Student Club Initiative for Sustainability – from conversation to action

Student Club Initiative in short

If you ask students or residents in Vaasa whether they live sustainably, most will say “yes” through one habit or another. But when we really think about the question, how sustainable are we? As a third-year business student at VAMK, I’ve noticed that while many students are passionate about sustainability, there’s no common platform to turn ideas into action. Moreover, sustainability too often remains a conversation rather than a commitment.

The idea of a Sustainable Student Club came during one of our supply chain classes at VAMK, where we were asked to create a vision for the “Sustainable Student 2030.” The group task revolved around the following questions: how can international cooperation promote sustainability? How can students be more sustainable? How can digital tools and future solutions help? What kind of development ideas can you connect to the idea?

We exchanged ideas, and to the question “How can students be more sustainable?”, one idea stood out: creating a student club in universities where students can act together on environmental and sustainability issues. Our actions impact our environment, and as students, we can play an important role in creating change.

The student club’s vision is to create a platform for both native and international participants, where concepts for sustainability are developed from discussion to action; a place where we can educate ourselves, learn from each other, co-create ideas, and lead initiatives that make sustainability visible in everyday student life. In the long term, we want the club to become a bridge between student ideas, the city’s sustainable initiatives, and companies.

The Sustainable Student Club is meant to grow with students, shaped by the ideas and skills of everyone who joins. Any student in Vaasa interested in sustainability, regardless of educational institution, study program or background, can take part in many ways (joining the planning team, bringing ideas, supporting events, or acting as an ambassador). The club welcomes anyone who wants to contribute, learn, or simply be part of building a more sustainable student community in Vaasa.

The Climate Commitment Project implemented at VAMK encourages student initiatives

The Vaasa Climate Commitment Carbon Neutrality Ecosystem project (2025-2026) aims to involve businesses and educational institutions in the region in achieving the carbon neutrality target and to create an ecosystem between the city, educational institutions and businesses to promote the measures required by the carbon neutrality target. This project will create an ecosystem that will allow a more systematic cooperation utilising the higher education RDI skills and the young talents for the developmental needs of both the city and businesses in the region. The project receives funding from the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, Sustainable urban development ecosystem agreement (ERDF) and it is coordinated by the City of Vaasa in cooperation with its project partners: Vaasa Region Development Company (VASEK), Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK) and University of Vaasa. The ongoing project will organize events and other activities for student involvement. For instance, a hackathon event is in the project plan for autumn 2026. However, this project is only one of the several platforms coordinated by the local organizations, that can support student initiatives. The ecosystem at Vaasa forms a fruitful environment for young talent actions and cocreation.