SustainRCA is a formal initiative across the College that both encourages students to address sustainability in their work and promotes such work as a platform for change.

Key to this activity is the widely-reputed Sustain Talks – a series of lively lectures and events, bringing together RCA students, graduates, staff and the public with those at the cutting edge of creativity in sustainability. The aim is to challenge collective thinking, and inspire students to address sustainability in their work, while offering a platform for connection for all.

Previous speakers have included founder of Forum for the Future and chair of the former Sustainable Development Commission, Jonathon Porritt; world-famous Guerilla Gardener Richard Reynolds; director of sustainability communications consultancy Futerra, Ed Gillespie, the imitable writer and thinker, John Thackara; and Italian guru of social sustainability, Ezio Manzini.

Sustain Talks usually run monthly throughout the academic year, and are complemented by one-offs such as 2013's Sustain Cinema Special, with artist activist John Jordan screening his documentary, Paths Through Utopias, and the Fairtrade Fortnight Q&A, with SustainRCA meeting Divine Chocolate cocoa farmers to discover what life is like on the other side of fair-trade.

The RCA offers a unique forum, opening up and exploring the spectrum of social and environmental issues in a free-thinking, cross-disciplinary environment.

For the latest talks schedule, visit here. Recorded talks are also available on the Sustain website.