MKT2010 – Integrated and Digital Marketing Communications - Live Client Student Briefing
Organisation Name:

Sustainability Team, Newcastle University
Contact name:

Denise Connor / Melissa Stephenson
Website: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/sustainable-campus/

Part 1 - Organisation Background
• When was the organisation was set up?
The first dedicated member of staff dealing with sustainability issues at the University was appointed
in circa 2006 and focused solely on energy management and introducing a recycling stream. The
team has since grown and now covers a much broader scope of work including energy and waste
management, travel planning, staff and student engagement and improving the overall operational
sustainability of the Newcastle University campus. More information is available on the Sustainable
Campus website.

• Why set up?
The University was forward looking and recognised that they needed to make efficiencies in the
campus’ energy consumption and waste management. Initially this was primarily within its estate,
but this has since grown to encompass all operations and impacts within the local and wider
community.

• What do you do?
The Sustainability Team is based in Newcastle University's Estates and Facilities Service. We are
responsible for a variety of environmental sustainability issues including energy, waste
management and travel planning.
Our work promotes and demonstrates continuous improvement in environmental and energy
performance, ensuring best practice, statutory compliance and value for money.
The Sustainability Team is supported with a budget for Sustainability which includes staff training
and expenses, metering and software costs and staff and student engagement funds. In 2020/21 this
totalled circa £930k.

• What do you offer? etc.
We run Sustainability projects across the University. We are looking for assistance with an annual
project called ‘Leave Newcastle Happy’.
At the end of this academic year, many students leave Newcastle or move accommodation within
the city and generate huge volumes of waste that is often not segregated and sent for reuse (e.g.
donated to a charity) or recycled correctly. The end of term clear-out results in significant issues on
campus but especially in local communities such as Jesmond and Heaton where significant volumes
of waste fill up bins and back alleys.
Leave Newcastle Happy is the NUSU, University and City-wide end of term move-out campaign. It
provides helpful resources for students to leave accommodation and the city in an appropriate way
by helping students get rid of their unwanted items.

• Where are you now?
In previous years we have located rubbish skips in key areas during the big move out weekend, and
NUSU published guidance on how to segregate items and where they can be dropped off.

Part 2 – Current Target Market
• Who are your current customers
Students at both Newcastle and Northumbria University who live in local residential areas are the
main ‘customers’. Local residents and community groups are also important customers due to the
effect that any leftover waste has on their local area.

• What do they like/dislike
Students want to be able to easily dispose of items they no longer want, and in most cases, in the
correct way. They want clear instruction on how they can do this, as well as the location of the
facilities and infrastructure available. They also likely want centralised locations that aren’t too far
away from where they are living, or a way of transporting their items if they have a large quantity
and are unable to handle it all themselves.

• Is there a potential target market you would like to reach?
Students living in local communities. We want a communication strategy that can help us reach a
larger number of students and to create a resource that is informative, easy to understand and
compelling enough for them to segregate their waste properly.

Part 3 - Where are we now?
• Where is the business now?
Planning stage for this year’s run of the project in partnership with Northumbria University, the SUs
of Newcastle and Northumbria, and Newcastle City Council.

• What are the Economic/Political/Social or Technological factors?
There is a limited budget (amount TBC) dedicated to this work.
The University has committed to embedding social and environmental justice throughout its activity,
and this project supports these values. There is a strong will to empower our students to do the right
thing and impart knowledge to enable them to make the correct choices both now and in their post-
student lives.

• Who is the Competition
There is zero ‘traditional’ competition to this project however there is competition in trying to win
students’ time and attention.

• What are the Strengths / Weaknesses / Opportunities and Threats
Strengths
The dedication and collaboration between all organisations involved to hone in on the problem and
resolve it.
Weaknesses
Trying to target a diverse (in terms of knowledge and buy-in) group over a wide geographical area
without any direct control.
Opportunities
There is a huge opportunity to gather a large amount of items that can be donated to people who
need them, or simply reused by others and kept out of landfill. There is also an opportunity to
educate a large number of students on the importance of segregating waste and donating items
they no longer want, which could then have a long-term positive impact on how they deal with items
they no longer want in future.
Lastly, there is also an opportunity to highlight consumption habits and make students think about
what they’re buying, how long they’ll use it for and whether they really need to buy / consume it in
the first place.
Threats
There is a danger of having too many options for donating / discarding items, which may put
students off from determining suitable routes for their items. The communications need to be
relatively clear and concise while having enough information to encourage them to take part in
Leave Newcastle Happy, and having enough options to find homes for the most commonly discarded
items.
Part 4 - Communication Issues
• What are your main marketing communication issues – is it about awareness, getting
interest, desire, action/moving clients into a sale?
It’s about all the above. We need to drive and increase awareness, interest, and the desire to do the
correct thing and then get people to actually act and do it.
• What are the main problems or issues you see?
Lack of effective and timely communication.

Please email this completed form to Fiona Thompson by the end of January –– Many thanks in
advance - fiona.thompson2@newcastle.ac.uk