Volunteering for the enviroment – ELTE "Together for an Enviromentally Conscious Approach", institutional sustainability and savings programme

Viktória Mudra

Abstract

This case study presents an environmental programme established in 2008, that operates within an academic framework and represents the external and internal factors to be expected during the active promotion of environmental protection. The programme focuses on sustainability and resource preservation, and its main operational areas are institutional waste management, university biodiversity, environmental awareness raising, and environmental policy making. The paper describes the three phases of the "evolutionary history" of the programme, their challenges, their projects, and the characteristics and achievements of long-term student volunteer coordination. A separate chapter details the indicators of the sustainability and resource preservation programme. It is concluded that the multimillion forint savings, the creation of a low-budget sustainability methodology, the sustainability fees, and the development of long-term volunteering have contributed greatly to the more sustainable operation of the university.

Keywords: environment, sustainability, institutional waste management, university biodiversity, awareness raising, long-term volunteering,