Glasgow University Students Representative Council

Alvaro Perez Guardiola

My name is Alvaro Perez Guardiola and I’m a third year biomedical engineering student. As an active member of Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion, as well as initiatives like the UofG on Ecosia campaign and the Green New Deal, I know that the University’s current sustainability strategy and investment policies are in serious need of a revision.

If I am elected, I will push for full and immediate divestment from fossil fuels, the arms industry, and other corporations not aligned with the University’s values. I will campaign for increased student participation in decision-making processes in the form of Students’ Assemblies so that senior management can be held accountable, and students’ concerns and proposals can be considered.

I will drive for a comprehensive revision of the University’s investment practices and sustainability strategy to ensure that they are up to students’ expectations. I will also endorse the Green New Deal initiative as a basis for an improved strategy to guide the University towards a truly Green Transition based on Climate Justice.

In addition, I will work to increase the links between the SRC and the UCU on sustainability issues, so that students and staff can work together to build a more sustainable campus.

Rebecca Scott

I am a third-year geography student with a genuine passion for improving the University’s outlook on how we engage with environmental issues. I have worked with the Cairngorms Action Youth Team throughout the past year in an attempt to improve the understanding that young people in rural communities have of how their actions impact their environment. In this position, I have led presentations in Finland regarding the steps young people can take to improving their knowledge of small-scale self-improvement projects, such as abstaining from single-use products and choosing public transport over private cars for journeys.

At the University, we need to keep working towards divesting from fossil fuel industries in order to show that we do not support such a harmful and unsustainable trade, and encourage the University to meet the 0% endowment target for 2025. We also need to promote more effective recycling programs across the University.

If elected, I would aim to:

• Eradicate single-use cups on campus, replacing with recyclable alternatives
• Encourage the University to be involved with COP26 events
• Further the SRC’s work of planting trees across campus to mitigate CO² emissions
• Laison with environmental/sustainability societies across campus and promote these to the wider student body

Jure Zgubic

Hello! My name is Jure Zgubic. I am a fourth year joint mathematics/physics student and I am running to be your next environmental officer.

Universities are in a position to be at the forefront of innovation and adaptation to climate change. Academic progress should not be made at the expense of the environment and I believe that preservation is key for us and future generations. We are approaching a tipping point in our environmental crisis and I believe that the University can do more in the fight against global warming and biodiversity loss.

If elected, my objectives are:

• to ensure that the university keeps in line with the current environmental proposal “A dear, green place”,
• make student voices of concern heard by the University,
• speed up the process of eliminating single use plastics from University’s catering,
• help support groups with a positive environmental impact to run events in tandem with the University,
• work with the University’s Gift Shop towards more sustainable merchandise and memorabilia,
• improve recycling facilities,
• try to increase University’s visibility and action at the COP26 conference in December,
• push for use of trains in staff’s business travel.