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www.universitybusiness.co.uk | T: @UB_UK
submit their responses, with a 10-day window to appeal the decision once the surveys have been scored. This information is merged with select data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Estates Management Record, which studies the usage and consumption of university campuses. Finally, after all the statistics have been compared, the company’s IT wiz, Rich Lot, creates the final table, which is free to view on People & Planet’s website. The Green League has
Dr. John Hindley on the MMU Business School ‘green roof'
existed since 2006, and both Smith and Hindley believe that a notable change was taking place towards the later half of that decade. “The students started this sort of ‘envirolution’, back in 2007,” says Hindley. “They were quite vociferous around environmental policy – why have we got no recycling, we want to do this – and since then we’ve had progressive change, growing engagement.” “It was quite unprecedented, I think,
"IF YOU REALLY WANT A CULTURE CHANGE, YOU NEED TO INVEST IN THE SHIFTING OF MINDS"
in terms of the results that we saw year on year, through publishing,” says Smith, reflecting on the Green League’s growth. “We’d go from a really small percentage of the sector tackling a certain issue that would be highlighted in the criteria, and 12 months later we’d see an overwhelming growth in the number of universities that were walking the talk.” Smith is quick to note the other
contributing factors, however: “I don’t think that it’s the sole reason that the sector has moved on this – there have been a huge number of variables to consider – so we’ve had the targets set by the higher education funding councils, for example, and for the sector as a whole to reduce its carbon emissions on 2005 levels by 2020. You’ve got things like the Carbon Trust working with universities to develop their carbon management plans – you’ve got people like the NUS really puting huge resources into student energy behaviour projects. And then you’ve also got the academic world, responding to a call for more research and more academic work in education for sustainable development ... so it’s all kind of come at the same time.” 2007 also marked the year when
Daniella Tilbury took on her role as Dean
of Sustainability at the University of Gloucestershire. The work of Tilbury’s team has made Gloucestershire one of the most consistently high ranking performers in the Green League, yet she talks about innovations in energy as if they’re already old hat: “We do the usual stuff, introducing efficient LED lighting, using fossil fuel alternatives, ground source heat pumps, we do all of that,” she says. “Since 1993 we’ve had 100% green tariff, 100% renewable energy. But if you really want a culture change, you need to invest in the shifting of minds – on supporting staff and students to understand how sustainability must be an integral part of their professional responsibility.” Unlike some of their other high-
ranking Green League peers, Gloucestershire are also notable for directly linking social enterprise to sustainability initiatives. “Our Students’ Union has established its own Cheltenham Chilli Company, where the students actually grow the chillies and peppers on University grounds, developing the product, its branding and marketing and learning how to increase their employability chances,” she says. “We have edible gardens, where our staff plant fruit, herbs and vegetables and an external community garden, where residents can come together with some students to support some practical composting, planting, weeding, permaculture and discuss local issues.” Unlike the top-down approach
taken to energy emissions, many of Gloucestershire’s sustainability initiatives rely on community
engagement and active participation. When it comes to puting these plans in place, Tilbury believes that it is important to think structurally: “It takes time to make deep changes. We work with policy and strategy frameworks a lot, because we see these as very important. We feel that if we don’t have the policy frameworks, then the actions are not sustained, and the impetus doesn’t stay there for that long.” Tilbury chalks this up
to what she calls, “a whole institutional approach” at Gloucestershire, where sustainability pervades all
aspects of University life, from ethical investment to academic development." Similarly, Hindley says that senior management, “have a responsibility to ensure that their strategy supports all students to graduate as global citizens with the wisdom and skills as sustainably literate thinkers.” Smith, meanwhile, believes that it’s at the heart of progress in higher education: “If universities aren’t producing graduates that are inspired to build a more ethical and more sustainable world, then they’re doing a bad job.” Drawing on People & Planet’s data,
however, Smith is concerned that the environmental revolution is slowing down. “I do feel that we had a burst in movement, from 2007, 08 and 09, where we saw lots of fast improvements,” she says. “But we’ve seen some institutions in the sector dragging their feet when it comes to action on worker’s rights in the supply chains of university procurement. We’re also seeing that carbon emissions overall, and the reduction in carbon emissions overall, is incredibly slow … the sector is not going to meet that target, unless something changes very rapidly in the next six years.” Despite this, she’s is hopeful about
the future of sustainability in higher education. “In certain places I think there’s definitely a momentum, and sometimes I think what the Green League’s trying to do is keep all the balls up in the air, juggling each aspect of sustainability in its most holistic form, and keeping the momentum in all of those areas. It’s a challenge, but it’s one that’s really necessary.” UB
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