Royal Holloway, University of London

Transcription

1 ESTATES COMMITTEE Date: Ref: EC/09/28 21 st May 2009 For Information Royal Holloway, University of London Sustainability Report 2008/9

2 Contents Sustainability Officer s Statement... 3 University Profile... 3 Environmental Policy... 4 Stakeholder Engagement... 5 Eco-Metrics... 6 Energy Use and Carbon Emissions... 6 CO 2 Emissions... 7 CO 2 Emissions by Source... 8 Energy use by source... 9 Water use... 9 Waste Management... 9 Waste Minimisation Reuse Recycling Transport Construction and Refurbishment Biodiversity Woodland Management Wildflower Meadows Sustainable Sculpture Pond Management The Hub Herbs Fairtrade Students Union Research and Teaching Teaching Research

3 Sustainability Officer s statement Dear Stakeholders: Royal Holloway University of London is pleased to present the publication of its first Sustainability report. Our Sustainability Policy puts us on the path of continual improvement. Progress is to be tracked and successes or otherwise published in annual reports. The College believes in the preservation of the natural environment while meeting the challenges and demands of clients and stakeholders. Improved sustainability is a way forward which can meet these and in parallel lead to cost savings. The College has recognised the wish of students and staff to get involved with sustainability and wishes to encourage this. The College is pleased to report progress in 2007/09. The university reduced energy consumption by 14%. Decreased CO 2 emissions by 5% and recycled 25% of waste in 2007/08. These achievements were made against the backdrop of an increase in student population of 13%, while building space increased by 11% against the 2005/06 benchmark. This is a good start, and the College wishes to encourage everyone to continue working on all these initiatives and others as the policy is rolled out. Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to the functioning of the College, and I hope this report will provide a benchmark for our future success. In the year ahead the College will be setting targets in each of the key sustainability indicators in order to continue measuring and building on its success. Andy Hix Interim Sustainability Officer University profile Royal Holloway College was founded by the Victorian entrepreneur, Thomas Holloway as a college for the higher education of bright young women. The College was almost entirely selfsufficient, growing a lot of its own food and generating its own energy. Almost 100 years later, Royal Holloway merged with Bedford College, 3

4 another pioneering institution founded in 1849 by Elizabeth Jesser Reid. The colleges became part of the University of London before the turn of the century, when the University first awarded degrees to women. Both Colleges began to admit male undergraduates from The famous Founder's Building, one of the most spectacular university buildings in the world, was officially opened by Queen Victoria in Since then, Royal Holloway has continued to grow in size and status, building on the excellence of our scholarship and the talents of our students. Today, a combination of distinctive character, academic vision and membership of the University of London has established Royal Holloway among the top ten research-led university institutions in the country. Royal Holloway is renowned for having a friendly environment - home for a vibrant community of both undergraduate and postgraduate students of all ages and backgrounds and from more than 130 countries. The spacious campus provides an impressive range of modern academic and social facilities in a parkland setting in Surrey. Royal Holloway has earned a world-class reputation for developing original research. Our students join a community in which academic staff are working at the frontiers of their subjects and degree courses, interdisciplinary programmes and specialist research centres reflect current thinking and the latest developments. Research is enhanced by successful relationships and collaborations with industry and commerce. Royal Holloway continues to play an important role in the economic and cultural profile of the south east region and in south west London. Thriving business partnerships provide a platform for productive links between the College, multinational corporations and local enterprises. Through WestFocus, a partnership between higher education, the local community, and businesses in south & west London and the Thames Valley, the College encourages the exchange of knowledge and skills available in the region. Environmental policy 1 Policy statement Royal Holloway is committed to the principles and practice of sustainable development. The College will work to reduce any negative impact of its business on the local and global environment, whilst maximizing the environmental benefits it provides to students, staff and the external community. To implement these objectives the College will pursue the following actions via a process of continuous improvement. 4

