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Cover Photo: Some of the members of the Fair Trade Collective at Ecoversity’s event during Anti-Poverty Week. Credit: Ecoversity.

Fair Trade University Annual Report

University of Adelaide, 2014

Name of Document: The University of Adelaide Fair Trade University Annual Report 2014

Prepared for: Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand (FTAANZ)

Prepared by: The University of Adelaide Fair Trade Steering Committee: Jason Tran (Co-

Convener of Fair Trade Collective) and Phil Schliebs (Environmental Projects

Officer)

Date Submitted 3 December 2014

Fair Trade University Annual Report 2014 University of Adelaide

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Fair Trade University Annual Report University of Adelaide, 2014

Prepared by the Fair Trade Steering Committee

Table of Contents

1. Summary Overview of the Year 3

2. Steering Committee Details 3

3. Campus Retail Outlets selling Fair Trade Products 3

4. Staff-rooms Offices etc. using Fair Trade Products 4

5. Fair Trade Advocacy

a. Fair Trade Education and Promotion 5

b. Fair Trade Events 6

6. 2015 Goals 10

7. Conclusion 10

8. Appendices 11

This document has been prepared by the Fair Trade Collective (FTC) and the Office of Sustainability at the University of Adelaide:

UoA Fair Trade Collective The FTC is a registered Club of the Adelaide University Union (AUU) and is a group of university students who played a significant role in assisting the University of Adelaide to gain Fair Trade Accreditation in 2012. The FTC has three main objectives: [1] ensure the University meets its Fair Trade accreditation standards by liaising with the University; [2] raise awareness and appreciation amongst students of fair trade, trade rules, and sustainable and ethical consumption, and [3] liaise with the wider community to promote greater fair trade awareness and appreciation across Adelaide and South Australia. Email: [email protected] Website: www.auu.org.au/clubs/Club.aspx?CID=67 Facebook: www.facebook.com/Fair.Trade.Collective.AU

UoA Office of Sustainability (Ecoversity) ‘Ecoversity’ is the University’s sustainability outreach program. Ecoversity engages with the staff and student body on sustainability topics, through infrastructure and footprint reduction projects, assessments, audits and advice, events, campaigns and social media. “Sustainability” incorporates not only environmentally and socially responsible behaviour, but ethically responsible behaviour as well.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.auu.org.au/clubs/Club.aspx?CID=67

http://www.facebook.com/Fair.Trade.Collective.AU


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1. Summary Overview of the Year

The University of Adelaide’s Office of Sustainability (Ecoversity) and the Fair Trade Collective

(FTC) have been closely working together to maintain Fair Trade Accreditation at The

University of Adelaide.

Key activities of the year include:

Reviewing the 2012 Implementation Strategy and Steering Group Terms of Reference

Revamping the 2012 Communications Strategy

Re-establishing connections with fair trade retail and catering outlets on campus

Recruiting new members of the FTC

Increasing FTC presence at as many on-campus events as possible

2. Steering Committee Details

Over the past year, there has been significant change in members of the Fair Trade Steering

Committee due to staff and students graduating or leaving the University, and also the recent

appointment of the new Vice-Chancellor, Warren Bebbington. Much effort has been taken to

recruit new members to form the Steering Committee.

Currently, the Steering Committee consists of the following members:

Jason Tran, Co-Convenor, UoA Fair Trade Collective

Carlos Fernandez, Co-Convener, UoA Fair Trade Collective

Constance Xie, Secretary, UoA Fair Trade Collective

Georgia Brazenall, UoA Fair Trade Collective

Phillipa Schliebs, Environmental Projects Officer

Libby Dowling, Environmental Projects Officer

A goal for 2015 is to recruit up to 10 additional members, representing relevant areas of the

University. Ideally, new members will include representatives from VGen Uni Group, Oxfam Uni

Group, the SRC, the procurement office and other interested parties. It is the intent that all

members will provide their opinions, recommendations and perspectives based on the area in

which they represent.

3. Campus Retail Outlets selling Fair Trade Products

Grassroots Café

There are three Grassroots Café outlets at the North Terrace campus of the University of

Adelaide. Grassroots has continually been supportive of the fair trade movement and has only

ever served Fairtrade Certified Coffee (Monjava Nicaraguan Certified Organic Fair Trade Coffee).

During on-campus events such as at the University’s Open Day, Grassroots provides Fairtrade

coffee from a mobile coffee-van.

