Plants for the Planet: Promoting plant-based milk on campus
Athena Lam, final-year undergraduate student in Biology
Plant-based diets are on the rise, not just for health, but as a simple, impactful way to reduce environmental impact. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) reports that if every UK citizen ate 260g less meat each week (about two doner kebabs), then the UK could stay within safe climate limits by 2035 (Harvey, 2025). The same goes for milk as the carbon footprint of cow milk (1.25 kg CO2e/L) can be up to 4x higher than that of oat milk (0.29 kg CO2e/L) (AHDB, n.d.; Rusbridge, 2021).
As part of my final-year Environmental Sustainability Project to promote plant-based milk on campus, I took this message to two major events: the Sustainability Fair and British Science Week. Here’s a recap of the events, my experience and the key takeaways.
Sustainability Fair
Organised by the UoM Environmental Sustainability team, the Sustainability Fair took place in February outside The Market, University Place. Since my project was still in its early stages, I used this event to test campaign activities that could later evolve into long-term interventions at the University.
- Ranking game: An educational tool where participants ranked cow, oat, soya, and almond milk based on environmental impact, nutrition (calories, sugar, protein), and price.
- Taste testing: A fun way to attract engagement, offering visitors oat or soy milk in tea or coffee.
The team at the Sustainability Fair
I worked together with two Sustainability Champions (Umadevi and Kanak) and together, we engaged a diverse audience and gathered 35 survey responses, one of the main data collection tools for my final year project.
I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of engagement we received and was delighted that most people enjoyed the ranking game and learned something from it. The free coffee and tea were a huge help but offering them long-term poses challenges due to costs and sustainability concerns (e.g., disposable cups).
British Science Week
I then ran a stall at the British Science Week Fair (10th – 11th March) at Manchester Museum, showcasing University research to local school pupils.
This time, I skipped taste testing and streamlined my survey into four key questions to measure the effectiveness of the ranking game, giving me paired data that I could analyse for my final year project.
Researchers and stall leaders at British Science Week
I was joined by Nathan, another final-year student who was promoting plant-based diets for planetary health, and together we designed a banner. First-year students also presented posters on various topics, from atherosclerosis to plant biotechnology.
Due to the huge volume of students and schools throughout the days, the engagement was overwhelming! I received 63 responses, giving me a large sample size for statistical analysis. However, this is likely an underestimate as I suspect we probably engaged with hundreds of visitors across both days!
Final thoughts
Both events were invaluable, not just for my final-year project but for developing skills in public engagement, communication, and creative outreach. Seeing real-time interest and learning moments made the experience incredibly rewarding, reinforcing the importance of accessible, science-based sustainability initiatives.
Additional information
- The information in this blog aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Action).
- Project supervisor (both Athena and Nathan): Dr Maggy Fostier, Associate Dean for Environmental Sustainability.
References
AHDB. (n.d.). Calculating and reducing your carbon footprint | AHDB. [online] Available at: https://ahdb.org.uk/farm-excellence/Coton-Wood-Farm/calculating-and-reducing-your-carbon-footprint [Accessed: 18 March 2025].
Harvey, F. (2025). UK urged to act now on net zero – and skip two kebabs’ worth of meat a week. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/26/uk-urged-to-act-now-on-net-zero-two-kebabs-worth-of-meat-climate-change-committee [Accessed: 18 March 2025].
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