5 1.1 Infrastructure and operations Reduce the carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gas) intensity of the College s operations. Reduce the amount of waste produced by College operations and maximize opportunities for recycling different waste streams. Encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport by staff and students and reduce single occupancy car journeys via the implementation of a Travel Plan. Monitor use of energy and water and implement energy and water efficiency action plans. Maximize the wildlife benefits of the campus environment via implementation of an Ecological Management Plan. Comply with all environmental Acts and Regulations affecting the College. 1.2 Development, procurement and trading Meet all relevant UK, European and international legislative and regulatory requirements. Minimize the lifecycle environmental impact of new buildings and other developments. Take advantage of opportunities to improve the environmental performance of buildings as part of refurbishment and maintenance programmes. Assess the lifecycle impact of products purchased by the College. Implement best value for money in procurement processes to incorporate whole life costing. Support and promote local and Fairtrade products as appropriate. 1.3 Academic programmes Continue to embed sustainability concepts within appropriate courses, building on our existing best practice. Promote research related to sustainability issues where appropriate. 1.4 Outreach and communications Communicate sustainability issues to staff and students and involve them in the College s initiatives in this area. Work with the local community to implement education and improvement initiatives in the field of sustainability. Provide education and encouragement to staff to help them implement the actions contained within this policy statement into their everyday work. Stakeholder engagement The College wishes to involve its stakeholders in the drive towards sustainability. Stakeholders are any party who impacts on or is affected by the College s activities. The 5

6 College will encourage stakeholders to join in constructive dialogue to determine expectations and how these might be achieved and managed. The College worked with its stakeholders last year on a number of initiatives. For example the College held its 2 nd Go Green Forum on the 26 th February The College worked with students and staff in seeking views about the work undertaken and its future direction in sustainability. The Forum consisted of a panel with representation made up from the College and the Students Union. The College guides and monitors its progress through the recently created Sustainability Working Group. Its membership includes lecturers from the department of Geography and School of Management, as well as Student Union representation, and staff from Facilities Management Since achieving Fairtrade Status in 2005, the College has had a Fairtrade Steering Committee on which sit staff from FM, academics including a specialist in Fairtrade, as well as students. Environmental indicators The College has identified key environmental indicators to measure progress on sustainability and quantify its impact on the environment. These are: energy use; carbon emissions; percentage of renewable energy; water use; waste reduction; waste reduction; recycling; car journeys to and from campus. Energy use and carbon emissions Through the Carbon Trust s carbon management programme, the College has made a commitment to reduce its carbon emissions by 15% from 2005/6 levels by In 2005/6 the College used 44,422,210 kwh of gas and electricity and in 2007/8 reduced this to 38,386,326kWh. This represents a 14% reduction in energy use compared with 2005/6 and a corresponding 5% reduction in carbon emissions. This is in large part due to the replacement of the steam boiler with more efficient and localised gas-fired boilers. The 2 million investment in this project is saving 11 million kwh per year. 6

7 Energy Use in kwh 60,000,000 50,000,000 44,422,210 49,967,634 40,000,000 38,386,326 energy in kwh 30,000,000 20,000,000 10,000, /6 2006/7 2007/8 year CO 2 emissions The following conversion factors, supplied by the Carbon Trust have been used to calculate the College s carbon emissions. Utility Conversion factor Resulting CO 2 unit Gas tonnes of CO 2 /kwh Electricity tonnes of CO 2 /kwh Landfill tonnes of CO 2 /tonne Water tonnes of CO 2 / m 3 The College s CO 2 emissions were 5% less than the 2005/6 baseline. The greater part of this reduction came from the replacement of the steam boiler. The balance came from more energy efficient lighting, expanding the Building Management System (BMS) and better metering. 7

8 CO2 Emissions 14,200 14,113 14,000 13,800 CO2 in tonnes 13,600 13,400 13,375 13,200 13, /6 2007/8 year Figure 3 CO 2 emissions by source The College s greatest source of CO 2 emissions in 2007/08 was from electricity consumption - 65% of the total. Gas use contributed to 31% of emissions with waste and water use contributing 3% and 1% respectively. Waste 3% Water 1% Gas 31% Electricity 65% 8

9 Energy use by source 97% of the energy used by the College is purchased from providers of Combined Heat and Power (CHP). According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) CHP can increase the overall efficiency of fuel use to more than 75%, compared with around 50% from conventional electricity generation. This is because CHP is a fuel-efficient energy technology that makes use of the by-product heat from electricity generation which is normally wasted. CHP can also avoid transmission and distribution losses because it often supplies electricity locally. The remaining 3% of Royal Holloway s energy comes from renewable sources. Water use Water use has increased 3% (287,401m 3 in 2006/7 to 298,322 m 3 in 2007/8). The College successfully trialled a waterless urinal system in the Sports Centre and two academic buildings that reduced flushing from several times an hour to just once a day. The system works by inserting a cube which contains millions of bacteria which have been specially selected to help clear limescale and digest urine. Satisfied that the product works and delivers the benefits of fewer blockages, improved appearance and no additional cleaning demands the College has decided to roll the system out to all its168 urinals. Annual water savings are estimated to be 33 million litres or enough water to fill 13 Olympic sized swimming pools. Waste management In June 2008 the College started to pay for its waste collection and disposal based on weight rather than fixed chargers per bin. This will provide the College with essential data about the amount of waste it generates, which areas of the College produce the most waste and when during the year waste peaks arise. The College can use this information to set an accurate baseline for waste generation and set targets for reduction. A waste audit was undertaken in February A pie chart showing the composition of this waste by type is shown below. 9

10 Waste Streams (Weight) Disposable Cups, 1.79 Organic Waste, Drinks Cartons, 0.78 Paper, 9.94 Glass, Cardboard, 5.42 General Waste, E.E, 0.14 Plastic, 7.12 Tins, 2.93 Cans, 1.93 Plastic Bags, 0.70 Aluminun Foil, 0.22 Roughly 43% of the waste is recyclable using College facilities and a further 17% could be recycled if the College was able to compost organic waste. This information formed part of a waste review for the entire site, and will be used to create a waste strategy for the College. Waste minimisation The College has undertaken a number of initiatives during the last year. In 2008 a decision was taken that the College Shop would charge for plastic bags. Furthermore, when the existing stock of bags runs out, these would not be replaced. The College s Computer Centre has decided that all printers will be switched from being defaulted to single-sided printing to having duplex printing as default. They have also reduced the price of duplex printing from 11 pence per sheet to seven pence, so that it is cheaper to print double-sided. The Catering Department re-launched the Royal Holloway re-usable mug, with a special offer of 10 pence discount when purchasing a hot drink using the mug instead of a disposable cup. This offer was extended to any kind of non-disposable mug. This promotion was a 10

11 success. Reuse End of term reuse project There is a serious waste peak for managers of halls of residence when students move out of halls at the end of each year. For the last three years the College has launched an end of term reuse project so that unwanted items are reused or recycled rather than sent to landfill sites. This year s project was part of a wider initiative involving eight other institutions. Last summer s (2008) project was the most successful of the last three years. Three tonnes of items were collected including clothes, shoes, bedding, bags, kitchen utensils, stationary, electronic equipment, bric-a-brac and food. The bulk of the items were donated to local charities, such as the Besom Trust which provides sheltered accommodation to vulnerable people in the community and the Princess Alice Hospice. Stationary was given away to staff, books were sold at the College book shop to raise money for the adopted FM charity, the children s hospice Shooting Star, and kitchen equipment was given away to the incoming students at the start of session. Collectively, all the universities taking part saved over 80 tonnes of items from landfill. The project s success and originality were recognised at the industry-wide National Recycling Awards 2008 where the College won Best Waste Minimisation Project Swap Shop The College s Sustainability Officer, in conjunction with the College s Student Environmental Group Action (SEGA), organised a Swap Shop to allow students to exchange books, CDs, clothes, bags and shoes in the Student s Union. Over 250 kg of items were donated. Items left over at the end of the event were given to the Egham Oxfam shop. Following the success of this project, a further event will take place next year. Recycling Over the last year the College produced tonnes and recycled tonnes representing 20% of the total amount of waste. That figure includes 217 tonnes 11

12 of cardboard, 9.6 tonnes of paper and 15.8 tonnes of glass. Recycled Waste 2007/8 24% 76% Recycled Total Waste Figure 5 The College has made improvements to its recycling facilities over the last year. In November 2008, the Students Union was provided with a plastic bottle recycling facilities leading to a 52% reduction in waste to landfill from their building. aerosols. Recycling for glass, paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, cans and tins is being rolled out across the catering outlets. The College also has new facilities for recycling batteries, clothing and shoes, bras, photocopier toner, mobile phones and Transport The College has a Sustainable Travel Plan, which was developed in The goal of the Sustainable Travel Plan is to reduce those driving to campus by 5%. The College conducts an annual transport survey and has recorded the progress towards this target each year. The November 2008 survey showed an 11% decrease in traffic flow during the morning peak time, indicating that the College has exceeded its target. This initiative also promotes the use of car sharing and the use of bicycles for journeys to the College. 12

13 The survey also indicated that 23% of cars were occupied by more than one person, an increase of 2% from Sustainability Officer Anna Simpson (pictured on the left) won Surrey Car Share s Co-ordinators competition in May 2008 for signing up over 140 car share registrants. The scheme now has 180 members, and three road shows were held over the last year to attract more. There are over 660 cycle spaces for cyclists on campus and in June 2008 the College launched its cycle to work scheme, allowing staff to purchase a new bicycle and safety equipment at up to a 40% discount. Construction and refurbishment New halls of residence Tuke, Williamson and Butler, opened in September 2007, and have been rated as very good in a BREEAM assessment (a standard used to assess the environmental performance of buildings). 98% of the waste produced during the demolition of the previous halls was recycled. During summerrefurbishment works, occupancy sensors were fitted to control lighting in parts of the estate. For example, Founders, The Hub and Tommys bar. Alongside this is a campus wide conversion to low energy lighting. A phased approach to the installation of a Building Management System (BMS) in academic and residential buildings has been adopted with a 50,000 annual investment allocated to it. This enables increased operational efficiencies and reduced energy costs. The College invests 20,000 per year expanding Databird metering to all its buildings. This allows water, gas and electricity meters to be read from a central server, which receives half-hourly impulses. This software gives the College the ability to monitor its utilities usage in detail and early pick up of unusual consumption assisting in pro-active diagnostics and remedial action. 13

14 Biodiversity The College has a ten year Ecological Management Plan which seeks continual improvement and diversification in the College s diversity, as detailed below. Woodland management The College aims to ensure that there is a suitable habitat to support increased diversity of species. Native tree species have been planted alongside native wild flowers all across the campus. To date 120 native trees have been planted over 3 years. The College grounds team take a pro-active approach in the ecological management of the grounds by removal of non native species or keeping these to a minimum, including stump kill to prevent re-growth as well as removal of some immature saplings and scrubs. Dead wood is left on the ground providing natural habitats for species and encourage natural regeneration of the grounds. Wildflower meadows. meadow. The College s ecological management plan required action that the wildflower meadow were cuts in late March and late autumn to reduce competition from grasses and encourage wildflower growth. During 2007 and 2008 areas of the meadow were cleared and re-sown with native wildflower mixes to increase plant species within the Sustainable sculpture A member of the campus gardening team has created three sculptures a toadstool, a lectern and an ink well from fallen trees on the site. The sculptures are now on display around the campus. Pond management Pond management takes several forms. Algae and debris and 14

