So who are the ‘players‘

and what progress are (or aren’t)

they making?

Preamble / Example.

Well, the two people working together in the photo are definitely players and very much making progress.  Let me introduce them: René (L) and Claude (R) two of the local (Brunstatt-Didenheim) Repair Café ‘Experts’ (of whom we have 40 by the way with all sorts of specialities ranging from mechanics to electronics, from bike repairs to ‘couture‘).    Our Repair Café has been in place just four years and, in spite of CoVid we have had over 1000 successful repairs and have ‘saved‘ four tons or more of potentially quite serviceable things from going to landfill. (There are approaching 2500 Repair Cafés worldwide … created in a little over 10 years …. if each one, like ours, ‘saves‘ 1 Ton per year from landfill – that’s 2500 Tons per year… and maybe over 500,000 articles repaired, saving visitors millions of $ / £ / Euros in the process).

The ‘Portes du Sundgau’ Repair Café based in Brunstatt Didenheim [NB, technically the Illberg Campus is in Brunstatt Didenheim] is a legally-constituted Association (affiliated to the global Repair Café movement – HQ in Amsterdam – created in 2009).  All its ‘Experts‘ are unpaid and give their time, effort and years of expertise for free.  Barring the summer holidays we hold Repair Café events 20 or 25 times per year: including twice at the university.  On average people come with 25 or 30 things to any one event and we usually manage to repair 65% of them on the day – we take a few more away to our workshop if we need more time and specialist tools.  It turns out that around 75% of presented articles are repairable… some, quite clearly, are not.   Repairs are FREE! [the only thing one might pay for is a replacement of a broken piece, subject to a cost limit specified by the article’s owner.

At our first event at the FSESJ / the Fonderie, we managed to repair 100% of the articles (all but one on the day itself) from a mobile phone to a very expensive VTT, from an Isle of Aran jumper to a microwave oven!   The idea is not just that you bring in something working and leave, but you stay around, sit with the repairers, have a coffee and some cake and learn.   If you have something that needs repairing – do come see us – you’ll know you are in the right place if you see myself or my wife on the Reception at our Brunstatt events!  Here are the dates of Repair Café Events.  Hope to see you there.

Our local Repair Café idea came about because the Mairie de Brunstatt-Didenheim offered an open invitation to citizens of the Commune to come and talk Sustainability and to brainstorm ideas together.  The meeting drew nearly 60 people – not far off 1% of the population, and spawned 5 Working Groups of citizens (not mairie – led or funded) each running with their own project ideas, of which the Repair Café is one.

An Example: just this last Saturday a man came from Switzerland with a ‘Pool Puppy‘ underwater swimming pool cleaner that wasn’t working.  It was an expensive thing and he was prepared to pay up to 200 Euros for any part that was needed.  30 minutes later the repair had been done – with no parts needed and nothing to pay!  He left promising to tell all his friends and come back!!

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Who are the other players & what progress is being made?

I am going to divide this into two task elements: Micro and Macro:

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MICRO. 

The FLSH as one of the UHA’s 8 key components / one of its 4 faculties.

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Just how well is FLSH doing in the sustainability ‘stakes‘ in your opinion? … Some thoughts just to get you thinking (but you are expected to have many other ideas of your own):

• Did you receive anything about ‘studying in a sustainable fashion in a sustainable faculty in a sustainable university’ in your enrolment / joining instructions?  In fact, did you see anything about this before you applied to study here?
• Has the university provided you with contextual information regarding things like car-sharing, use of public transport, local market locations and times, composting etc
• Does it appear that staff (academic and administrative) are switched on to sustainability in terms of our systems and processes?
• Did you receive a UHA or Fac sustainability charter? Does one exist?  If so – did you hear about it and what does it mean to you (if anything)?
• When you look around you on Campus and in the FLSH (whether in the classroom, offices, Scolarité resting in public areas, eating etc, do you see ‘Sustainability in Action‘ or ‘Sustainability Inaction‘?!?!
• What do you think about the ‘balance’ (if there is one) between classes ‘en présentiel’ and ‘distanciel’? [The latter avoids transport – petrol/energy consumption and pollution, saves time etc….] .  Could / should there be a role for both?
• If you are being asked to print out your work on paper, have we said:
  • use scrap paper you have already printed on one side?
  • print on both sides if using a clean sheet of paper?
  • use only ‘brouillon’ / draft mode to save on ink?
• Do we print far too much: handbooks / livrets etc when we could store things digitally?
• Do we always recommend you purchase printed books despite the fact that digital alternatives could be found?
• Can you recycle in the classroom and in public areas?  Does the facility exist and are instructions clear?  If so – do people respect this? If they don’t, what are we doing about it?
• Can you purchase sustainable learning resources at low prices through a uni/fac bulk purchasing scheme [recycled paper, recycled /refilled printer cartridges, pencils, fountain pens and ink ….?

