UQ Diaries
The sustainability edition
Welcome to UQ Diaries, an anonymous Contact magazine series that dives into the burning questions you've always wanted to ask.
Each month, we'll explore life's juiciest topics, from money to relationships, education and everything in between. At our heart, our mission is simple: to give your voice a chance to be heard.
In August, we posed the following question to our UQ community to find out how they really felt about making sustainable choices every day:
- Have you ever felt conflicted between your lifestyle choices and sustainability.
Read on to see what they said (note: some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity).
Age: 23
Degree: Master of Business
Occupation: Student
City / Town: Brisbane
Yes, sometimes shopkeepers prefer to give us the products in polythene (plastic) bags, which are not good for environment. At that moment, I feel conflicted about whether I should take it or carry my products uncomfortably without any bag.
Age: 29
Degree: UQ staff
Occupation: Marketing Coordinator
City / Town: Brisbane
I feel conflicted all the time! I try to take personal responsibility, but there is often a feeling of futility because so much of the damage being done is by industry/corporations. I could take shorter showers, but that doesn't change the largest water-consumer being the agriculture industry. I can minimise my food waste, but that doesn't fix the large portion of produce being rejected or sent back by supermarket giants because they're 'slightly imperfect'. When it comes to lifestyle, we have a good household income so I do feel that it's my responsibility to shop ethically – at a farmers market even though it might cost a bit more, or clothing from sustainable retailers even though the cost is much higher. But we are very privileged to be able to do that. With the cost of living increasing, people are just doing the best they can and they can't spend that amount.
I'm trying to consume less in most ways – buy less clothes and always try the op shop first, eat less meat, ditch plastic where I can, walk/cycle more often – but the biggest conflict is that travel is one of my biggest passions and so that is where the personal conflict comes in the most for me and where I struggle to give it up.
Age: 37
Degree: Bachelor of Commerce
Occupation: Business advisor
City / Town: Sydney
Making sustainable choices every day is easy, but all day every day? That is incredibly challenging.
I try to grab the low hanging fruit, like bringing my coffee cup to work, catching public transport, shopping at markets to reduce packaging, supporting 'slow fashion', composting at home, buying reusable plastic-free cleaning products. But, selfishly, I fall short when it comes to convenience. Air-conditioning over summer, driving to work when it's too hot or too long on public transport, grabbing the plastic-covered pantry items at Woolies (because everyone needs snacks), using the dryer for warm towels instead of waiting for a sunny day. It's a continuous work-in-progress. I oscillate between 'my actions don't make a difference' and 'I'm excited about what innovations are ahead of us'.
I think the key is to keep trying and educating ourselves. Nobody is perfect, we can only try our best and be as mindful of the planet as we can.
Age: 55
Degree: Bachelor of business
Occupation: General manager
City / Town: Rockhampton
Yes. The best way to address this is to buy/consume less. It’s too hard to work through the lack of readily available information to determine how best to make sustainable lifestyle choices. The options are few and far between, even if you have the time to research.
Age: 31
Degree: UQ staff
Occupation: Administration
City / Town: Brisbane
Yes. I've started shopping more and more in op shops to reduce fast fashion and it's working well. I love the pieces and hold onto them longer.
I also try to buy products from Biome to reduce waste, like a reusable cloth. But not everything I own is sustainable and there is room for improvement.
Age: 62
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Occupation: Admin Officer
City / Town: Brisbane
Yes, all the time. I feel conflicted about buying fruit and veg that are in soft plastic bags, and there's no way to recycle soft plastics anymore. I try to grow some of my own vegetables in an attempt to avoid this and reduce my carbon footprint. I also try to buy food from the farmers directly when possible, but I still need to go to the usual grocery stores for some food requirements. I keep any bags I get and try and use them again for anything – like my cat's poop – as long as they are being used again once and being thrown away, I feel a bit better. I also choose to nag my family about recycling correctly and not throwing just anything in the bin. That can cause issues sometimes, but it's worth it.