Contact Details

Manager: Marcus Breach P: 0423 204 987 E: [email protected]



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The General Adelaide

The General Adelaide Convenience Store, managed by the Adelaide University Union (AUU), is

the only convenience store on campus. The General offers students a variety of items including

snacks, hot food, stationary, toiletries and clothing.

Before this year, the only Fairtrade Certified products that The General Adelaide sold were

Cadbury Milk Chocolate, and Oxfam Fair chocolate, coffee, tea and chocolate spread. However,

since mid-year, the store has substantially increased their range of Fairtrade Certified products.

The range now includes, but is not limited to:

Divine Chocolate (flavours such as Divine Dark Chocolate 70% with Raspberries, Divine

Chocolate with Chilli and Orange, and Divine White Chocolate with Strawberries)

Alter Eco (flavours such as Alter Eco Dark Mint Chocolate, Alter Eco Dark Coconut Toffee

Chocolate, Alter Eco Dark Quinoa Chocolate and Alter Eco Deep Sea Salt Chocolate 80g)

Lindsay & Edmunds (Hot Chocolate Stirrers, both milk and dark chocolate)

Oxfam (flavours including Oxfam Milk Chocolate and Oxfam Nut Chocolate)

Oxfam fair (more variety of flavours such as Oxfam fair Premium Roobos Tea)

Clipper (Clipper Organic Indian Chai Tea)

Zhena (flavours such as Zhena’s Variety Sampler Stack, and Zhena’s Gypsy ‘Black Tea

Sampler’)

Contact Details

Manager: Amanda Woolcock P: (08) 8232 6886 E: [email protected]

University’s Preferred Office Supplies

The Office of Sustainability encourages staff to purchase a Fairtrade Certified items such as tea,

coffee and sugar through two of their ‘preferred office suppliers’ – Staples and Office Max. There

are currently more than 80 available products, including bulk items, which staff can purchase

online. Refer to Appendix 1 for a detailed list.

4. Staff-rooms, Offices etc. using Fair Trade Products

We have only a limited understanding of the number of staff-rooms and offices that purchase

fair trade products. By analysing staff procurement data, we can see that only 3%-5%* of all tea,

coffee, chocolate and sugar purchased through the University’s three preferred office suppliers

is Fairtrade Certified. However, if you add Rainforest Alliance, UTZ certified and other ‘ethical’

products, this figure increases to approximately 16%.

The FTC and Office of Sustainability have worked hard over the past few months to bust the

myth that all coffee certifications are “equally good”; however, we know that we still have a way

to go.

Goals for 2015 include increasing the percentages of Fair Trade products purchased through the

University’s preferred office suppliers, and undertaking a Fair Trade kitchen audit of all

school/area kitchenettes.

(*This data does not consider purchases by staff direct from supermarkets.)



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5a. Fair Trade Education and Promotion

A range of promotional resources have been used or developed throughout the year, including:

Fairtrade Promotional Packs – The FTC regularly orders materials and promotional

packs from Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand to distribute at events. Packs include

posters, brochures, postcards and flyers. For the first half of the year, the FTC has been

utilising Fairtrade’s ‘Fairtrade Karma’ campaign posters. Later in the year, the club

utilised the new campaign, ‘Power of You’.

FTC Brochures – One of the most predominantly used materials is the club’s brochure

which provides information about fair trade, the University’s accreditation and where to

purchase Fairtrade Certified products nearby (Appendix 2).

Fair Trade FAQ and Fair Trade on Campus FAQs – The Office of Sustainability

developed these documents to include in sample packs that were recently distributed to

schools and areas on campus (Appendix 3).

Fairtrade Sorting Game – The FTC created the Fairtrade Sorting Game to use at

University events as an interesting way to engage participants in thinking about

Fairtrade. The game requires participants to sort which products are Fairtrade Certified

(Appendix 4).

Ethical Code of Conduct for AUU Clubs – In order to uphold some of the minimum

requirements of the University’s Fair Trade accreditation, the FTC developed an Ethical

Code of Conduct to be distributed to a;; clubs registered by the Adelaide University

Union (AUU). The Code includes information about fair trade, guidelines about how

Clubs they can be ethical consumers, and a section for each Club President to sign

(Appendix 5).

Presentation Slides – PowerPoint slides were created by the FTC and used when

talking about fair trade to an audience. The slides were used during the ‘Fair Trade

Documentary Screening’ event (see below) and when talking with other social justice

clubs (Appendix 6).

Event Posters – Promotional posters to promote events were occasionally used. These

were adapted from the resources provided by the Fairtrade Foundation (UK) website.

