Green Labs at Oxford Hub: Carbon, confessions, and the Conservative party
This term we ran the first pilot cohort of our new six-week incubation programme for aspiring environmental leaders — Green Labs. Our twelve participants, a mix of local people and students from the University of Oxford, set up four fantastic projects in the course of the programme covering a range of issues from carbon emissions to politics. Read on to hear about each of the four projects our teams created…
Fashion Unboxed
Our first team focused on tackling fast fashion, and ways of grabbing the attention of people who don’t currently engage with the issue. They decided to start off with an event that would draw people in, and set up a panel discussion at Brasenose College featuring a range of speakers from the fashion industry.
After the discussion had concluded, the team ran some simple activities showing participants how to repurpose odd socks and t-shirts into bags and mug-warmers — demonstrating the importance of giving new life to old clothing rather than sending it to landfill.
The team are hoping to go on to run more campaigns against fast fashion in future, so keep your eyes peeled!
Vote Planet
Our second team decided to look at climate and politics, specifically analysing and sharing information about the quality of the climate policies for each political party. They decided that the most effective way to do this would be to review each manifesto, rate the quality of the policies described, and present these on a website.
From agriculture to housing, each party is given scores based on how effective and how great an environmental impact their policies would have if put into effect. Spoiler alert — the Green party doesn’t come out on top in all areas!
Offset Your Carbon
Our third team wanted to look at the food system and think about ways of reducing the environmental impact of the food they eat. Looking at data for the cost of carbon offsetting different types of food, they decided to create a model for enabling businesses to offset their food-based carbon emissions.
Initially trialled with OxUnboxed, our refill shop, the scheme enables businesses to pay a small additional cost towards carbon offsetting — in this case, donating to ClimateCare’s carbon offsetting work — in order to offset the carbon produced by the food they stock. Businesses calculate the amount that needs to be offset using data provided by the team, and make the transfer.
If you’d like to find out more, get in touch with the team at offsetyourcarbon@oxfordhub.org.
Ecofess
Our final team were thinking of ways to share tips and information with consumers in an easily-digestible way. They took the “OxFess” model — the format of a Facebook page where users can submit posts anonymously — and gave it an environmental twist.
The range of users engaging with the page has created a colourful and varied range of content. Submissions have ranged from tips on where to find the best keep-cup discounts in Oxford, to arranging climate protests locally. Cheap vegan recipes appear alongside advice on avoiding contributing to the aggressively consumerist culture of Black Friday.
The page now has over 300 followers and is sharing posts daily. Follow Ecofess and make a submission here!
Think Green Labs sounds fun? You don’t need any skills or experience to take part in Green Labs, and we accept people of all backgrounds. Enthusiasm and a desire to learn and grow is all you’ll need — register your interest for our next cohort here. Applications open in January.
