INT. BEDROOM – MELBOURNE
An exchange student named Hayley is packing her suitcase for a six month exchange in London. Clothes, uni supplies and toiletries fly into the case.
Suitcase: “Ouch!”
Hayley freezes.
Hayley: “…Who’s there?”
Suitcase: “Me.”
Hayley: “My suitcase talks?”
Suitcase: “Apparently. I felt compelled to speak up, after seeing you’re going on exchange. Do you realise how much flying to London impacts the environment?”
Hayley: “Of course I know! I have used the Sustainable Travel Calculator (https://sustainabletravel.org/humi) and uploaded my itinerary to figure out my carbon footprint. It’s not looking good!”
Suitcase: sarcastically “So… you know the impact. What are you doing about it?”
Hayley: “I’m studying Urban and Regional Planning. Experiencing different cities will help me learn how to create more sustainable communities back home. That’s exactly what UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities is about.”
Suitcase: “Fair enough. That answers why you’re going. But what about travelling once you’re there?”
Hayley: “I have looked into that too! Green traveller (https://www.greentraveller.co.uk/flight-free-journey-planner) has maps and routes on how to get around Europe and the UK without flying. Visit Britain’s tourism website (https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.visitbritain.com/en/things-to-do/sustainability&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1784041165922961&usg=AOvVaw2UFO0PBcNNySY6IR32-lnW) has resources on activities and ways to explore sustainability. My host university, The University of Westminster, has the SDG’s embedded in the curriculum, and has a sustainability team I can join on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/uowsustainable/) that provides resources and hosts events for students.”
Suitcase: “Okay… I’ll give you that. It looks like you’ve thought about SDG 13: Climate Action.”
Pausing, the suitcase looks at the small pile of clothes.
Suitcase: “Hang on… six months? That’s all you’re packing?”
Hayley: “Exactly. I’m not buying a whole new wardrobe before I leave, and I don’t want to make my flight heavier than it needs to be. If I need anything, I’ll buy it second-hand in the UK. Oxfam found that if every UK adult bought half of their next wardrobe second-hand, it could prevent emissions equivalent to flying around the world over 17,000 times (https://scotland.oxfam.org.uk/latest-news/buying-second-hand-fashion-would-prevent-the-equivalent-emissions-of-flying-around-the-world-17000-times/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). That’s SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production in action.”
The suitcase smiles.
Suitcase: “I’ll confess, you’ve convinced me. Travelling does have an environmental cost, but you’ve shown that understanding the impact, making informed choices, and using the right resources can make a real difference.”
Hayley smiles back, zipping the suitcase shut.
Hayley: “I promise I am. I wouldn’t want to go on exchange if I couldn’t do it sustainably.”
Lifting the suitcase, Hayley heads off on her great adventure with a lighter bag (physically, and emotionally), a lighter footprint, and the knowledge to make her six months in London as sustainable as possible.