15 some vegetation is removed in spring and autumn, to assist with water flows. Planting of native marginal plants is also part of this process. The Hub herbs Historically, the college used to be almost entirely selfsufficient in food, but that eventually came to an end as student numbers swelled. However, over the summer (2008), the gardening team joined forces with The Hub catering team to create The Hub Herb garden, which supplies herbs to the kitchen for use in its dishes. The herb garden is located only a few yards from the kitchen, allowing the chefs to pick herbs as and when required. The herbs are used in all sorts of dishes at The Hub from carrot and coriander soup to mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwiches to couscous salad. Fairtrade Royal Holloway has been a Fairtrade university since To attain this, the College had to achieve the following goals set out by the Fairtrade Foundation: 1. The College and the Student Union both create a Fairtrade policy incorporating these 5 goals 2. Fairtrade foods are made available for sale in all campus shops. Fairtrade foods are used in all cafés/restaurants/bars on campus. Where this is not possible, there is a commitment to begin to use Fairtrade foods in these establishments as soon as it becomes possible to do so. 3. Fairtrade foods (for example, coffee and tea) are served at all meetings hosted by the university or college and the Student Union, and are served in all university or college and Student Union management offices. 4. There is a commitment to campaign for increased Fairtrade consumption on campus. 5. A Fairtrade Steering Group is established. benefited from Fairtrade. Fairtrade product availability has been extended to Cola drinks, Eccles cakes and hooded sweatshirts. There are promotions every year including promotions running for 2 weeks with discounts on specific products. Promotion of Fairtrade is further supported with visits and presentations from suppliers enabling them to talk to students and staff on how they and their communities have 15

16 Students Union The College s Students Union (SU) achieved recognition this year (2009) for its environmental performance. The SU wwas accredited with the Sound Impact Silver award for environmental best practice. The College s Students Union was one of just 35 in the country achieving the silver standard. Below are some examples of initiatives taken to attain the award: Introducing plastic bottle recycling resulting a reduction of building waste to landfill of 52% Creating an equipment and lighting responsibility plan Creating a vacation shutdown plan Introducing a system to measure miles travelled by SU staff on business Introducing more recycling points in the Union building Increasing the variety of Fairtrade products available at the Union s cafeteria Undertaking a lighting survey the result of which is that 5% or less of all bulbs are tungsten filament bulbs Introducing waterless urinals Introducing potted plants to several of the SU offices Research and teaching Teaching The College teaches several courses around Sustainability, principally in the Geography department and School of Management. The College offers MSc programmes in Practising Sustainable Development, Sustainability with Management and International Sustainability Management among others. There are also many undergraduate courses in sustainability in subjects such as Economics, Politics and Drama. One such course is the Drama department s Ecologies of Performance in which this academic year students were set the task of carrying out a project related to sustainability at the College and performing a presentation about it for their assessment. Projects were imaginative and varied. Some involved trying to live carbon neutral lifestyles for a defined period, some focused on communicating the importance of recycling through sculpture and theatre, and one group chose to highlight the littering of cigarette butts on campus through art. The piece above is a depiction of the College s 16

17 Founders building made purely from cigarette butts. All the projects were performed to the College s Sustainability Officer and the Director of the Centre of Research into Sustainability. Research The Centre for Research into Sustainability (CRIS) is the focal point for sustainability research within Royal Holloway, University of London. CRIS is a joint initiative between the highly respected School of Management and renowned Department of Geography. Interdisciplinary in nature, CRIS combines differing and complementary approaches to sustainability to offer a rounded contribution to understanding this complex contemporary phenomenon. The Centre was re-launched on 18 th February 2009 with a day of ten minute presentations from Royal Holloway staff, organised by CRIS director Dr Laura Spence. The presentations ranged from the ethics of disposal to climate change mitigation to Fairtrade product tracing. The presentation slides can be found on the CRIS website: The link between the College s academic specialists in sustainability with the Facilities Management sustainability office was further strengthened by a presentation from the Sustainability Officer on sustainability initiatives and progress at the College. An important aspect of CRIS is the innovative and successful MSc in Sustainability with Management. A link to the course can be found here: Students/post/MSCSustainability/index.html CRIS s purpose is to support and encourage top quality research into sustainability primarily within Royal Holloway but ultimately further afield. The Centre seeks to achieve an international profile for innovative and far reaching interdisciplinary research. 17

18 18 For further information contact: Anna Simpson Sustainability Officer Phone: