Who are the Sustainability Volunteers?
The purpose of this role is to work with other students and Open SU staff to establish the impact Open SU has on the environment and how we can reduce that impact.
We welcome all current students who are interested in environmental and sustainability issues. We welcome and fully support students from diverse communities who will be able to share their lived experiences of environmental and sustainability challenges. If you would like to be a change-maker and have interest in policy and sharing your ideas, this role could be for you.
This opportunity is open to all students and will be critical to the exploration of how Open SU's Environment and Sustainability Working Group can engage with The Open University to work collaboratively to consider current working practices. This volunteering opportunity is online, all you need is access to the internet to carry out this role, allowing you to volunteer anywhere.
Join our team of volunteers and you could make a real and lasting positive impact on the working practices and the future of Open SU whilst using and/or developing your skills.
Role Tasks
- The role will typically require 1 hour per week on average for a minimum of 12 months.
- You will also be required to attend monthly meetings. These are the second Wednesday (10am-11.30am) of each month
- Involved in exploring policy positions for our wider external engagement
- Writing, reading and critically analysing information
- Meeting with other student volunteers and Open SU staff
- Attending online meetings
- Getting involved with environmental and sustainability discussions impacting students
- Writing, reading and critically analsying information
- Working collaboratively, online with other members of the group
Role Training
- Volunteering Core Training which includes Safeguarding, Prevent and GDPR (online)
- An online induction including (live MS Teams session)
- Carbon Literacy training (online)
Skills developed in the role
- Communication skills used to influence the design of policies and procedures
- Critical analysis skills when considering what changes could be beneficial
- Awareness of sector developments with regards environmental and sustainability issues
Role benefits
- Providing awareness and engaging with students on topical issues which have been proven to be of high interest to students.
- Influence and develop policies and procedures so that they align with developments and key issues impacting the OU community
Applications open Autumn 2026