Student Residence Toolkit 2015/16

Transcription

1 Student Residence Toolkit 2015/16

2 Theme 1: Student engagement Criteria Level What is required Further Information Why this matters How you will be audited Communicating sustainability Bronze Inform your Accommodation Managers, Wardens and Domestic Supervisors that you have a team taking part in the Sustainability Awards. Promote the Awards to student residents via callouts for participants, posters or posts on social media. Identifying Impacts Bronze The team has invited student residents to express their opinion on their accommodation's top 3 positive and negative impacts. Encouraging participation Silver The student accommodation has a team made up of three or more people that has met at least three times during from October 2015 to March 2016 Practical sustainability Silver The accommodation has hosted a one hour workshop, run by the SRS Department / at least one of the team members has participated in a Be Sustainable workshop and, as a result, the team has established an action plan for making the accommodation more sustainable Communication of participation could be done via social networking, posters and through face to face engagement in meetings. Any visual materials will be provided by us to ensure coherent branding. Invite student residents (via or social media) to propose the 3 top positive and negative impacts. Once responses have been received, they can be collated and communicated to senior management (Accommodation Services/ResLife) Organise a meeting for participating staff and students within the department. The workshop should be held at the student accommodation and the participant team is responsible for promoting it internally Students gain peer recognition for their activity and efforts, and branding for the Awards is coherent and clear, so staff and students within and outside the department can see the spread of the scheme and are inspired to get involved themselves. Identifying key impacts and addressing these issues to senior management allows for an increase in the effectiveness of implementing sustainable actions. To complete the Awards effectively, it is beneficial to have a team completing the actions The workshop will raise awareness among the wider departmental community and should result in an action plan for improvements with input from department staff and students review evidence of promotional methods review the number of responses, promotional methods, and evidence of feedback to senior management review meeting schedules, agenda and minutes review that the workshop has taken place and the follow-up action plan 2

3 Creative communication Silver wild card Come up with an idea on how to engage your fellow residents with sustainability. This can be anything from a film screening to a park clean-up or a volunteering activity in the local community. Encourage student residents to carry on your engagement work by organizing events of their own. Support them as they do it- it's often quite daunting. look at evidence of your activity and engagement, and review how you evaluated its impact 3

4 Theme 2: Resource Efficiency Criteria Level What is required Further Information Why this matters How you will be audited Waste quality Bronze Ensure that all recycling streams are properly labelled and talk to your cleaning managers if you notice any inconsistencies in signage. Set aside a box for battery disposal and ensure that students are aware not to put these in general waste. Exchange and reuse Bronze To encourage people to think about increasing resource efficiency, students have been made aware of SHRUB and the Free Shop collections, as well as charity shop options. Food waste Silver If in catered accommodation, promote the JMCC composting initiative to your residents ( or e- mail matthew.lawson@ed.ac.uk for more information). In selfcatered accommodation, you can promote food sharing and efficient cooking (e.g. Love Food Hate Waste: Single use items Silver The accommodation has actively encouraged the use of reusable items such as bags, Keep Cups and plastic bottles in place of single use / disposable items You can communicate the importance of quality recycling via labelling on your bins, posts on social media and announcements at house meetings. waste@ed.ac.uk for promotional materials and resources You can communicate the use of SHRUB and charity shops for donations of used items to students via social media, posters, announcements and face-to-face engagement. Review current arrangements and look for changes that can be made such as: periodic fridge checks, labelling of food and bringing leftovers for lunch (self-catered accommodation) or sharing excess food (catered and self-catered accommodation). Promote reusable items such as Keep Cups (available from University catering outlets), reusable bags and bottles. Making sure you have clean recyclate and proper segregation will increase recycling rates and reduce contamination Using SHRUB and the Free Shop will not only help save you both time and money but reduces purchasing and lowers your carbon footprint. Cutting back on food waste reduces your carbon footprint and saves you money. Using items that can used more than once is a great way to save resources and cut your carbon footprint review use of promotional materials, communications and make sure internal bins are in place review promotion of SHRUB, Free Shop and charity shops. review practical examples of use by department review practical examples of use by department 4

5 Creative re-use Silver wild card Come up with a creative re-use idea to limit your waste! For example, use metal cans as flowerpots, keep cardboard boxes for moving out day, organize a charity donation of old clothes or donate sports equipment to local sports clubs. If you have a creative way to improve resource efficiency in mind, promote it to your fellow students. We can also publicise your initiatives and share your ideas with other student accommodations. review evidence of re-use idea and promotion to fellow residents. Theme 3: Travel Criteria Level What is required Further Information Why this matters How you will be audited Cycling Bronze Promote cycling to students by advertising relevant initiatives including Dr Bike, cycle training, Cycle Roadshows, secure cycle stores and Essential Cycling Skills training ( r-projects/training-courses/cycletraining-for-adults/essential-cyclingskills). Visit the University's Transport website for more information. You can promote their resources on social media or via posters. matthew.lawson@ed.ac.uk for more information and resources. Cycling reduces air pollution, helps ease congestion on our roads, and is healthier and cheaper cheaper than other modes of travel. will review promotional methods. Sustainable commuting Bronze Promote sustainable commuting to students by advertising the University's Tripshare scheme, walking and public transport. Ensure that your hall displays an up-to-date schedule of public transport in your area. Visit the Transport and Parking website for more information about sustainable commuting. Display Tripshare posters during National Liftshare Week. matthew.lawson@ed.ac.uk for more information. Cars have a substantially higher environmental impact than walking, cycling and public transport. If alternatives to car travel are not feasible then opting to Tripshare will halve your carbon footprint. will review promotional methods. 5

