Nathan Clitherow is one of the candidates for the role of Sustainability and Development Officer in this year’s SU elections. Forge Press sat down with him to discuss his motivations, the importance of the role and his manifesto, as well as his plans for his campaign.
Nathan’s main reasons for running for this role are due to being both “very interested in elections and politics” and also having a “big interest in sustainability”. Nathan believes his previous experience in the SU as the president of the medic’s running society will help him succeed in the role. This will also help his pursuit of “working in environmental policy and environmental consultancy” in the future. All of this motivates Nathan to be “someone who can drive the SU’s agenda on sustainability” to eventually make a “positive change” to the university.
When asked why this specific role is important to the student body, Nathan commented it is essential “to set a good example”, as “the driving force of environmental change”. He also recognises it is an essential “opportunity to spread awareness of what the uni is doing”, including both current and future changes regarding sustainability.
Nathan also considers the city-wide impact the role can have, rather than just affecting students at the university. This community effort within the SU will help to create “a platform for the uni to spread its sustainable values throughout the city”. He is also aware that working within the SU, alongside the other officers and students can generate a level of change “so much more than what I can do on my own”
One of Nathan’s key policies within his manifesto is “to cut down on waste in general around SU venues and the university as a whole”. This would focus on the reduction of “single-use waste” by “extending those programmes” already implemented by the SU to achieve this. He gives the example of the Foundry where there is an extreme amount of single use plastic “being chucked around” at a range of events.
Another important area of change for Nathan is “to make the uni a lot more energy efficient”. This can be achieved through “such simple but very important changes”, such as monitoring when heating and lighting are used when buildings are not in use. This is especially apparent in “a lot of our older buildings”, and would make a large change just by monitoring these factors. As an extension of this policy, Nathan also expresses interest in “encouraging the university to invest more into renewable energy and technology”.