(Appendix 7).

FTC’s Online Newsletters – Throughout the year, regular online newsletters were sent

out to over 350 subscribers. The newsletters included information about upcoming

events and information about fair trade (Appendix 8).

Ecoversity Newsletters (EcoLOUD) – Throughout the year, the Office of Sustainability

promoted fair trade throughout the University via numerous articles, and links to events

and resources.

In addition, the Office of Sustainability surveyed more than 60 schools/areas in order to better

understand the level of interest and comprehension of fair trade at the University, and

distributed 15 sample packs containing coffee, tea, chocolates and many of the resources

described above.


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5b. Fair Trade Events

Throughout the year, the FTC actively and regularly advocated for fair trade at on-campus and

external events, with 2014, being one of the most exciting and busy years since the

establishment of the club. A timeline of the key activities and events are outlined as follow:

26 FEBRUARY & 27 FEBRUARY: Fair Trade Stall at

University’s O’Week and Market Day

During the University’s O'Week, the FTC held a stall on

Wednesday (26 February) and Thursday (27 February) and they

managed to recruit over 200 new members. There was Fairtrade

Certified chocolate and tea samples provided. The Adelaide

University Union (AUU) Club also selected the stall on the

Wednesday as the "Best Stall" of the day.

7 MARCH – 10 MARCH: Fair Trade Stall at the

WOMADelaide Festival

Members of the FTC volunteered at the WOMADelaide

Festival 2014 (7-10 March). The members helped out

with the SA Fair Trade Network (amazing group of

people) to raise awareness of fair trade across the

wider community in Adelaide. There were Fair Trade

products available for purchase and several hamper

giveaways.

2 APRIL: Fair Trade Stall at Insight’s Night Market

On the night of Wednesday 2 April, the FTC held a stall at the

University of Adelaide Cloisters as part of Insight’s Night

Market. There was fantastic live music, mouth-watering

Indian curry and stalls which showcased Fair Trade

products from around the world. What was also pleasing is

that all money raised by Insight went towards

providing valuable health services in rural areas of Papa

New Guinea.

18 APRIL: Easter Talk on Radio Adelaide

On Good Friday afternoon, Jason Tran (Co-Convener of

the FTC) was interviewed by Emma on Radio Adelaide

for a short segment on fair trade and Easter. The

interview included discussion on the importance of

ethical consumption and how consumers can make a

difference during Easter.

http://lifeoncampus.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=541370e77a4c190972b89f5a7&id=3350de9161&e=e5848f5513


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6 MAY: ‘What impact can my campus have?’ Online

Seminar

The Fair Trade Association of Australia and New

Zealand, Fairly Educated and the Global Poverty Project

hosted an online seminar which featured speakers

including Molly Olson (Fairtrade Australia and New

Zealand), Esther Mintah Ephraim (Kuapa Kokoo –

Ghana), Chris Hartley (Executive Director – Fair Trade

Association), Helen Bush and Bec Taylor (Co-Leaders of

Fairly Educated). The live event was held at the

University of Melbourne. The FTC arranged a screening of the event at the University of

Adelaide as part of the first event for Fair Trade Fortnight. A Media Release about Fair Trade

Fortnight was also distributed by the University’s Marketing Department (Appendix 9).

8 MAY & 13 MAY: Fair Trade Stall with Oxfam Club

As part of Fair Trade Fortnight, the FTC along with the

Oxfam Uni Club, held a fair trade stall at Hub Central,

which is one of the busiest places on campus. The stall

provided free Fairtrade Certified chocolate samples,

chocolate spread on bread, and tea. Students and staff

who approached the stall were debriefed about fair

trade, ethical consumption and where to purchase

Fairtrade Certified products nearby. The stalls were a

success and many students were surprised to find out what products are Fairtrade Certified.

The stall allowed us an opportunity to collaborate with other clubs promoting similar causes.

14 MAY: Fair Trade Documentary Screening and

Afternoon Tea

As part of the final event for Fair Trade Fortnight, the

FTC organised a special free event which broadcasted a

documentary - "The Dark Side of Chocolate" (2010).

The documentary looks deep into the current issues

people face in the chocolate industry, including child

labour and child trafficking, and how purchasing Fair

Trade products can be a solution. Jason Tran gave a talk

about fair trade. Bec Taylor and Helen Bush (Co-Conveners of Fairly Educated) were invited as

guests to give a presentation on the impact of fair trade and also about the Fairly Educated

Conference.

