Sustainability is difficult. Modern socioeconomics support a system that is defined by transience and transaction; the purchase, consumption, and disposal of goods, often at the expense of both the environment and society. It is especially difficult for students, those who are perhaps the most interested in engaging with environmental issues, yet who are without the funds to do so consistently. A petty but relatable example of this is that just four organic apples from Dunnes, sustainably produced by the Italian cooperative, Biosüdtirol, cost €3. This is the same price as buying eighteen ‘savers’ apples, the production methods of which are tellingly unstated. Farmer’s market prices consistently either equal or exceed Dunnes’ organic prices, plant milk costs more, unethically produced clothes are cheaper, and the majority of coffee shops have stopped making drinks with customers’ reusable cups for fear of spreading covid. The list goes on.
Imperfection is something that we’re going to have to accept. For a long time, too. But perhaps that’s okay. Brighter than it first seems. Change is slow, constituted of small, important steps, and is fundamentally dependent on these steps for any sense of momentum. What follows is a preliminary and imperfect guide to living sustainably while studying at Trinity. The hope is to suggest feasible ways for students to engage with environmental issues; that which can be done mostly on a low budget, with limited time, and in a developing and busy city.
On Campus:
- Trinity as an institution is working towards becoming a more sustainable university. Part five of its strategic plan for 2020-25 is to “shape our organisation and focus research around the challenge of achieving a sustainable and healthy planet”, committing, in various ways, to following the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, to creating ethical leadership, and to pursuing plans to reduce the campus’s carbon footprint. The university publishes an annual sustainability report, assessing progress towards its stated goals, and has created a number of sustainability guides and ‘green maps’ for staff, residents, and students. These can be found via Trinity’s Sustainability webpages.
- In terms of direct involvement, Trinity is home to both a ‘Green Campus Residents’ Programme’ and a ‘Green Campus Committee’. These initiatives provide students with the opportunity to actively engage with contemporary environmental issues. While the residents’ programme specifically allows those living on campus to learn and then educate others about climate action, biodiversity, and sustainable behaviours, the campus committee is open to everybody, gathering monthly to advance environmental and sustainability issues in the university.
- There are a number of environmentally and socially committed student societies. These include; EnviroSoc, VeganSoc, TCD Young Greens, DU Amnesty International, and the Botanical Society, amongst others. EnviroSoc, for example, hosts panel discussions, fundraiser events, and gives advice on sustainable living.
- Both the Student’s Union and Graduate Student’s Union have an Environmental Officer. Erin O’Dowd, the Student Union’s Environmental Officer, works directly with students and staff, co-chairs the Green Council Committee, and oversees Green Week.
In the City:
Dublin’s approach to sustainability is multifaceted and changing. The city is rich and complex; full of debate and contradiction. Naturally, there are hundreds of opportunities for engaging in more environmentally friendly living. What follows here represents only a handful of these.
- Cycling. Now’s ‘Dublin Bikes’ are available for short and cheap rentals throughout the city, acting as a low-carbon transport option. There are also a number of independent businesses that offer a similar service. These include Bike Stop Dublin on Capel Street and River Cycles on Usher’s Island.
- Cafes/Bars/Pubs. Although a little pricier, there are a number of restaurants and cafes working towards making the hospitality industry more sustainable in Dublin. 3fe Coffee, for example, roasts with ethically-sourced beans, sources their food stuffs from local suppliers, and has a blog dedicated to their sustainable practices. The Fumbally Cafe emphasises community, maintaining caring relationships with their suppliers, staff, and customers while practising eco-friendly cafe methods. Bujo, a burger joint, uses 100% compostable packaging and runs on 100% renewable electricity. Porterhouse Brew company (with bars on Nassau Street and in Temple Bar) has committed to more sustainable production methods. Spent grain and hops are used for composting and cattle feeding, while their brewing equipment has been designed to maximise energy efficiency. In a similar vein, Too Good to Go is a great (and cheap!) application for reducing food waste. Customers can rescue cafes’ and restaurant’s unsold food at the end of the working day at reduced prices.
- Buying. George’s Street, Camden Street, and Rathmines are well-known for good charity shopping, meaning that new clothes can be purchased more ethically. The Liberty Market (Thursday to Saturday) offers clothes, jewellery, and fresh flowers, with the Green Door Market (Wednesday to Sunday) and Stoneybatter’s Farmer’s Market (Friday to Saturday) focusing on fresh, locally sourced food. The Good Neighbour in Dundrum and the Dublin Food Coop in Kilmainham are zero-waste, organic shops; a little more expensive, but worth the occasional trip.
Student Essentials:
- Refurbed, a marketplace for refurbished electronic devices, is holding a back-to-college campaign, offering discounts of up to 40% on sustainable and essential technology. Refurbishment results in 70% less Co2 than when manufacturing a new device.
- Elephant Art has launched a new ‘Curator Set’, a package of between ten and twenty paints in recyclable and minimal packaging, the colours chosen by each artist so as to reduce their paint waste.
- Reuzi encourages individuals to swap disposable products for ones that can be reused. Based in county Dublin, they sell reusable sandwich bags, zero-waste bathroom products, guides on how to live more sustainably, and environmentally-friendly back-to-school products, amongst other things.
Although the road to truly sustainable living is long, informed by all kinds of complex changes and developments in understanding, the importance of small efforts should not be dismissed. Janine Benyus, a natural sciences writer, understands cooperation to be the animating force of life and healing. She notes how in forests, plant colonies, and other biodiverse areas, resilience is networked; the survival of difficult conditions becomes a reciprocal and multi-species task. This is a productive way to look at the environmental challenges we face today. It is important not to extract ourselves from the complexity of the climate crisis, but to acknowledge ourselves as both embedded within it and vulnerable to its implications. By beginning with imperfect yet accomplishable lifestyle changes, we make important contributions to the delicate and complex networks in society that are fighting for the planet’s wellbeing. For Benyus, the scarcity model that underpins capitalism is unrealistic and unsustainable. The routine of purchase, consumption, and disposal must be replaced by care, collaboration, and reuse.
