ASRA 32 In
September 2012 the University will be
opening its new eco- residences, Vine Court
Heard it through the grapeVine
With campus-wide sustainability initiatives already in place, the University of Liverpool’s new eco-residence, Vine Court, hopes to encourage student engage- ment with green issues
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At the University of Liverpool we are tackling the green agenda head on within student accom- modation with initiatives ranging
from building new ‘eco-residences’ to running awareness campaigns encouraging stu- dents to switch-off appliances when not in use. In September 2012 the University will be opening its new eco-residences, Vine Court, to students, which has seen environmental consid- erations built into the project from day one, which will result in a building that not only looks good but has minimal impact on the environment. Vine Court will provide 710 en suite
Louise Hobson
study bedrooms incorporating numerous sustainable features. Vine Court represents the University of Liverpool’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and deliver- ing high quality sustainable buildings for its students.
The sustainability features built into the new development are:
● Air source heat pumps ● Solar thermal heating ● Rainwater harvesting ● High efficiency boilers ● Heat recovery systems ● Building management system
It has been calculated that the benefits from the sustainable features will reduce the hall’s energy consumption by 30 per cent, with a 55 per cent carbon saving. To ensure that the potential of the build-
ing is optimised, Residential Services will be working with Liverpool Guild of Students and the University’s Facilities Management department to encourage behaviour change among the student popula- tion. Luckily we have a very en- gaged student population who are volunteering in a number of ‘transition’ projects and a proactive Guild of Students who achieved a Gold award for their environmental per- formance in the national NUS
Green Impact Awards. Following the success of the
2010/11 Student Switch Off Scheme,
which has seen an average six per cent reduction in electricity usage across the halls of residences in the four months of measurement (Oct, Nov, Feb, May), saving 172,132 kWh, 93 tonnes of CO2 and approx- imately £13,771; the Switched Off Campaign has been promoted again for this coming academic year. In addition, it is hoped that
a similar scheme will be introduced later in the year to reduce the amount of waste generated by students and increase the amount of recycling.
Student engagement is essential and we hope to encourage more involvement through our student hall committees. Last year, students assisted the catering depart- ment in bringing their own glass or mug to dinner rather than use a disposable cup. Catering also had an awareness day where they sourced and prepared locally produced food to cater for the students’ evening meal. The response to both initiatives was very well received by the student community and plans have been made to repeat these events for September.
As student accommodation providers, ‘Green Issues and Sustainability’ should be at the core of all we do and provide for students. The sector as a whole is adopting this approach with lots of new ideas of how to build more efficient halls of residence that are cheaper to run and provide better facilities. There is also a cultural shift as we continue to encourage students to recycle, consider their energy usage and make a personal difference on a day-to-day basis. Feedback from my colleagues and fellow members of ASRA is still very focused on finding ways to deliver improved sustain- ability and promotion of green issues. While I wait to see how our eco-residence performs when it comes online in Septem- ber 2012, I am sure it is the first of many more to be built. ●
Louise Hobson, ASRA member and Accommodation Office Manager, University of Liverpool
ASRA.v1.md.indd 32 12/9/11 18:19:09
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