18 JULY – 20 JULY: Fairly Educated Conference

Members of the FTC attended the annual Fairly

Educated Conference held at the University of

Queensland. The Fairly Educated Conference is run by

Fairly Educated which is a non-for-profit initiative

aimed to unite university Fair Trade movements across

the globe.


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The purpose of these conferences is to learn more in-depth about Fair Trade, foster

relationships with other universities and allow social interaction between like-minded people.

At the three-day conference, students were able to learn more in-depth about Fair Trade. The

students also had the opportunity to talk to Molly Olson (CEO of Fairtrade Australia and New

Zealand), Kitty Weier and Karen Yung (from FTAANZ) and several other distinguished guests

and academics. The students whom attended the conference gained a deeper knowledge about

fair trade and how to effectively advocate. A summary report was also written and provided to

the Office of Sustainability, who had provided sponsorship for students to attend (Appendix 10).

31 JULY & 13 AUGUST: Fair Trade Presentations to Clubs

Jason Tran gave a presentation (Appendix 6) to two social justice clubs on campus – Vgen and

the Amnesty University Club. Many members of other social justice clubs were unaware of what

fair trade is, so Jason clarified the distinction between ‘Fairtrade’ and ‘Fair Trade’ and

introduced the places nearby where students can purchase Fairtrade Certified products. The

presentations were successful in that some of the members gained a better understanding of

fair trade and some even joined the FTC.

4 AUGUST: Fair Trade Stall at AUU’s Clubs

Land

The FTC held a stall at Hub Central as part of

the Adelaide University Union Clubs Land. They

had some yummy Fairtrade Certified chocolate,

chocolate spreads and tea to give to students to

try. They also had a Fairtrade Sorting Game going

(Appendix 4) with the aim of the game being to

sort out what products are Fairtrade Certified and

which are not. Overall, it was a fantastic day and the FTC got to meet new people and

prospective members.

6 AUGUST: Providing ‘Fair’ Sweets at AUU’s

Clubs Lounge Relaunch

The FTC provided some yummy sweets with

Fairtrade Certified ingredients as part of

the Adelaide University Union’s Clubs Lounge

relaunch. They had homemade scones with jam,

chocolate fudge, chocolate spread with biscuits,

peanut butter cups and a chocolate fondue. All the

food that was made had at least one Fairtrade

Certified ingredient to show case. This was a

fantastic opportunity to show the wide range of Fairtrade Certified products and to also

encourage members from other clubs to join the fair trade movement.

https://www.facebook.com/adelaideuniversityunion


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17 AUGUST: Fair Trade Stall at University’s Open

Day

The FTC (as part of the Ecoversity sustainability

program) held a stall on the Barr Smith Lawns as part of

the University’s Open Day and this was one of the

busiest and most successful events of the year. The FTC

gave away more than 600 free Fairtrade Certified

coffees (from the amazing Grassroots), hundreds of

cups of tea and 15 blocks of chocolate. They also gave

away more than 200 Keep Cup to anyone who played

the popular Fairtrade Sorting Game. Overall, the Fair Trade Collective had an amazing day,

promoting the fair trade message to hundreds of prospective and current students and staff.

25 SEPTEMBER: Meeting with Chris Hartley

Chris Hartley, from FTAANZ, visited the University of

Adelaide and met with members of the FTC and Phil from

the Office of Sustainability. Hartley was very impressed

with the amount of work that the Club had done and what

they had accomplished throughout the year.

15 OCTOBER: Ecoversity’s ‘Ride to Uni Day’ Event

As part of Anti-Poverty Week, the FTC helped served

Fairtrade Certified chocolate to students at Ecoversity's

Ride to Uni Day event. There were raffle prizes, pedal

power smoothies, and the hilarious slow bike rice. Not

only did the FTC promote fair trade, but also general

sustainability as well. Grassroots was there again, handing

out free Fairtrade coffee to attendees. It was a fantastic

morning!

27 NOVEMBER: Celebration and Awards Presentation

at San Churros

To celebrate the FTC's achievements throughout the year,

some of the members went to Chinatown for lunch before

enjoying dessert at San Churros cafe. The Co-Conveners

awarded certificates and badges to some of the members

who actively took part in the fair trade movement on

campus. In total, 13 members were awarded certificates.

Recently, San Churros was awarded, by Fairtrade

Australia, as the Café Chain of the Year 2014. Hence, there is no better place to celebrate than at

San Churros. Congratulations to all the members who were given an award and thank you to

everyone who took part, whether big or small, in supporting us advocating fair trade.

Note: More photos and details of the events can be found on the FTC’s official Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/Fair.Trade.Collective.AU

https://www.facebook.com/Ecoverstiy

https://www.facebook.com/FairtradeAU

https://www.facebook.com/FairtradeAU

http://www.facebook.com/Fair.Trade.Collective.AU


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6. 2015 Goals

Goals for 2015 include:

Finalise staff representatives of the Fairtrade Steering Committee

Encourage on-campus retail outlets and catering providers to stock additional fair trade

products

Increase the purchase of Fairtrade products through the University’s preferred office

suppliers by University staff

Undertake a fair trade kitchen audit of all school/area kitchenettes

Host a successful Fairly Educated Conference (if awarded the right) in collaboration

with Flinders University

Continue to have an active presence at University events, including the Social Justice

Expo, Open Day and Fair Trade Fortnight

Refer to the University’s Fair Trade Implementation Strategy for the further details about

planned activities and actions.

7. Conclusion

For the Fair Trade Collective and Office of Sustainability, the primary goal of 2014 was to

reinvigorate the fair trade movement on campus and to recruit a network of passionate staff

and students who are willing to advocate for fair trade at the University. This Report

demonstrates that we have been very successful in this respect. The general awareness of fair

trade on campus is slowly increasing, we are building solid relationships with retailers and are

hopeful of a positive 2015.

As 2014 draws to a close, both the Fair Trade Collective and the Office of Sustainability are

hopeful about being awarded the right to host the next Fairly Educated Conference and the

benefits this will have for our University community.

In terms of ongoing assistance by FTAANZ, we are hopeful that we can be provided hard copy

resources of general Fair Trade posters (e.g. The 10 Principles of Fair Trade) and the Fair Trade

Shopping Guide, similar to the system by Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand. We ask that

FTAANZ help us in promoting University of Adelaide events and the Fair Trade Collective’s

Facebook page by ‘sharing’ and ‘liking’ posts on social media. We also ask that you consider

changing the timing of the Fair Trade Report to either the start or the middle of the year, as we

found it extremely challenging to complete the report in the lead up to exams in Semester 2.


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8. Appendices

Appendix 1 – Fair Trade Product list

The University of Adelaide has more than 80 products available through its preferred stationery

and office suppliers (Staples, OfficeMax and COS). A detailed product list is available through the

Ecoversity website, along with additional information about fair trade:

www.adelaide.edu.au/ecoversity/campus/purchasing/fairtrade/.


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Appendix 2 – Fair Trade Collective Brochure

The brochure introduces staff and students about fair trade, joining the FTC and where to

purchase Fairtrade Certified products. Brochure template initially adapted from the Fairtrade

Foundation (UK) website.


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Appendix 3 – Fair Trade FAQ and Fair Trade on Campus FAQ

The Office of Sustainability used information provided by Oxfam, FTAANZ and FTA to develop a

series of FAQs about fair trade on campus.


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Appendix 4 – Fairtrade Sorting Game

As part of promoting, educating and engaging staff and students of fair trade, Jason Tran devised

a Fairtrade Sorting Game. The aim of the game is to correctly sort out which of the products are

Fairtrade Certified in Australia. The game was also made relevant to staff and students on

campus, as most of products could be purchased nearby. The following pictures were printed,

cut out, and laid out on a table. The game was used regularly at stalls and was shown to be very

successful and engaging.


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Appendix 5 – Ethical Code of Conduct for AUU Clubs

The FTC composed an Ethical Code of Conduct to be adopted by AUU Clubs.


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Appendix 6 – Presentation Sides

The FTC developed a presentation that was used during discussions with various Clubs and

groups on campus.


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Appendix 7 – Event Posters

Various posters were created by the FTC and distributed in the lead up to events on campus.

Poster template initially adapted from the Fairtrade Foundation (UK) website.


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Appendix 8 – Fair Trade Collective Online Newsletters

Throughout the year, a total of nine newsletters were emailed out to subscribers for the FTC.

Below is an example of one of the newsletters which was published regarding ethical

consumption during Easter.


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Appendix 9 – University of Adelaide’s Media Release

On the eve of Fair Trade Fortnight, the University of Adelaide released a Media Release

promoting Fair Trade Fortnight and the events arranged by the FTC.


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Appendix 10 – Fairly Educated Conference Summary Report

The FTC drafted a Summary Report for the Office of Sustainability, detailing key activities,

discussion points and learnings from the 2014 Fairly Educated Conference held at the

University of Queensland in Brisbane.

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