6 Active Travel Silver The accommodation has organized an activity promoting active travel, or at least one member of the team has been trained as an Active Travel Champion. Wider Communication Silver Guests, families and friends are advised on how they can travel sustainably during their stay via messaging on noticeboards in receptions/communal areas. Creative travel Silver wild card Surprise us! Devise your own original idea for promoting sustainable travel in your accommodation. For example, organise a challenge to see who can make the most journeys by walking, cycling or public transport in one week. Theme 4: Energy The activity could take the form of a lunchtime walk, hike, jogging group or a cycle buddy scheme. Find out more about Active Travel Champion and cycling training: -volunteers/active-travel-champions Promote bus and rail services to visitors and highlight walking/cycling routes in the accommodation area. matthew.lawson@ed.ac.uk for more information and resources. Promote your idea to fellow residents and encourage them to participate in zero-fuel activities. Active Travel enables people to be more active through walking or cycling for more of their everyday journeys. If visitors understand the full range of options available they will be able to consider more sustainable choices Every accommodation is different. Thinking about what could be improved in your department is a great way to become more socially responsible and sustainable. will review evidence of the event and discuss its impact on student active travel. will review the information available to visitors. will review evidence of promotion and carrying out of activities/communica tion of key messages. Criteria Level What is required Further Information Why this matters How you will be audited Communication Bronze Promote unplugging of appliances and switching off of lights via Switch and Save stickers. Ensure that students know how to change room temperatures. Communicate the benefits of using communal facilities to save energy (film nights or flat dinners). Communication can be done via social media, announcements at flat/house meetings, posters on noticeboards or signage next to communal facilities. You can request promotional materials by ing matthew.lawson@ed.ac.uk. It is more wasteful in terms of energy to power several items especially if they are only used occasionally. Personal heaters may disrupt the heating setup for a location by confusing building sensors. Heating issues must be reported to ensure efficiency. tour halls/flats 6

7 Appliances Bronze Ensure that all fridges are set to minimum temperature (5 degrees Celsius). Ensure that all lighting switch banks with more than 3 switches are correctly labelled. Monitoring Silver Complete a basic checklist for each semester in your accommodation. Responsibility Silver Design a 'last-one-out' responsibility plan for switching off equipment/lights when leaving a communal area or at the end of use. Creative energy saving Silver wild card Come up with an idea to save energy in your accommodation. Be creative - this could be a blackout party, getting your hall to subsidize hoodies to reduce heating, or replacing tungsten bulbs with LEDs. If you are in catered accommodation, ensure that all lighting switch banks with more than 3 switches are correctly labelled. Speak to your fellow residents and ask them to propose energy-saving ideas for communal appliances, which you can then communicate to operational staff. For support, contact Sustainability.Awards@ed.ac.uk. Obtain energy checklist from Ruth Dwyer, [ruth.dwyer@ed.ac.uk]and speak to halls management/srs Department for further details. Communicate the responsibility plan to all students in accommodation, via social media, posters, notices etc. your energy-saving idea and how you plan to put in in practice, to matthew.lawson@ed.ac.uk. Fridges waste energy if set to a lower temperature than needed, and switching on all the lights in a room when only one is needed is wasteful. Other ideas which you can propose to your managers are the replacement of old equipment or efficient placement of radiators to reduce heat loss. Increased awareness of energy waste issues encourages people to be alert to energy saving measures and prevent wasted energy. Responsibility for actions should lie within local areas. Residents have the best knowledge of their accommodation and are often best placed to make recommendations. tour department, review fridge temperatures and lighting banks, and communication of energysaving ideas from residents. review documented evidence (i.e. completion of spreadsheet) Review responsibility plan and success of implementation (crossreference with energy checklist). The energy-saving idea will be reviewed by auditors and the success of its implementation will be discussed with the participant team. 7

8 Theme 5: Personal Welfare and Wellbeing Criteria Level What is required Further Information Why this matters How you will be audited Mental health Bronze The accommodation has raised awareness of the resources available at the University and the wider community, for supporting mental health issues, such as the student counselling service, the Advice Place, the 'See Me' campaign etc. You can promote these resources and reinforce their availability via posters on noticeboards and in communal areas. for promotional materials and visit the 'See Me' campaign website. Mental health is an important aspect of student life. Communicating University mental health services to your fellow residents ensures that they are aware of the support available. review promotional Healthy eating Bronze The accommodation actively encourages healthy eating and promotes sustainable eating options. Provide students with information about healthy eating, e.g. food plate posters, information on healthy eating options e.g. Earthy Foods, Hearty Squirrel, New Leaf etc. for more information and resources. Information about healthy food choices increases student engagement with healthy living, and encourages them to think about a wide range of healthy eating options available in the city. review promotional Physical health Silver The accommodation has organized a group fitness activity such as a sports match, aerobics class, yoga session etc. You can also promote the Centre for Sports and Exercise, and encourage students to come up with their own fitness activities, involving fellow residents. While not everyone is willing to join a sports club or run a marathon, fitness groups make for a fun activity while promoting healthy living. review evidence of activity and promotional Sharing is caring Silver The accommodation has had a Bring & Share meal where students bring in healthy food to eat and share over lunch/dinner. For catered accommodation, you can arrange a day out and invite students to bring and share a picnicthis combines fitness activities and healthy eating. Combining healthy eating with sharing food is a great way to engage students with food waste, health and communal well-being. review evidence of activity and promotional 8

9 Healthy living Silver wild card Come up with an idea for engaging your fellow residents with healthy living! Start a home-grown herb garden on your windowsill. Set up a recipe exchange. Promote gym membership and sports clubs to students. Organize stress-busting sessions or study groups to take the edge off revision. Get your fellow residents to attend one of the SRS Department's cooking workshops, and don't forget to follow up! For more information and resources, matthew.lawson@ed.ac.uk. review evidence of activity and promotional 9