Alastair Sawday (Hon DLitt 2012) explores the history of green ideas, battles, successes and failures in Bristol since the 1970s, and sets this in the context of Bristol's recent success in being given the title of European Green Capital 2015. This will be an irreverent, iconoclastic and surprising survey, ending with Sawday's views on the right way forward. Is Bristol really green? How? What have other cities done? Do these things matter?

Sawday has had a varied career taking him to many parts of the world: he headed up a VSO programme in Papua New Guinea, worked in St Lucia, ran a disaster relief team for Oxfam in Turkey, taught French and ran a small travel company.

In 1992, he ran for Parliament with the Green Party, was a Soil Association Trustee for many years (Vice-Chair for two) and was, for five years, Chair of Bristol's Green Capital Momentum Group.

Concern for the environment is manifest in the way Alastair Sawday Publishing is run and this commitment has been widely recognised. In April 2006, it won a Queen's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development and the Green Apple Award for the Built Environment and Architectural Heritage. In 2008, and again in 2009, the company won the IPG Environmental Award. In 2009, it was voted Independent Publisher of The Year. In 2012, Sawday was awarded an honorary degree from Bristol University. He now chairs Bristol’s Big Green Week.

The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception. 

Booking information

Cost: Free

Please note that guests must be accompanied by alumni or a staff member of the University.

To book your ticket, please visit Eventbrite.

Alistair Sawday