Sarah Lockwood.
sional and personal. “Because of it I have made some changes in practices both in the workplace and home,” Sarah says, “which means I am also learning ways in which I can reduce my personal carbon footprint.”
Local info
The success of sustainability projects will depend on buy-in from users and owners of particular spaces. Sarah said: “It is often the local users of spaces that can best inform of what may or may not work. Or they may flag issues or improvements that they spot as they know particular sec- tions of their buildings in more detail.” These are centralised and prioritised by the facilities teams and Sarah says: “Sus- tainability runs as an undercurrent within the department which has a budget for funding or part-funding projects. Because of this we are able to put a business case to our senior management team for local initiatives.”
Working in partnership with the central
University of Oxford Estates and Sus- tainability team, the work of the Bodleian Libraries Facilities team includes:
l Looking for a more sustainable alter- native when replacing faulty or end of life equipment.
l Improving processes and procedures and ordering with an emphasis on reusa- ble or recyclable products.
l Trying to stop unnecessary use of plant and equipment whilst ensuring conditions are still met with the roll out of sensor lights, push taps and reducing fan speeds for air handling units.
l Working to the university’s new sustainability design guide as part of our future building plans:
https://bit.ly/2Tkt9Yv
March 2020
Easy wins: facilities
But for libraries at an earlier stage in the sustainability process, there are many lessons to be learned and ideas to be shared. Sarah directs some at facilities profession- als, and others at librarians. She said: “For a Facilities team within a library I would recommend they review energy consumption around lighting, water consumption and ventilation systems, re- viewing and revising building management systems – looking at periods of time when they can be switched off or run at a lower setting. We had a plant that was running 24/7 which we now turn off at night, almost halving its running time.”
Trials showed that environmental condi- tions were stable overnight and changes in temperature and humidity were caused by people entering the spaces. The end result saw financial and environmental savings with no negative side.
Examples of facilities-led sustainability projects include:
l Moving to LED lighting in many areas – This is an easy, quick win for many buildings, as although LED lighting is more expensive, the bulbs last a lot longer and so the long-term maintenance costs are also less. This change also results in a significant reduction in energy use from the moment of installation, making the project payback periods very attractive.
l Reviewing plant use across the buildings and look to reduce ‘on’ times or fan speeds. Check to see if the air handling units be turned off for eight to 12 hour periods
l Turning off humidifiers seasonally, there- fore achieving savings as they are now only used six months of the year.
Easy wins: library staff “Facilities are one of the biggest cost areas to many organisations,” Sarah says, “but the workforce can make individual changes which all add up. It is often the people working in local areas around their buildings that know those spaces well. It is
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