We hired Pomegranate Global to help us think through some first steps towards sustainability in our travel planning for the international office. Ailsa took the time to meet us where we were in our thinking, tailored her approach to support our objectives, and offered concrete immediate, mid and long-term steps. Her roadmap gave us ample food for thought as well as some easy immediate wins. She was quickly liked by all the staff who interacted with her and managed to work her own way through the usual range of institutional politics. The initial analysis and her follow-up advice have been one of the most high value investments we made this year."
Brett Berquist, Director International at The University of Auckland
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Real impact, action-oriented and student-driven
We all know we need to do more to tackle climate change but it can be hard to know where to start. We drew on on our extensive and deep experience of running international operations in the higher education sector, coupled with climate leadership training with former US Vice-President Al Gore, and input from students themselves on what action they expect from their institutions to design our range of services. Tailored to meet you where you are, we make it easy for you to take practical action that has real impact. Read what our clients have to say. SERVICES Climate Action Planning Designed to help you act in effective and practical ways, our comprehensive Climate Action Planning service will strengthen your response to climate risk across your operations, student engagement and international strategy. We view climate action as an opportunity to make your business stronger and more effective while still making a difference. You receive a detailed road map for action with recommendations on:
Contact us to enquire or book your service. Climate Action Training Tailored to professionals working in international education, this session gives the basic lowdown on how international education contributes to the emissions which cause global warming and suggests practical solutions for you to make the most impact. We look at how to reduce the carbon footprint of international student recruitment and learning abroad as well as how to incorporate climate action into core business, covering:
Standard training session: 90-minutes. In person and online options available. Climate Action Workshop Our range of Climate Action Workshops offer a deeper dive into the topics covered in the Climate Action Training outlined above. Staff gain a deeper understanding of how international education contributes to the problem of climate change and how it can be a catalyst for action to tackle it. We draw on human-centred design techniques to guide participants to think creatively to develop their own plan of action on a personal and institutional level. Workshop: range of durations from 90 minutes to 2 days. In person and online options available. Climate Action Lab Combining the skills development and knowledge acquisition of a workshop with the space for creative problem-solving of a hackathon, we create a forum for students, alumni or staff to experiment with solutions in a collaborative environment. Drawing on design thinking techniques, this workshop is designed to build climate action literacy and foster innovation. We guide participants towards practical solutions and empower them to take action with real impact:
Range of durations from 90 minutes to 2 days. Ideal for: student and alumni events and inclusion in global leadership programs. Contact us to enquire or book your service. The Climate Action Innovation Challenge A unique program combining an innovation challenge and a focus on climate action. It develops and hones skills in creative problem-solving, business planning, teamwork and pitching and is an opportunity to work in-depth on the real challenge of helping make businesses, institutions and cities more environmentally sustainable. Each team is mentored throughout to keep them on track. It culminates in a final competition where students pitch their solutions. The innovation challenge uses a human-centred design approach to help students think laterally and come up with ideas to tackle global warming and carbon emissions. Students build their skills in complex problem-solving, critical thinking and creativity: the top three skills needed for a successful career by 2020 according to the recent Future of Jobs survey of global business leaders by the World Economic Forum. Learning Outcomes:
Ideal for: Work Integrated Learning and employability programs for students. Climate Action Internships and Industry Projects Real world projects with a difference - students gain experience by developing a climate action plan for a start up, company or community organisation to cut their carbon footprint and operate more sustainably. Learning outcomes:
Ideal for: experiential learning, internships, industry and consultancy projects. Tailored Climate Action Events, Training and Strategy Development Masterclasses, presentations and webinars tailored to your chosen audiences. We break down the big issues around climate change and greenhouse gas emissions into easily digestible, bite-sized chunks to support you to make your operations more sustainable and to use your reach to equip students and staff with basic climate action literacy. Ideal for: student leadership programs, team building and staff development days, pre-departure and and orientation programs and even alumni events. We also provide content for insertion in existing programs, event facilitation and moderation, as well as strategy development around sustainability and climate action. Contact us to make your campus a leader on climate action and innovation! Why is this so important? An unfortunate by-product of global mobility is the extra carbon emissions from flights (by staff and students). At least 14-39 megatons of CO₂e emissions per year are associated with international student mobility*. In 2014, the extra emissions just from air travel for new university students arriving in Australia, was estimated at 1,444,451 CO₂e tonnes**. Planting enough trees to offset that would cost over AU$20 million and fill a space the size of Sydney Harbour. Put another way, that's 24 trees per student just to stand still. Students are starting to demand that institutions take action, and new rankings such as the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking will increasingly drive student choice towards environmentally responsible institutions. At Pomegranate Global, we believe we have a responsibility to use our sector's reach and resources to do something about that. We also see the opportunity this creates to provide services which benefit students and institutions at the same time as helping the planet. * Shields R, 2019.The Sustainability of International Higher Education: Student Mobility and Climate Change 2019. University of Bath ** Acknowledgements and gratitude to Rob McDonald, former Deputy Director, International Marketing and Recruitment at CQUniversity Australia for his ground-breaking research on this topic. Read more in IEAA Vista. [return to our full list of services] |