Anecdotal evidence suggests that the department s principle environmental concerns include:

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1 Annual review of the environmental performance of department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. This environmental performance review covers the period 1 st June th April As the inaugural report of its type, it will serve as a benchmark to monitor future environmental performance and improvement. The review covers energy consumption, waste, water, procurement, travel, environmental impacts as well as targets and plans for the next 12 month period. Head of Department s statement As a Civil and Environmental Engineering department, we have always considered the environmental performance and sustainability of our activities and buildings to be a priority. We are privileged to be taking a part in the life cycle of the early 19 th century Grade I-listed Chadwick building. The challenge for our Green Group is to understand and demonstrate how we can adjust the building and our usage of it to sustainably meet the demands of 21st century academia. Having won a gold Green Impact award in 2013, the department has been working hard to improve and is targeting a Platinum Award this year through initiatives such as signing up to UCL s new print system and introducing meat-free catering, whilst continuing to embed sustainable thinking throughout our teaching activities. Given another 200 years, the Chadwick will most likely be in the shortlist of UCL s current buildings which have remained fit for purpose. Prof. Stuart Robson, 6 th May Overview The Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) is principally located in the Grade I-listed Chadwick building on the Bloomsbury site. The building was finished in 1894 as part of the completion of the main quad. The building s main entrance was added in the 1980s and a mezzanine to the ground floor retro-fitted in The building comprises 5 floors, covering a total area of 4703 m 2 (see appendix one floor plan) The basement level is the laboratory suite including 5 laboratories, a workshop, a lecture theatre and centrallymanaged toilets and computer cluster. The ground floor has a large teaching/study area, staff offices and a mezzanine with offices, a research area and a print room. The university Student Centre is also located on the ground floor. Floor 1 is mainly office and research space. There are also meeting rooms, two print areas and a centrally managed computer cluster. Floor 2 is mainly office and research space. There are also meeting rooms, a laboratory, a print area, a lecture theatre and a centrally managed computer cluster. Floor 3 is offices. CEGE has around 700 students and approximately 85 staff. The Chadwick building s core occupation hours are 08:00-19:00 Monday to Friday although access within this hours is permitted 7 days a week. Additionally, the Pedestrian Accessibility Movement Environment Laboratory (PAMELA) is located in Tufnell Park, London. The lab is a multisensory laboratory for the assessment of pedestrian movement and features a fullyconfigurable floor space (the PAMELA platform) which can replicate real-world conditions. The 2 floor building dates from 1980 and covers m2. The Chadwick building is heated by steam (CHP) and has an efficiency rating G. (see appendix two). (PAMELA is gaspowered and has an efficiency rating F - see appendix three). Anecdotal evidence suggests that the department s principle environmental concerns include: Limitations of working in a listed building High staff and student numbers Poor control of heating and ventilations Lab energy and water use Ongoing discussion between CEGE, Estates and the Sustainability team aims to improve the heating and ventilation concerns.

2 Energy use (kwh/hr) Energy consumption Energy consumption can be monitored using the UCL Carbon Culture platform. At the time of writing, data for PAMELA was unavailable and so only Chadwick building energy consumption is discussed. Figures one, two and three show energy consumption in the Chadwick building in each hour unit of the day for weekday, weekend and Christmas break periods respectively. From figure one it can be seen that the weekday range in energy use per hour is from kwh with a peak period between 11am and 5 pm and a low point around 3-4 am. The mean overnight value is around 41 kwh/hr and the mean daytime value around 102 kwh/hr. Figure two shows that the weekend range is much lower: kwh/hr with a much later peak time of around 4-5 pm Weekday energy cumsuption in the Chadwick Building Hour of day Figure one. Weekday energy use per hour in the Chadwick Building 17 th October st March 2015

3 Energy use (kwh/hr) Energy use (kwh/hr) Weekend energy consumption in the Chadwick Building Hour of day Figure two. Weekend energy use per hour in the Chadwick Building 18 th October th March 2015 The Christmas break data is distinct enough to warrant its own analysis and may serve as close to the background value of the building s energy consumption as a result of all non-essential equipment and services being shutdown (24 th December 4 th January). The hourly consumption over this period was around 35 kwh with very little variation throughout the day, or the period. Christmas break energy consumption in the Chadwick Building /12/ /12/ /12/ /12/ /12/ /01/ /01/ /01/ /01/2015 Mean Max Min Hour of day

