meaningful, lasting environmental change
We’re committed to becoming the most sustainable students’ union in the UK and we will continue to work with the Sustainability Council to achieve this.
Explore our commitments and progress:
Want to get involved with the Sustainability Council?
Join SusCo at the next Sustainability Council meetings: