University of Greenwich Achieves Fairtrade University Status

On the 1st march 2011 the University of Greenwich achieved Fairtrade University Status.

University of Greenwich Fairtrade Accreditation Certificate

The achievement reflects a lot of recent hard work and developments across the University towards promoting Fairtrade products, the Fairtrade Foundation and what Fairtrade does for farm workers across the globe. The arrival of the certificate and the accreditation is very timely as the University is very much involved with Fairtrade Fortnight as we speak.

SUUG are running a Fairtrade Wine Week at their bars, where you can get into the spirit of things and enjoy a glass of Fairtrade wine or two. Meanwhile we still have the competitions to win a Fairtrade hamper and a Fairtrade Chocolate fountain experience at the Mansion Site, Greenwich and Avery Hill Campuses, Fairtrade give aways at UMSA and SUUG shops and an attempt to break the world record for the longest continual piece of bunting at the Dome.

As well as the goings on in Fairtrade Fortnight we have received the accreditation for a year’s worth of effort, changes and actions. All the coffee and tea served in hospitality is Fairtrade, along with the sugar, which is refined locally at North Woolwich Tate & Lyle sugar refinery. The University has been working together with the caterers (ABM and Sodexo) the students unions (UMSA and SUUG) and collectively we have increased the amount of Fairtrade products available at the University, promoted the virtues of Fairtrade at events like the Freshers Fayre and Green Week and we are looking at a vast array of options for taking our collective commitment to Fairtrade further.

Rest assured we will not be resting on our laurels and you will see the range of Fairtrade products increase over the course of the next 12 months, various promotions and events and hopefully this time next year I will be able to report that we have achieved Fairtrade University status for the second year running.