Age: 24
Degree: Staff
Occupation: Marketing coordinator
City / Town: Brisbane
I try to make decisions that I think would be best for the environment, however it often feels like society is working against me. As if being sustainable is not the norm, but something you need to purposely dedicate yourself to time and time again. I sometimes wonder if it's even possible as an individual?
Making sustainable choices can also be overwhelming. From one Google search alone, I found "14 ways to be more sustainable", "22 ways to be more sustainable", "100+ ways to be more sustainable". I want to do more, but it feels so complicated.
Age: 29
Degree: Bachelor of Biotechnology
Occupation: Community Manager
City / Town: Brisbane
No. The majority of emissions are caused by large business and wealthy individuals. On a personal level, we do not have a real choice in this economic system in the end.
Age: 36
Degree: Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Economics
Occupation: Finance manager
City / Town: Sydney
Yes, I take a lot of considerations, and try and be intentional. There are times when I will be conflicted. The biggest 'first-world problems' I face regarding lifestyle versus sustainability are:
- Soft plastics in some of the grocery goods I purchase. I have mitigated this by buying in bulk-food stores and co-ops, which don't package dry goods or fruits and vegetables.
- Going out for coffee with friends when I don't have my keep cup.
- The cost of non soft-plastic packaged groceries, for example Who Gives a Crap toilet paper (which is paper-wrapped) versus cheaper soft-plastic wrapped toilet paper.
- Travel. My family lives in Brisbane, and I don't own a car, so I will fly. This is not 100% ideal, but perhaps a full flight is better than dozens of people driving in cars? In general, I'm not conflicted when it comes to city transport around Sydney.
- Public transport. I use public transport to get around the city (mainly because the cost of running and registering a car is excessive when I don't have kids) and Ubers if I'm stranded in a distant spot without public transport. If I'm visiting family back in Brisbane, I will have use of a relative's car to get around for convenience. Therein lies the conflict of sustainable transport options.
Age: 43
Degree: Bachelor of Science
Occupation: Ecologist
City / Town: Townsville
Yes. I try to make sustainable choices, such as reducing use of plastics, riding my bike when possible, reducing energy use and buying photovoltaics. There are a few instances when I feel conflicted. When it comes to travel choices, should I fly, drive or not go away anywhere? But what about seeing my relatives and giving my child experiences you can only get through travel? When buying a car, I can’t afford an electric/hybrid, so I bought one that is more efficient than the current car I have. But should I have waited and saved for a hybrid?
Summary: what our alumni think about making sustainable choices
In a world with only a finite amount of resources, many of our UQ community are actively striving to make sustainable choices. From reducing plastic use to embracing op shops, these choices reflect our community’s conscious effort to align personal habits with environmental goals. However, our alumni’s responses clearly show that the pursuit of sustainability has many complex conflicts and challenges.
Most of our UQ community felt like they were not being sustainable enough (yes, even our alumni who are composting at home!). They expressed that this was because sustainable choices are not always accessible or even possible. For many, this was because of the costliness of sustainability, with our alumni showing concern for the cost of non-soft plastic groceries and more eco-conscious car options. This leads to the question – is being sustainable affordable for the average person, especially when the cost of living is high?
Convenience and a lack of choice were other points of contention for our alumni. They said that sustainable choices were often the hardest choices, or choices with no other option – such as flights. In particular, we heard many of our alumni battle with a desire to explore the world and the carbon footprint associated with travelling. For a majority of these alumni, this was something that they couldn’t give up.
Above all, there was a strong tension between personal actions and large-scale corporate behaviour. While our alumni continuously endeavour to reduce their impact, they felt powerless against the unsustainable actions of industries – such as only being able to buy products that use soft plastics. This led to many of our alumni questioning the value of acting sustainably in their individual lives, even asking if there was any long-term value to making sustainable choices.
Overall, our UQ Diary entries this month show a mix of commitment, uncertainty and hope towards creating a more sustainable future. Thank you to everyone who participated!
We would love to hear your perspectives for the next edition of UQ Diaries: work-life balance!
Is it possible to have a real work-life balance? If you have achieved it, tell us your secrets!
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