Green Impact: team-based sustainability change programme

Green Impact is AUT's sustainability change and engagement programme for students and staff who want to implement sustainability actions on campus and at home.

It's a free, fun competition where you form teams and complete a range of sustainability actions in your own time. Your actions earn you points, and at the end of the competition teams get awards based on the points they've acquired.

It's a flexible programme – you can take part whether you have an hour or just five minutes free a week.

Keen to get involved with Green Impact?

If you’d like to be involved, then form a team and sign up to use the Green Impact toolkit, where you can view the range of actions to complete.

There are over 100 actions to pick from and complete at your leisure.

How many people can be in my team?

The team size is up to you. The usual number is between three and ten – having a smaller team makes it easier to work through the actions.

I don’t have a team. How can I get involved?

Ideally, you would form a new team with your peers. If this is a challenge, send out a call for more teammates, ask to join an existing team in our AUT Green Impact Facebook Group, or email sustainability@aut.ac.nz.

Alternatively, you can join Green Impact Express, which consists of 10 achievable actions you can take in your everyday life that will considerably reduce your carbon footprint.

Once you have completed these actions, you will receive a certificate of completion.

If you would like to join a team to continue your sustainable journey, let the Sustainability Team know by emailing sustainbility@aut.ac.nz. We will put you in touch with either an existing team that wants new members or others who have completed Green Impact Express to create your own team.

How to register your team

To take part, all you have to do is:

• Create or join a team by registering on the Green Impact website (email us if you need help)
• It just takes one team member to register to the toolkit, and then this team leader can add the rest of their team via the easy-to-follow instructions on the application
• Once you've registered, start to complete actions from the toolkit, ticking them off as done and uploading evidence and comments along the way to track your progress.

You’ll then receive regular themed information on how to tackle sustainability issues.

Green Impact Launch Webinar

Using the toolkit and how the scoring system works

2024 timeline

Dates to remember for important submissions and events throughout the year.

The scoring system: points and certificates

Each action is assigned a point value and a type (bronze, silver, gold or platinum). For each action you complete, you collect points. You need to collect a certain number of points to earn a bronze, silver, gold or platinum certificate, but you can complete any action types – bronze, silver, gold or platinum – to reach the required total of points for that certificate.

Special projects also offer a variety of points based on their level, which you can complete with your team as well.

Points system and certificates

At the end of the year we host an awards ceremony to showcase your fantastic work, with prizes to be won.