26 environmental focus Major funding for SPITFIRE project
The minister for universities and science, David Willets MP, has announced a major investment by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) for a University of Southampton-led project to train the environmental scientists of the future.
The Southampton Partnership for Innovative Training of Future Investigators Researching the Environment (SPITFIRE) was confirmed as one of 15 Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs), in line to receive £100 million funding to provide training for environmental science PhD students.
Willetts said: “This significant investment highlights the Government’s commitment to supporting postgraduate training and research in the environmental sciences. We’re dedicated to providing the next generation of environmental researchers with the necessary skills and training to succeed in academia and industry.
“The strong support for this programme from a number of international partners such as BP, Microsoft and Arup is enormously encouraging.
Not only will this initiative benefit students, UK research organisations, business, industry and the economy, it will also keep us at the forefront of the global science race.“
SPITFIRE, led by the University of Southampton together with hosting research organisations: the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS), British Antarctic Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Natural History Museum, Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Marine Biological Association, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science and HR Wallingford, will establish an innovative multidisciplinary training environment for the next generation of leaders in the environmental sciences.
The SPITFIRE DTP, building on the graduate school of NOCS, will draw together the breadth of natural environment research across the University of Southampton and strengthen links with its prestigious research partners.
Professor Don Nutbeam, vice-chancellor of the University, said: “We are delighted to be one
of the DTPs chosen by NERC and are already looking forward to working with our partners in the delivery of innovative new training experience for our PhD students.“
Professor Norman MacLeod of the Natural History Museum said: “SPITFIRE will greatly increase joint PhD research between the partner organisations and provide a catalyst for the development of new multidisciplinary science initiatives.“
Professor Damon Teagle, director of research for Ocean and Earth Science at the University and one of the architects of SPITFIRE, added: “In designing SPITFIRE, we thought deeply about providing the skills and knowledge that will be essential for the environmental science leaders of the mid-21st Century, be they engaged in research, industry or policy.
“New technology, such as next generation sequencing, autonomous vehicles and sensors, and the vast data sets they produce are rapidly changing the way that we investigate our planet exposing previously unknown links between different parts of the Earth system.“
Sunsail achieves international sustainability standard
Sunsail is now certified by the British Standards Institute (BSI) to international level for sustainable event management. Successful implementation of the new ISO 20121 sees Sunsail join an elite list of venues and events like London 2012, Goodwood, Millennium Stadium and Manchester United.
ISO 20121 is an internationally-recognised management standard that helps organisations to maximise economic, social and environmental opportunities in their events, reducing negative impact through improved planning and processes. As a leading provider of RYA courses and owner of the largest yacht charter fleet in the UK, Sunsail already integrates sustainability into its training, events and regattas, but was keen to achieve formal recognition by way of a British Standards kite mark.
Jackie McLean, Sunsail UK operations manager, commented: “We have been implementing environmental best practice for some time and wanted to highlight our achievements as well as identify opportunities for further improvements. We hope that our new ISO 20121 status will demonstrate Sunsail’s long- term commitment to sustainability to both our current customers as well as prospective corporate clients with similar sustainability aspirations to ours, and hope that this will be a key factor for them when choosing us for their corporate sailing events.“
To achieve ISO 20121, Sunsail had to implement a management system to review all its activities and provide evidence of best practice embedded into its operation. Examples
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include the installation of inline bilge filters on all F40 yachts to ensure no oily bilge water is discharged into the sea; the provision of spill kits for clients and skippers to have close to hand when refuelling to ensure all spills are quickly dealt with; a no plastic bag policy on the boats; and supplies of phosphate- free detergents and cleaners on board to minimise grey water pollution. Sunsail has to demonstrate continual improvement and works with its supply chain to achieve this.
The Green Blue, a joint Royal Yachting Association and British Marine Federation environment initiative, has worked closely with
Sunsail since 2008 and helped implement the management system.
“As the largest sailing and watersports company in the UK, Sunsail provides us with an excellent opportunity to educate people coming into our sport about how they can enjoy the marine environment while ensuring their activities keep it in great shape for future generations,“ said Dan Reading, The Green Blue sustainability officer.
• See this month’s Entrepreneur feature on SEaB Energy CEO Sandra Sassow on page 16.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – DECEMBER 13/JANUARY 14
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