NEWS


University of Bedfordshire races towards head of green vehicle league


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edfordshire is one of the best universities in the country for electric vehicle ownership, an independent national survey has shown.


The University ranked fourth out of 114 UK universities as a


third of its vehicles are fully electric. The survey, conducted by intelligentcarleasing.com, also showed that the Higher Education sector is well ahead of the national average in terms of the number of electric vehicles that it runs – 7.7% of all university-owned vehicles are purely electric powered, compared to just 0.11% of all UK vehicle registrations. Purchasing a duo of Renault Kangoo ZE’s in 2012, Bedfordshire’s


Facilities and Estates (F&E) department expanded their fleet with the addition of a third ZE late last year. Awarded grants by the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV)


totalling £15,000 towards the trio of vans, the University’s carbon emissions have decreased by 8,000 kg in just over two years. In order to replenish the electric vehicles, four charging points,


which can handle two vehicles at once, are stationed at the University’s Luton, Bedford and Putteridge Bury campuses, including one at the Fitzroy Hall student halls of residence. Each van is capable of completing 80 miles on a single charge. Adam Higgin, the University of Bedfordshire’s Head of


Environmental Sustainability, said: “We are committed to reducing the University’s carbon footprint, and it is vitally important we keep making regular steps to underline that ethos. So we’ve recently decommissioned our 16-seater diesel minibus, replacing it with one of the electric vehicles.


“The electric vans have registered around 14,000 miles between


them and they are an essential means of transport, carrying freight and people between Bedfordshire’s six campuses on a daily basis.” In addition to the electric vehicles, Bedfordshire’s state-of-the-art


Postgraduate (PG) Centre at the Luton campus, which was officially opened in May 2013, forms a key element of the University’s ‘green’ philosophy. The PG Centre achieved a rating of ‘excellent’ from the Building


Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), the world’s foremost environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings. The building was also shortlisted for the UK Green Build Awards 2014 in May for its minimal “Cradle to Cradle” impact on the environment. Furthermore, Bedfordshire is aiming for an ‘excellent’ BREEAM


rating for its new £46m library building in Luton, which is expected to be completed in summer 2015. Mr Higgin added: “We are


fully committed to designing and developing the most energy efficient buildings and services to meet the University’s needs. The new library building will include a number of sustainable and low carbon technologies to minimise impact on the environment.” press.office@beds.ac.uk


• news • news • news • news • news • news • news • London hospitals wear their hearts on their green sleeves


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orward-thinking hospitals in London have recently piloted BRE’s new BREEAM In-Use (BIU) scheme for the healthcare sector with excellent results, demonstrating their commitment to healthier patient & staff environments, lower running costs & sustainable buildings and management practices.


As part of an on-going campaign on green issues across the whole of the NHS (www.nhssustainabilityday.co.uk), both Bart’s & Great Ormond Street Hospitals have recently piloted the BREEAM In-Use methodology on their buildings. BREEAM In-Use is designed to support building managers, owners and occupiers in reducing the running costs and improving the environmental performance of their existing non-domestic buildings. Recently adapted for the healthcare


sector, BIU allows clients to find out how well they are doing currently in terms of


sustainability and then have a clear pathway for improvements. ‘The major benefit is to the


Trusts in terms of running costs and the patients in terms of a more comfortable, healthy environment in which they can heal and recover. Surely this kind of assessment can only be a good thing for patients and this has been recognised by Bart’s & Great Ormond Street Hospitals’, said James Fisher, who leads the Existing Buildings Team within BREEAM.


In terms of the assessments themselves, Bart’s put three of their buildings through the methodology; an Outpatients’ facility and Pathology & Pharmacy building both in Whitechapel, as well as a new build project in the City. They scored just under 50%


across the assessments on all three projects, with the new build scoring 63% for occupier management and reaching the ‘Very Good’ category. ‘Bart’s Health NHS Trust took part in the pilot BREEAM In-Use Healthcare Scheme as part of our overall strategy to reduce the environmental impact of our existing estate. The scheme provided an independently certified review of how efficiently our assets are being operated and managed. We found it easy to use and were very pleased with the results. Following the success of the pilot we have incorporated the BREEAM In-Use certification mechanism into our EPC contract specification going forward’, said Fiona Daly, Environmental Manager at Bart’s Health NHS Trust.


Great Ormond Street used BREEAM In-Use to assess the environmental performance


of their Octave Bonar Wing to identify potential opportunities for improvements and to benchmark them. They scored an average of 56% across all three parts. ‘The tool was straight forward to use and the result of our audit was certificated by BRE which will allow us to quantify future improvements and to demonstrate our existing performance using third party accreditation. This tool has the potential to allow us to measure the impacts of our different work streams such as our upcoming energy performance contract, waste management initiatives and broader sustainability strategy under one assessment, saving time and avoiding duplication’, said Brendan Rouse Energy Manager at GOSH. For further details on


BREEAM In-Use, please e-mail inuse@bre.co.uk


PUBLIC SECTOR ESTATES MANAGEMENT • JULY/AUGUST 2014 11


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