Www.eauc.org.uk/life An introduction to Learning in Future Environments (LiFE)

www.eauc.org.uk/life

An introduction to

Learning in Future Environments (LiFE)


What is LiFE?

LiFE is a planning and self-assessment tool specifically for colleges and universities to improve social responsibility and environmental performance through a whole institution approach.


What is LiFE?

LiFE systematically guides you through the design, planning and delivery of your strategic sustainability activities.

Wherever you are in your journey, LiFE gives you the freedom to shape what sustainability means for you and your institution.

LiFE acknowledges that sustainability is not the same for each institution and with EAUC Membership we can help you deliver where you need support.


What is LiFE?

It is a strategic tool, allowing you to design your strategy and empowering you to deliver through your existing tools of an environmental management system, UCCCfS, Green League or ISO14001.

It is not a replacement for these. It is not a quantitative or statistical benchmarking tool but an implementation and delivery tool.

While the tool is flexible, we have created 2 versions to recognise the difference between Higher and Further Education institutions when it comes to Research.


Self-Assessment

At the centre of LiFE is the planning and self-assessment tool

This guides you through the Priority Areas, Frameworks and Activity Areas to measure your progress in every aspect of your environmental and social responsibility activities.


Priority Areas and Frameworks


Activity Areas

Policy and Strategy Action Planning Stakeholder Engagement Measurement

Commitments are in place to sustainability in this area

of activity

Action plans are in place (SMART) and commitments

made

Relevant stakeholders are involved in the activity.

Institutions are looking at measuring the impact and benefit of the activity not

just the activity itself

Communication Training and Support Implementation Links to the

Curriculum

Activity is being communicated and there is

clear support

People are being trained and supported

Embedded into the way things are done, systems

and processes. Good practice examples

Links between campus, curriculum and community


Flexible approach

• Choose which Frameworks and Priority Areas to focus on

• You decide on the timescales• You decide what sustainability looks like in

your institution


Why use

LiFE?


Why use LiFE?LiFE is a simple tool that will bring direct benefits to your institution. These benefits include the ability to:

Go beyond environmental performance to evaluate wider social sustainabilityActively manage and improve your environmental and social responsibility performance by setting targets and monitoring your progressEngage with colleagues beyond the sustainability champions/estates and students - use it to engage your Senior Management TeamUse LiFE to complement other activity e.g. an environmental management system, the Flexible Framework, UCCCfS or the Green League. There is no extra work and it can provide your institution with a central view as it offers a dashboard to pull everything togetherEngage with a community of participants through EAUC Membership, which will help you to share ideas and good practice.


Why use LiFE?

If you are at an early stage you can use LiFE to:Shape your strategyHelp you identify the work that is already taking place – because there will be plenty!Engage staff across the institutionIdentify opportunities to engage with other stakeholdersIdentify good practice and support materialsBuild momentum and achieve senior management buy-inStart in areas where you are already working in - often this would be the Estates and Operations Priority Area


Why use LiFE?

If you need direction you can use LiFE to:

Review your existing strategyDevelop plans and set targetsStimulate discussions across the institution with stakeholdersEngage other staff across the institutionStart to engage staff in areas where you have struggled to embed sustainability - this might be the Learning and Teaching or Leadership Priority Areas


Why use LiFE?

If you have a well developed strategy you can use LiFE to:

Review current activityPull together evidence of the good work you are doingIdentify gaps across the institutionIdentify where you can start to measure impact and demonstrate progressBuild a whole institution approach across all 4 Priority Areas


How to use the

Self-Assessment tool


Using the toolThe 'What it looks like' section details the criteria needed to attain a maximum score on each activityBy working through your chosen Priority Areas and Frameworks you firstly add ‘evidence of existing activity’ in the eight Activity Area cellsYou then give yourself a ‘starting’ scoreLooking to the future and what you want to achieve in your given time period, you can then set yourself a ‘target’ scoreNext you set your ‘Actions needed to achieve your target’You can use it as a tool to demonstrate progress by adding a‘current’ score which you can update monthly/quarterly or whenever you’ve achieved an Action.

We have provided helpful scoring guidance in the

tool to ensure you are consistent and realistic.


Dashboards

The Dashboard pulls through all the total scores and presents the data as an central overviewIt shows you at a glance what level you have reached for each Framework It shows you at a glance what level you have reached for each Priority Area


A new level of support for

EAUC Members


EAUC Membership

Now that LiFE is a core benefit of EAUC Membership, this brings us an opportunity to demonstrate how Membership can help you and your institution progress.

All of our resources and events have been aligned to a Framework. This common language brings focus to your own activity and pinpoints where you need support.

For the EAUC, it will ensure that all Members have a range of materials and support that have clear linkages to LiFE and ensuring you meet the targets you’ve set for yourself.


What’s next?


Annual Review – submit your tool to us annually and this will help us guide our services and support – no extra workAccreditation – available in mid-2015Feedback – we’d like your feedback on how you’re using the toolSupport – we’ve got lots planned to help you progress in LiFE


Get support

Visit the Sustainability Exchange Watch our two videos - ‘An instruction to LiFE’ and ‘How to use the Self-Assessment tool’ - and share them with othersDownload our information guides and use them to engage othersVisit our LiFE Resource bank where there’s lots of guidance, tips and ideasContact the EAUC – [email protected]

http://www.sustainabilityexchange.ac.uk/

http://www.eauc.org.uk/life/resources

http://www.eauc.org.uk/life/resources


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Www.eauc.org.uk/life An introduction to Learning in Future Environments (LiFE)