Birkbeck's Inaugural Climate Week helps people and organisations live more sustainably
In March 2024, Birkbeck hosted its inaugural Climate Festival, which provided a platform for new ideas and an exploration into the difference people can make on the environment both locally and globally, through a series of inspiring talks and interactive sessions.
Birkbeck's Environmental Education Team launched the Climate Festival concept with the aim of curating a cross-disciplinary event which would demonstrate the variety of knowledge and perspectives required to recognise the real challenges of climate change. The week showcased Birkbeck's research and teaching expertise across existing environment and sustainability programme offerings, as well as some new initiatives, such as the BA Environment, Culture and Communication that all foreground ideas of climate justice and communication.
The Climate Festival was an opportunity to engage with employers and organisations working on environmental and sustainability issues, allowing participants to understand how concepts and ideas would manifest in practice. Birkbeck welcomed a range of external speakers who shared their expertise with the festival attendees, including Legal & General, IHG Hotels and Resorts, The Vegan Society, People and Planet, Little Green Footprint, and many others, as well as hosting a range of attendees from organisations looking to expand their knowledge and share energy and ideas in this field across the compelling sessions. The wide range of sessions included informative panels on the industry and careers, interactive sessions such as the Climate Board Games Night and a workshop on climate justice writing.
The Grand Challenges of a Just Transition - an Interactive Data Workshop with Legal & General
In October 2023 Legal & General and Birkbeck, University of London, announced a three-year partnership to support the expansion and development of Birkbeck’s undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in environment and sustainability. The aim of this partnership is to equip thousands of students with valuable practical skills and knowledge to help build a more sustainable future. As part of the Climate Festival, we invited Wendy Walford (Head of Climate Risk, LGIM) and Nick Stansbury (Head of Climate Solutions, LGIM) for an interactive workshop to explore the uncertainties, complexities and challenges of achieving a just transition to renewable energy sources.
Participants investigated the challenges of achieving a ‘just transition’ through a series of hands-on date inquiry activities focused on the move towards electric vehicles, framed as part of an equitable post-fossil fuel future for all.
Learning through experience and working on real-world problems faced by business and industry forms a central pillar of Birkbeck’s vision for an effective environmental education offering that can address the climate change challenge of today and the future.
Get in touch
The inaugural Climate Festival was a great success, and sits as one of many initiatives launched by our Environmental Education Team who bring the transformative power of Birkbeck to bear on the climate emergency. Get in touch with the team if you'd like to join us on this journey of transforming the environmental education landscape.