ESN Groningen obtained 3 out of 5 leaves in the Green Office Label of the University of Groningen in June 2026.
Art. 1 Each year in May, the President and the Secretary draft a report on how the Sustainability Policy was followed in that year. Based on this report, the President and the Secretary decide to amend the Policy, if needed.
Art. 2 ESN Groningen maintains its Green Office Label status.
Art. 1 ESN Groningen encourages its members to save energy in areas where we undertake our activities.
Art. 2 ESN Groningen promotes initiatives that encourage saving energy.
Art. 1 ESN Groningen has a digital office Inventory, available to all committees. When planning to buy materials, the committee needs to check the inventory and prioritise the re-use of already existing materials at the office and in storage. The evaluators of each committee are responsible for updating the inventory. The Secretary is responsible for the overview of the inventory.
Art. 2 ESN Groningen prioritises the acquisition of reusable and durable items whenever possible.
Art. 3 ESN Groningen aims to rent items instead of purchasing them whenever this is deemed appropriate and feasible.
Art. 4 During the Introduction Weeks, the Acquisition Manager focuses on the acquisition of objects rather than flyers for the goodie bags.
Art. 5 ESN Groningen invests in sustainable and durable promotion materials: flyers that do not need to be changed every year, general board recruitment banners, signs for the Introduction Week, sustainable paper for flyers, posters and stickers.
Art. 6 ESN Groningen aims to transition from printed informational materials during the Introduction Week to digital alternatives wherever applicable.
Art. 7 ESN Groningen is recycling Statiegeld at all of our activities.
Art. 1 ESN Groningen always needs to offer vegetarian and plant-based options for food.
Art. 2 The food provided at ESN events is always more than 50% vegetarian.
Art. 3 Committees that cook or provide food for their events use standardised spreadsheets to calculate the necessary quantity of food. The evaluators of each committee are responsible for determining which foods are generally preferred and which are not, and whether the quantities were sufficient.
Art. 4 Leftover food is distributed to participants and committee members.
Art. 5 During the Introduction Weeks, the Treasurer and Crew Manager are responsible for the shopping list. After each Introduction Week, the Treasurer and the Crew Manager evaluate which foods were generally preferred and which were left over.
Art. 1 ESN Groningen aims to promote sustainable travel practices. For all international trips organized or funded by ESN Groningen, members are expected to travel by train or bus instead of by plane when the destination is less than 800 kilometres from Groningen and/or when the journey by train takes less than nine hours.
Art. 1 ESN Groningen organises a minimum of 3 sustainability-related activities per year. The responsible board member is the PC. The events can be organised as separate events or during Social Impact Week.
Art. 2 ESN Groningen organised one vegan dinner/lunch per year. This can be organised by the International Dinner Committee and overseen by the IC, or organised during the Social Impact Week by the PC and the IC. This can be done in collaboration with other student associations with expertise on the topic.
Art. 3 A dedicated section on sustainability is presented at one of the Active Members’ Assemblies by the President and the Secretary.