Campus Sustainability Day 2023
The UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals at ECU
This year’s Campus Sustainability Day was on October 26th (if you missed it, keep an eye out for Earth Week next semester). This year, we collaborated with several groups across campus to help spread the word on what ECU is doing to help our community achieve the UN’s 17 Goals for Sustainable Development!
1 – No Poverty
Beast Service Society (ECU’s offshoot of Beast Philanthropy) joined us to speak on how Beast Philanthropy helps to combat poverty in our area and throughout eastern North Carolina by providing both resources and assistance to individuals and organizations.
2 – Zero Hunger
Purple Pantry shared information on its resources and how they help get food and hygiene products to food-insecure students free of charge.
3 – Good Health and Well-Being
Campus Recreation and Wellness joined us to share information on how they help students build community and stay healthy in many aspects, whether mental or physical.
4 – Quality Education
Environmental Studies was invited to share how this major can help educate students here at ECU.
5 – Gender Equality
Both the Women and Gender Office and UterUs came out to share how they are working to achieve gender equality through resources and education.
6 – Clean Water and Sanitation
ECU Water Resources Center and Water Corps joined us to share how they perform monthly water sampling on local water sources.
7 – Affordable and Clean Energy
Center for Sustainable Energy & Environmental Engineering shared that they work with local businesses to seek out ways they can reduce their environmental impact and be more energy efficient.
8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
ECU Career Services Center joined us to talk about green and sustainable jobs and encourage students to think outside the box with their majors when providing resources for career opportunities.
9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
ECU Outer Banks Campus shared how their Coastal Studies Institute used recycled materials in the building, reuses wastewater, and has research projects related to renewable energy and how the Gulf Stream might be used to power homes in eastern North Carolina.
10 – Reduced Inequalities
Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center used their time with us to share resources on how they help the LGBTQIA+ community here at ECU to help reduce inequalities in that community.
11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities
ECU’s Chapter of ReLeaf joined us to talk about how they maintain our campus orchard (found in the Stratford Arms parking lot across from the baseball field), spread awareness of the advantages of trees in communities, and host tree trail walks to educate people about trees growing on campus.
12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
Pirate Swap hosted their pop-up thrift shop at our Campus Sustainability Day and shared how buying secondhand can help combat waste, unethical production, and other unsustainable practices, especially in the fast fashion industry.
13 – Climate Action
Planet ECU and ECO Pirates joined us to talk about the impact of climate action and to spread awareness of volunteer opportunities they have available to help with sustainability.
14 – Life Below Water
NC Conservation Network joined us to help spread awareness of harmful substances in our water and to get signatures for a petition to stop them while Pirates on Water and the American Fisheries Society joined to talk about their conservation effort in the community and how they help water ecosystems.
15 – Life on Land
SustainabiliBEES joined us to speak about the importance of pollinators and to educate people on how they can help pollinators in their area.
16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement and Pirates Vote shared the importance of voting and participating in systems to keep institutions strong.
17 – Partnerships for the Goals
This goal was covered by us, ECU’s Sustainability Program. We shared information about different ways to get involved with sustainability on campus for staff, faculty, and students. If you missed the event and are looking for ways to get involved, feel free to reach out! Here’s a look at what we’re doing in November.