After an 8 month campaign the Fairtrade Foundation has recognised student and staff efforts to turn Durham Fairtrade. Hamish Reid reports…

Student and staff campaign
Last Friday, after an eight month innovative campaign by students and staff, Durham was awarded the prestigious status of Fairtrade University. The University joins a select list of just thirty five British Universities to have made the grade.

Dr Antje Danielson, Sustainable Energy Advisor in the Earth Sciences Department, said the award demonstrated that Durham had made “A real commitment to sustainable development.” She is also of the opinion that the status sends a clear signal that the University believes all humans have the same rights, that the first world countries cannot live at the expense of poorer nations and that Durham will do all it takes to avoid unjust practises.

The criteria
The accolade is attained by reaching the five goals set out by the Fairtrade foundation; these involve the Students’ Union and the university authorities both creating Fairtrade policies incorporating the following goals: firstly to make Fairtrade foods available for sale in all campus shops, cafés, restaurants and bars. Secondly to ensure Fairtrade foods (for example, coffee and tea) are served at all meetings hosted by the University and the Union, and are served in all University and Union management offices. Thirdly that there is a commitment to campaign for increased Fairtrade consumption on campus, and finally, that a Fairtrade Steering Group is set up.

The process was initiated by Nick Pickles, Ellie Crouch and Nicola Heaton (DSU President, Environmental Officer and St Mary’s DSU Rep respectively for 2005/6) who got the campaign onto the University and DSU agendas. Although the goals laid down by the Fairtrade Foundation may seem straightforward, the movement faced a number of challenges including growing student apathy due to the length of the process. The Foundation also initially asked for Fairtrade groups in all colleges, however after a debate it was agreed that Fairtrade should be part of broader Environmental Groups, and now this concept is going to be used as a template for other universities.

Groups working together
The campaign for Fairtrade promotion was carried out by hundreds of students from various societies including S.L.A.G. (The Sustainable Living Action Group), Speak, People and Planet, Anti-sweatshop campaign and FACE Society. Toby Walton, the current DSU Environmental Officer who saw the project through, stated that the only opposition faced by the proposal was one of cost. This was however solved by the University Executive Committee who passed a policy stating that the change would be cost neutral. Another requirement was that a full audit of college Fairtrade products had to be carried out. This was undertaken by Dr Danielson’s recently formed student group SLAG, mentioned above.

A number of University administrative staff also played central roles in the process. Laura Watson Deputy, Director of Procurement, negotiated new Fairtrade contracts for the University; Professor Tim Burt, Dean of Colleges, provided support throughout; and finally, Professor Joy Palmer Cooper, Chairman of the University Environmental Policy Group was cited by all involved as having a crucial role in putting the whole application together.

What’s next?
Walton wants to ensure that Durham is not just a Fairtrade University, but the best Fairtrade University : “We have to raise people’s awareness of what Fairtrade entails; most people have a very limited knowledge that it’s just about a higher price for producers. Fairtrade is that but it is also a lot more; it’s about a fairer trading relationship enabling business development rather than dependency.”

Dr Danielson has ambitious plans to make Durham an official green university: “We applied for the National Green Gown Award and are one of the runner ups. The results will be announced at an EAUC conference on Queens Campus on 18 and 19 April.” Danielson has also developed a close relationship with Bradford University, the UK ‘s first ‘Ecoversity’, and is hoping to lead Durham in Bradford’s footsteps to becoming a Green University. Reciprocally Bradford itself has just launched a student environmental programme modelled after our very own SLAG. Achieving Green status would involve substantial fundraising and a considerable number of new approaches and policies.