13 ➔
The planet needs saving and the words ‘green’ and ‘sustainability’ appear to have a currency in some quarters. Within the sphere of
higher education a momentum of interest has been gathering for some years. The Magna Charta of European Studies was agreed in Bologna in September 1988. Two years later saw the Presidents for a Sustainable Future and the Talloires Declaration in October 1990. This was followed in 1994 by the launch of the COPER- NICUS programme. The latter was seen as a way of carrying universities forward in a common understanding of the concept of sustainability. It stated that universities “must therefore commit themselves to an ongoing process of informing, educating and mobilising all the relevant parts of society concerning the conse- quences of ecological degradation, including its impact on global development and the condi- tions needed to ensure a sustainable world.” In short, the idea was and remains to incorporate an environmental perspective into all university activities: curriculum, physical entity and a wider intellectual contribution. There is clear evidence of this continued mo-
mentum. Within England, the Higher Educa- tion Funding Council for England (HEFCE) published the Carbon Reduction Target for HE in January 2010. In addition the People and Planet Green League claims to be “driving UK universities’ transition to a low carbon future.” This league table ranks UK HEIs on the basis of a range of factors including carbon emis- sions, energy use, student and staff engagement, environment policies and environmental auditing. The People and Planet Green League 2011 is divided into five award categories: First Class, Upper Second Class, Lower Second Class, Third Class, Failed and Did Not Sit. Failures include the London Business School. In the Third Class category sit the universities of Oxford and Liver-
1. International Energy Agency 2. 600 GW is as much as is currently generated with coal in America, Japan and the European Union put together; The Economist
http://www.economist.com/node/18010727
pool and in the First Class category can be found the University of Gloucestershire, the University of Derby and London South Bank University. Clearly the Green League Tables do not follow the same pattern as the more widely disseminated league tables. Universities have either embraced or say they have embraced the principles of the COPERNICUS programme.
Nottingham Trent University has implemented an ‘intelligent lift’ system that cuts lift movement
The principles of action include: ● Institutional commitment ● Environmental ethics ● Education of university employees ● Programmes in environmental education ● Interdisciplinarity ● Dissemination of knowledge ● Networking ● Partnerships ● Continuing education programmes ● Technology transfer
The effect of the rise of the sustainability agenda has been a proliferation of endeavour among universities to improve their physical sustain- ability. Such endeavours include the ‘intelligent lift’ system at Nottingham Trent University. This minimises the distance the lifts travel by sending one that is close to the floor you are on and is already carrying others to the same destination. This approach cuts down on unnecessary lift movement and reduces energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Other institutions focus on recycling waste paper and install lights which switch on in response to movement and remain off at other times. These activities are worthy, but in the context of China, who the IEA1
estimates will build 600 gigawatts2 (GW)
of coal-fired capacity in the next quarter century; lights on a third floor corridor or in the toilets that switch off when no one is moving in those spaces is placed in a certain perspec-
➔
The Green League reveals that the UK HE ❝
carbon emissions have increased. The average increase per university is 7.4 per cent. Apparently this is “incredibly worrying”.
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