SO…

I want a group of you to AUDIT the faculty in terms of sustainability conformity taking on board issues like (but NOT restricted to) the things above.  Imagine you are going to present this candid analysis AND evaluation to the Dean and offer her your conclusions AND recommendations.

What sort of mark / 10 would you give it (this is a sort of exploded version of AIDA if you think about it)…. and WHY?

• 9 or 10  / 10 : The Fac is clearly a sustainability ‘warrior’ and ‘evangelist’ (Aware, Interested, full of Desire and engaging in Action) – on the leading edge and taking a low-impact approach… a beacon to staff, students and other Facs aliks.
• 7 or 8 / 10: Doing much better than most Schools/Facs of which I have experience, but still with a way to go… perhaps hit a ‘roadblock’ (of inhibitors) and unsure whether the Fac really wants to do more or (if it wants) quite how to do it.  Desire, yes… but a bit short on Action.
• 5 or 6 / 10: About average or perhaps just a little better than average. ‘Nothing to write home about’ : More Aware and perhaps potentially Interested, but a long way short of Desire and Action
  
• 3 or 4 / 10:  Not very good at all. The Fac evidently doesn’t do much to reduce its impact on the planet. Pays ‘lip service’ – just does a little bit of sorting waste and recycling.  Does what is required by law: yes, but a wider ethical and moral responsibility: no.  Aware, limited Interest only.
  
• 1 or 2 / 10:  Undertake very little action relating to sustainability. Unconvinced of the need to improve / reduce impact. No-one is forcing me to do things – so I don’t…. if it was important enough then there would be strict laws and regulations and I would obey them (but there aren’t!). Aware and not Interested
• 0: Sustainability is not an issue that seems concern the Fac as far as I can see – It appears to take the view that unless and until there is the force of law and/or priority University policies and resources behind it, then it will not be central to Fac priorities. Stuck at barely ‘Aware’, ..if that!
  

So… ‘break it gently‘ to the Dean….

1. From your viewpoint where does it seem that the Fac stands on sustainability?  Give her the numbers and make sure you have the justifications to go with it!
2. Brainstorm, produce and present an Action Programme: a list of Action Points in priority order.  For each Action Point you will need:
   • Title and a short description of what it is.  [the What]
   • Justification: why you are convinced this needs to happen [the Why]
   • Leadership / Participation: Who should be leading this and who will he/she need to call on for support. [the Who]
   • Timing. When should this begin? How long will it take? When will it finish?  [the When]
   • Process. What is the best [most Effective, Efficient, Economical and Equitable] way of achieving this [the How, the How much & the how will we know it has been a success or failure?].

You will appreciate that this voyage from Audit to Action is a bit of a rehearsal for the more highly-specific work you will be doing with my colleagues in relation to your chosen sector.

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MACRO

Understanding Players and Progress [beyond the University]

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Clearly, there is only so much I can show you here – an enormous amount is being done at global, regional, national, local and individual levels – sadly not always by the people that need to be doing it.  I’ll try to do this under some meaningful headings.

Technologies.

Here are just three examples of ‘game-changers’.

1. Energy production
2. Energy storage
3. Fertilising, natural packaging (to replace polystyrene)

Energy Production.  Have a look at this short TED video entitled ‘Freeing Energy from the Grid’ by Justin Hall-Tipping. There seems to be evidence that nano-web technologies could revolutionise energy production and distribution and make power stations redundant.  This was the sort of concept Nikolas Tesla was reputed to have been working on when he died in suspicious circumstances….  Now being trialled, if we can ramp this up globally (and quickly) it could be a major advance for our energy needs… we wouldn’t need to compete for it as we are now…

Energy Storage.  Imagine a battery.  Now imagine one made of 100% ordinary sand.  Now imagine a 20m x 20m pile of it storing energy from renewable energy sources in summer (when we have far too much of it) and holding it simply, safely and at low cost for 6 months or more, capable of heating a town of 35,000 people.  One could ramp this up for big cities: fill in an old quarry with sand …. the possibilities are endless. Presently going into full production in Finland after a trial project.  The name is Polar Night Energy  Scroll down the page – the videos are good… especially the NOW YOU KNOW one … it is about 40 mins long, but you get a sense of just how great this could be..

