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HEIGHTS GREENER


Campus life need not only be about academic study, says one


university, which has become a beacon for sustainable learning and living. Andy Pearson reports on a double CIBSE award winner


E


nergy consumption on college campuses is rising. The number of students equipped with laptops, TVs and other must-have electronic


gizmos, coupled with the greater use of ICT for teaching and an increased need for air conditioning, are all pushing up usage. Except, that is, at the University of Bradford. This institution has not only succeeded in halting the rise, it has actually reversed the trend so that carbon emissions there have fallen by 8% since 2005. This remarkable success is the result of


a unique approach. The university has set out to ensure that sustainability underlies everything it does. It is not simply about how the 140, 000 sq m estate is run; it is about involving 1,800 staff, 13,000 students and its contractors in addressing their environmental, social and economic responsibilities too. It’s a bold initiative – a fact recognised


by the judges at this year’s CIBSE Building Performance Awards, where the university’s achievements were recognised


24 CIBSE Journal June 2012


with the awards of Client of the Year and, the ultimate accolade, Carbon Champion of the Year. The initiative was born on a train journey


back in 2004 when Clive Wilson, head of estates at the university, was returning from a sustainability conference with his environmental manager and one of the academic staff. The discussion turned to how the three pillars of sustainability – social, economic and environmental – applied to the university. It was soon apparent that the university was already doing a lot that was sustainable. Wilson said at the time: ‘The social


stuff a student needs, we’ve got. Environmentally we’re already building low carbon buildings. We’re recycling. Economically the university is spawning companies and using local suppliers to help keep revenue in the community.’ The conversation set Wilson thinking


about what could be done to make the university more sustainable. His solution: turn the university into a beacon of


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