4 Figure three. Weekday energy use per hour in the Chadwick Building 20 th December th January 2015 The comparable values of the overnight values from each of the three time periods indicate that departmental staff and students habitually close off computers and systems not required at the end of the day and at weekends. Reduced but still notable energy consumption at weekends indicates that there is some activity within the building during this time but the lower values indicate that lighter, office-based work is being carried out, as permitted by our lone-working policy. Higher-than-average overnight values may be the result of computer systems updates. In October 2014, UCL Degrees of Change ranked the Chadwick building s energy consumption as 42 nd best out the 85 buildings included in the study (see appendix four). Considering the age of the building and the energy required to run the laboratories, this is not a disappointing figure. We await further details on our most recent ranking. How we are trying to control our energy consumption: A diary system was introduced in the EE lab in order to limit the energy consumption of drying ovens and the autoclave. A reduction of the laboratory deep freezer from -80 to -70 is estimated to be equivalent to a saving of 350 in energy over a year. Using a GreenBIM model, developed last year within the department, the project involves the creation of a digital model of the Chadwick Building that can be used to identify areas for improvement in all aspects of the building s sustainability: energy use, ventilation, heating, and building work. This Green BIM model will soon be used to facilitate the development of a new coffee and break room for CEGE staff and research students, as well as to better monitor and improve energy use around the building. Waste While waste from teaching and office areas generally falls under the 3 main UCL waste stream categories, some waste from the Chadwick building can be complex as a result of material produced by the laboratories. The Environmental Engineering (EE) and Healthy Infrastructure Research Centre (HIRC) labs produce some hazardous, chemical and offensive waste (the later maximum biological level 2 that has been autoclaved), while the concrete and geotechnical labs produces dry, inert waste that is collected in a skip at the back of the building. Estates service requests indicate that 22 bags of offensive waste, 40 L broken glass, < 49 kg solid chemical waste and < 31 L liquid chemical waste (based on size of container so in fact worst-case scenario figures) have been produced since 01/07/2014. These chemical waste figures are in fact over-representative of waste produced during regular activities as most waste was produced as a result of a health and safety incident. However, the result is that only materials that have been used recently/are used regularly are now stored. In the past, it had been possible to monitor the volume of inert waste from the labs by tracking the number of removal incidences of the skip housed behind the concrete lab. However, owing to construction works in the Wilkins South Quad, we now use central skips. Data from UCL Estates (see table one) suggests that 61-65% of waste from the Chadwick building is currently recycled, slightly above the average for UCL. This is however an estimate based on the usable area of the Chadwick building. Site Name Waste Type Waste stream totals Dec 14 Overall Percentage Waste stream totals Jan 15 Overall Percentage Waste stream totals Feb 15 Overall Percentage CHADWICK BUILDING Mixed Dry Recycling 1,306 kg 63% 1,446 kg 65% 1,296 kg 61% General Mixed Waste 775 kg 37% 764 kg 35% 842 kg 39% Total Waste Produced 2,081 kg 2,211 kg 2,138 kg Table one. UCL Estates data on total waste collected from the Chadwick Building December 2014 February In November 2014, the department began collecting one-sided print-out waste to donate to The Children s Scrap Store in Bristol. To date, 4 kg of paper have been donated and subsequently diverted from the recycling waste channel. In January 2015 the department moved to the Print@UCL print system and anecdotal feedback has been that the amount

5 of unwanted printouts/paper waste has been significantly reduced. A week-by-week summary of printed material is show in table two: Week ending EE Lab Room B17 Reception Room G03 Ground Floor Mezzanine Room GM18 1st Floor Room 102 1st Floor Mezzanine 2nd Floor Room 216 2nd Floor Room 220 3rd Floor Room 302 Sum 22/01/ : /01/ : /02/ : /02/ : /02/ : /02/ : /03/ : /03/ : /03/ : /03/ : /04/ : /04/ : Sum Table two. Xerox data on number of impression printed on printers located in the Chadwick Building 16 th January th April 2015 It can be seen that printing dropped significantly (from 24,000 to 5,500 sides per week) in the two weeks included in the Easter shutdown. The areas of greatest use are printers located next to research areas: GM18, 102 and 220. These values are the worst-case scenario in terms of paper usage as Xerox collection impression data (i.e. sides) and actual paper usage is likely to be significantly lower as double-sided printing is set as default on all CEGE systems. Water Water consumption is high as a result of use by the laboratories (particularly the Pat Kemp Fluids Laboratory, Elvery Concrete Laboratory and the Chadwick Environmental Engineering Laboratory. All laboratory users are given instructions on how to use water efficiently, particularly deionised water systems. Procurement The major shift in departmental procurement has been the trialling of vegetarian-only catering purchased through departmental accounts. The CEGE Green Group estimates that in the 5 months from October 2014 March 2015, the department s meat-free catering prevented over 600 kg of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere and saved nearly 850 when compared to the orders that would have included meat over the same six-month period. Some of this saving has subsequently been put aside to help UCL Green to host an international photography exhibition. Travel The department does not have a specific travel policy for meeting away from the main UCL site. For domestic and international travel, decisions are based on cost. Environmental Incidents Using the RiskNET platform, three incidents with the potential for environmental impacts were recorded from the year 1 st June st May 2015.

6 Incident : Explosion of chemical cabinet in laboratory B17 Poor understanding of the storage of acetone lead to an explosion in a chemical cabinet. Fortunately the incident occurred after the laboratory was closed to users and no one was injured. A notable amount of chemical waste was produced but quick response by laboratory staff ensured that environmental release was prevented. Incident : Mercury leakage from laboratory test equipment in G04 Mercury used in laboratory test equipment was found to have leaked a very small amount onto a laboratory surface. The leakage was contained and quickly responded too but as a result all mercury equipment has been or soon will be decommissioned and replaced. Incident : Fire in analytical microwave in B15 Disregard of standard operating procedure lead to a fire in the concrete lab. The fire was contained but some black smoke was produced. Targets for Assess the positive and negative impacts of the vegetarian-only catering trial and to engage with staff about its implementation as a full departmental policy. To continue to liaise with UCL Estates and the sustainability team in order to try to ease the problems related to poor ventilation within the Chadwick Building To continue to monitor UCL Estates data on energy consumption and waste production and Xerox data on impression creation in order to try to reduce our usage. To make environmental data and services available to staff and students in the department and to continue to foster a culture of awareness and understanding of the department s environmental impact. Conclusion While the environmental challenges that CEGE faces are broad ranging from high energy consumption and use of hazardous materials in laboratories to the limitations of the estate - efforts to reduce the department s impact are ongoing. Steps have been taken to improve energy use in the laboratories and through the development of a Green BIM model, but further reducing energy consumption is still high on the list of priorities. Cultivating a greater awareness of our environmental impact and sustainability efforts in students and staff will ensure a continued push to improve in the years to come.