Fertilising Packaging.  Eben Bayer and his team have invented natural protective packaging (the sort that comes inside your printer / PC carton) made out of the same stuff that makes cheese cheese: mycelium which is in the feedstock detritus the world throws away. It grows itself to the size and shape wanted in a matter of days (without heat or light and virtually without any human intervention), has better protection properties than polystyrene….and when you unpack the PC you can throw the protective packaging on your lawn or vegetable patch: it is a natural fertiliser that will dissolve itself naturally in a matter of a couple of days.   Here is his TED talk. and his Website.

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JFDI.  [Look it up]

Sometimes, as the US Marine motto puts it: « When the Going gets Tough, the Tough Get Going« .

I happen to believe that there are an amazing amount of Sustainability solutions ‘out there‘… (often contributed by individuals) which are not getting the ‘traction‘ [new word in this context learned from my daughter!] that they rightly deserve.

1. WASTE

Béa Johnson’s Zero Waste Home Project. Her website.  Her book  (also available on the second hand market for as little as 5 euros)… and no, I’m not on commission!  Its practical and a ‘fun’ read, especially when it comes to toilet products!  She set herself a challenge to reduce waste in the family home to the absolute minimum and to see what the family might save on its spending in the process.  Result: one small jar of waste for one whole year AND a 40+% reduction in spending.   My family is taking some of what she says on board quite successfully, but the time cost is an issue we are finding.   Even Mulhouse M2A is getting in on the Zero Waste Home ‘act‘ organising no end of workshops on the subject from composting to making your own natural, home-cleaning and cosmetic products.  Why not go?  You don’t go – you won’t know!

General Food Waste. It is generally accepted that, on average, we waste fully half of what we buy.  Here is the picture from the UK set in its global context. But, until recently:

• supermarkets were pouring ammonia/bleach (or similar) upon products which were past their sell-by date to make sure noone could benefit from it: better ruined than given away?!?  Madness!  Now most countries have laws against waste – especially food waste.  This came into force in Jan 2022 in France (France Inter article)
• restaurants ‘turned their noses up‘ at those (like me!) having the nerve to ask for a ‘doggy bag‘ for anything I couldn’t eat.  I would ask for two reasons: first the portions in Alsace are usually gargantuan (haven’t they learned portion control yet?) and I simply couldn’t eat it all immediately; second we do have dogs who love their croquettes enlivened with some meat and veg. I normally say that I am asking for the Doggy Bag to show honour and respect for the chef and the effort he/she and his/her team had put into producing the meal…. I wouldn’t like him to see his/her work wasted.  No wonder this spawned what (in the US at least) is known as Dumpster Diving.

Fast Fashion.  It used to be that clothes shops had seasons that broadly followed…well… the seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.  Then ‘some bright spark‘ had the idea of inventing fashion collections that turned over not every three months, but as little as every three weeks.  Companies like Tally Weijl, H&M et.al have made their name and fortune on it.   So much is left unsold by fast fashion companies and is thrown out to be disposed of that the problem is exported en masse to places like Ghana [BBC Report].  But on the other side of this, the problem has prompted solutions like this town in Italy (Prato) which turns old clothes into fibres and the fibres into new clothes.  Problems can be the spur to see opportunities….!  A good business principle: take a problem and solve it and you’ve probably got a market waiting for you!

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2. COMMUNITY FOOD PRODUCTION.  Imagine a ladies’ ‘coffee morning‘ with a group of women with time on their hands looking to get stuck into some project or other and wondering how such a project might have a positive effect on their somewhat dirty, old industrial town with a drab look and a poor image.  What might they come up with…?  The Incredible Edible [website], obviously… and it is some project! Here is the Co-founder, Pam Warhurst presenting the concept.  Plus an event video so you can see how it works in practice. You could call it the ‘coffee morning that transformed a town‘.  They started off by ‘vigilante gardening’: they took to the canal toe-paths with their families one weekend (asking no-one’s permission!) – ripped up the weeds and planted things one could eat: Strawberries, Raspberries etc …. then they asked the Police if they could tend the land around the police station and grow things. Then they got the local authority to identify every patch of vacant land in the area – even down to a couple of square metres by the bus stops… they have grown community food everywhere.  Here’s the interesting thing – anyone can plant and tend and water and anyone can pick the fruit and veg (even if he hasn’t planted it!).  They now have a reputation for locally produced food.  The local Colleges are now running agricultural courses. The image of the town has improved to the extent that they now have a burgeoning Tourism industry as news of Todmorden’s success has spread far and wide.  I guess that means property values will have gone up as well….. a virtuous circle for a town of 50,000.   In Brunstatt we hope that our Potager Partagé might go the same way…!   My neighbour has just bought a lot of non-constructible land next to his house… and I am thinking we could feed the street…..!