SDG 13 - Climate Action

Missenden Abbey’s #20PercentLess pledge includes reduction on reducing single use plastics across all areas of the operation. The steps that we have taken are:

Plastic straws have been removed from the bars.

Plastic cups at the refreshment stations have been replaced with glasses or refillable jugs.

Food packaging has been reduced by a full review of the food suppliers review and now 80% of our food purchasing comes within 10-mile radius. The local suppliers are using open reusable boxes for the provision deliveries. Up to £10,000 per year, which includes all the herbs and salad leaves and seasonal fresh produce is provided from the Walled Garden which is freshly picked on the day.

Paperless culture – all our administration is now paperless. We switched from printing to scanning.

Laundry deliveries are now in large metal cases rather than in individually plastic wrapped bags. This has decreased the use of the large refuse bags by 80% across the operation.

The kitchen waste is sorted and all vegetable and fruit peelings and coffee and tea waste are composted. Our General waste bins have reduced in size since 2015 and now this represents only 20% of the overall waste.

All meeting rooms have recycling bins to encourage all our clients to recycle any waste.

Beautiful grounds – the project has been introduced in 2018 when we have carried out the review of the large grounds and how to reduce the waste from the seasonal flower beds into 50% perennial flower beds in 2019-20. This has improved the pressures of growing of new plants regarding the plastic trays, water and soil. The compost is now produced on site from our kitchen waste and since 2019 no flower bed compost has been purchased.

SDG 13 - Climate Action - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

In February 2020, Buckinghamshire New University pledged to go carbon net zero by 2030 - 20 years ahead of the Government’s target - as part of a Love Our Planet day across its campuses on Valentine’s Day. The University is joining others in the HE sector to fight against climate change by building on its existing achievements. On Love Our Planet day the University signed up to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals Accord, declared a climate emergency and joined the Climate Commission Council.

Bucks Students’ Union updated its Waste, Recycling and Environmental Policy this academic year to include a ban of helium and balloons at student led events, and only allow students to claim petrol money when driving to fixtures if they are taking two teammates with them to reducing the number of car journeys.

Bucks Students’ Union also updated the criteria for bids to fund societies which now state that, ‘funding will only be provided for items that are ethically sourced and environmentally friendly where possible and also where possible, be Fairtrade products’.

Missenden Abbey has taken steps since 2014 to reduce energy costs by ensuring that all areas not in use are set at the lowest settings including bedrooms, meeting rooms, offices and corridors. A regular maintenance plan has been in place since 2014 to ensure that this is in place and monthly Brand standards checks are carried out by the management. This means that any outstanding faults are dealt with in the shortest possible time. This has resulted that all faults are now completed on average within 48 hours.

Bucks has a long-track record in undertaking environmental research through a number of European and International projects relating to conservation and sustainability. Specifically, these have focused on forest production systems and research outcomes have contributed to EU and International policy changes, increased entrepreneurial capacity building and educational models. In the last year, projects have included: