MOST SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATION – EDUCATION
• Get About Partnership • Grampian Police • Green Business Partnership • Instant Neighbour • John Muir Trust • Master Composter • Natural History Centre • Nestrans • New Hope Trust • NHS Grampian • Old Aberdeen Community Council
• Oxfam • ReBoot • Reusing IT • Scottish Business in the Community
• Scottish Natural Heritage • Sunnybank Park Steering Group • Transition Aberdeen • Voluntary Service Aberdeen • Waste Resources Action Programme
The University is addressing many aspects of sustainability through adoption of numerous policies that cover utilities, waste, transport, Fairtrade, sustainable procurement, sustainable building design and ethical investment; and continuing its efforts through the work of a Corporate Social Responsibility Steering Group. The University has adopted these policies and is working towards implementing them on a continual improvement programme. Examples to date include: • Installation of a Combined Heat and Power plant that provides electricity and heat to our main campus
• Installation of a Ground Source Heat Pump at our Oceanlab Phase II building
• Utilising recycled content / post consumer waste in project developments over a certain monetary value
• Aligning all new developments and major refurbishments to attaining BREEAM excellent
• Use of rain water harvesting in our Suttie Centre development
• Enforcing design guide criteria onto contractors to ensure sustainability is embedded into building design, fixtures and fittings
• Use of sun pipes • Participation in the Carbon Trust Carbon Management Programme
• Participation in Salix Funded initiatives
• Installation of thermostatic radiator valves
• Upgrading windows • Remote meter reading system displayed in real time
• Import 24% of green electricity • Use of electrical vehicles as part of our Grounds Maintenance
• Use of some organic based fertiliser on sports pitches
• Provision of recycling facilities for food and drinks cans, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, scrap metal, batteries, chemicals, wood, garden waste, and certain WEEE
• Furniture reuse option for staff • Provision of cycle storage • Salary sacrifice schemes for Bike to Work
• Salary sacrifice schemes for computers enabling working from home
• Give as you earn • Ethical investment • Volunteering entitlements • Provision of Fairtrade options at retail facilities
• Provision of Fairtrade tea and coffee only through delivered catering
• Provision of a Fairtrade option on our Zeste restaurant menu
• Thermal SMUG mug promotion to reduce take away disposables associated with hot beverage purchases
• Student led vegetable garden • Student led wildlife garden • Student led vegetable bag scheme • Use of biodegradable cleaning agents
• Use of recycled content hand towels and investigating efficient hand dryers
• Use of micro fibres in cleaning to reduce water and chemical usage
All these routes have been chosen as they address differing aspects of sustainability from ensuring suppliers of products obtain a fair wage down to using
real time meter reading to identify anomalies relating to utilities usage. These ideas have arisen from discussions with counterparts at other institutes, implementing best practice, researching new technologies, and original concepts that have appeared from mind mapping sessions and feasibility assessments with our stakeholders. Value for money runs hand in hand with many sustainability initiatives, in fact most have a financial return that goes direct to the bottom line. For example many of the energy initiatives have a high capital cost; but they redeem themselves through the returns obtained by reducing revenue expenditure; a good example being the power management software. The software cost £70,000 to purchase and staff time to install and test, with returns envisaged at more than £37,000 per annum. The initiatives identified within the Carbon Management Programme suggest reductions of carbon dioxide levels by 6,500 tonnes over a 5 year period compared to 2008 - 2009; covering predominantly emissions associated with buildings and transport. No matter how small a step change is made, it will impact on environmental emissions and University budgets. At this stage it is impossible to determine the net cumulative effect all these activities have upon reducing the University’s carbon footprint, as baseline data is not readily available and post project implementation analysis is not always possible to do. Irrespective, these measures will be having a significant positive impact on reducing our carbon dioxide emissions and our operating costs. So there we are. The University is doing quite a lot. This submission provides a snapshot of what we’re doing and where we are at this point in time. It isn’t a comprehensive list by any means. Many avenues are being discussed and our Corporate Social Responsibility Action Plan is continually being improved. The University of Aberdeen is deeply engaged in the sustainability agenda and would welcome being awarded as the Most Sustainable Public Sector Organisation.
SUSTAINABLE FM AWARDS 2010
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