Greenlines Issue number 38, October 2013
The University’s sustainability newsletter
Join the Cambridge Green Challenge This month the Environment and Energy Section went out in force to meet students new and old attending the Societies Fair. Distributing recycled and reusable sports bottles and bright green saddle covers, the team invited attendees to join the “Cambridge Green Challenge” and do their bit to make the University more sustainable. Like all organisations of this size and complexity, Cambridge has a major impact on the environment, through the energy we use, the waste we produce, the products we buy and the way in which we travel. Did you know that last year, the University: • spent £14.5 million on energy & water • used 114 million kWh electricity • emitted 77,810 tonnes CO2 • produced over 1,300 tonnes of waste As you can imagine, reducing the University’s environmental footprint is a big task, especially considering the estate is continually expanding both physically - in terms of the size - and in relation to the amount of world-leading teaching and research. There are many ways that both staff and students can get involved – boosting your employability while benefitting the University and of course, having fun. This month’s edition of Greenlines will guide you through some of the various ways you can make a positive impact during your time at the University.
StudenT Special
Inside this issue: Cambridge Green Challenge 1 NETpositive 1 Funding - Seed Award 2 Sports Centre 2 Green Impact 3 Living Lab 4
Become a NETpositive student! We all have different social, economic and environmental priorities. We all care about different things. And we all have the power and responsibility to act. NETpositive takes this into account by providing you with tailored information and opportunities to help you contribute to building a better University, community and environment on your own terms. NETpositive is a new online tool designed for all students at the University of Cambridge. It’s about reflecting on your own social, environmental and economic impacts and then taking steps to make these positive ones. It matches up your interests and priorities with a personalised action plan of positive actions that you can take during your time here at Cambridge.
employability and use your time at Cambridge for good. In 10 minutes you can: • Improve your employability – gain and record recognised skills • Explore your impact on Cambridge – what positive actions do you already take? • Learn more about opportunities to engage with Cambridge as a city and as a University. Sign up today: http://cambridge.net-positive.org.
You start by answering a few short questions about yourself and your interests which are used to generate a personalised action plan to help you to identify opportunities to get involved at home, on the estate and in the city. NETpositive is about more than just recognising where our actions may have negative effects; it’s also about celebrating and building on actions that have positive impacts. By using it, you’ll develop new skills, boost your
www.admin.cam.ac.uk/environment : environment@admin.cam.ac.uk : @CambridgeSust
Greenlines Issue number 38, Oct 2013
Fund your project on the estate At the Environment and Energy Section we are always keen to hear your ideas and support projects to make the University more sustainable - and now we have funding available for you to make your ideas a reality. The Living Lab Seed Award will provide seed funding for 3-4 environmental projects with a budget of up to £750. Ideas could range from innovative upcycling projects which act to reduce the University’s waste to landfill, to habitat restoration projects for Britain’s native species. Get creative! The winning applications will receive funding and support from the Living Lab to carry out their project proposal. This is your chance to create something positive at the University and gain experience in project management at the same time. Projects can focus on one particular aspect of sustainability or cover multiple themes. From energy efficiency,
carbon reduction, waste and travel to biodiversity, water and food systems, there is a broad spectrum of sustainability issues for you to get your teeth into. The choice of what to complete a project on is yours! The only requirements are that it must reduce the University’s environmental impacts and that all projects must be completed on or using the University estate with Cambridge students. This includes all buildings and grounds at the University (excluding the colleges). The first step is to create a proposal for your project and submit it no later than 20 January 2014. The top proposals will be asked to prepare a 5 minute presentation to a judging panel in mid-February. The winning proposals will receive funding, up to a maximum of £750, and work with the Living Lab to execute their project. Proposals will be judged on the following: • Feasibility - can this project be completed at the University and with
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what level of difficulty? • Impact - in what ways will this project reduce the environmental impact of the University and are there any wider benefits. • Project management - how will this project be implemented? How will it be sustained? • Student involvement - in what way will this project involve and benefit students? • Value for money - how do the intended benefits compare to the project costs? • Innovation - to what extent is the project a new and innovative idea for the University? This is your chance to get a greater sense of impact and involvement in the environmental practices of the University. Tell us what you would like to see and help make it a reality! To find out more information about the Living Lab Seed Award visit our website http://www.environment.admin.cam. ac.uk/getting-involved/living-lab.
Top scores for Sports Centre BRE have certified the Cambridge University Sports Centre as having achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating at post-construction stage, with a final score of 73.70%. BREEAM awards credits for different environmental features which are combined to achieve an overall score. BREEAM compliant buildings are certified on a five-point scale of Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding. BREEAM is widely recognised both in the UK and internationally, with 250,000 buildings certified. It was launched in 1990 and is revised every 1-2 years to reflect developments in technology.
A BREEAM assessment uses recognised measures of performance, which are set against established benchmarks for different Photo credit: Sir Cam building types, to evaluate a building’s specification, design, construction and use. The measures used represent a broad range of categories and criteria from energy to ecology. They include aspects related to energy and water use, the internal environment (health and well-
being), pollution, transport, materials, waste, ecology and management processes. Congratulations to everyone involved for all the effort put in to achieve this certification.
www.admin.cam.ac.uk/environment : environment@admin.cam.ac.uk : @CambridgeSust
Greenlines Issue number 38, Oct 2013
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Green Impact student opportunities Green Impact is all about participation, so if you are a student looking to take part in some great volunteering, get stuck into delivering a programme that makes real impacts, or just want to know more about making you stand out from the crowd when you graduate, you have come to the right place! Green Impact is a scheme developed by the National Union of Students (NUS) to bring staff and students together to enable and showcase positive changes in environmental practice. The scheme audits and awards departments and colleges based on their sustainability and encourages direct action in the workplace. There are several opportunities available for students to get involved, gaining and developing project management and demonstrable teamwork skills; whether it is supporting teams in taking direct action or gaining auditing experience in departments and colleges and to see what they have done. Green Impact Project Assistants You will support teams across Cambridge to make even greater impacts and may
I loved getting involved in the Green Impact programme. It was a great opportunity to see what is going on behind the scenes in departments. I was impressed by the dedication and hard work being put into the project and some inspirational ideas that have come out of it. Laura Plant Environmental Policy MPhil. well be responsible for pushing them to achieve even higher awards in the end of year Green Impact awards ceremony. Whether you are getting your own Department or College to sign up or helping a team struggling to get to grips with the actions in their workbooks, either way your skills will be valued and developed to make you really stand out from the crowd.
neccessary skills to undertake it, as well as receive a full lunch and getting a chance to meet the teams.
All Green Impact Project Assistants will receive training from NUS on sustainability issues and solutions, project and team management skills and the communication techniques that make people excited to take part in Green Impact.
Being a Green Impact Auditor is a great opportunity to gain practical skills and experience through training accredited by IEMA, and by leading your own audits of professional departments in Cambridge. Training will take place one morning in Easter term, with audits carried out that afternoon.
Introductory training takes place on Tuesday 3 December, where you will learn more about the role and gain the
I learnt a lot in the training about the complexity of sustainability issues, and the best ways to encourage environmentally friendly behaviour. It was a precious opportunity to encourage them in their efforts and feel like I was supporting their progress. At the end of the day I felt that my partner and I had done some very valuable work, and I had new confidence for future projects. Helena Laughton 2nd year Chinese and Japanese student
Have your say!
report of student attitudes towards, and skills for, sustainability.
Make your opinions and views count by taking part in the NUS HEA annual student survey.
The previous reports have showed that consistently over the last 3 years approximately 60% of HE students want to learn about sustainability, and 80% want their institutions to embed it in their operations. This was conducted with a base of 14,000 student respondents in total.
The National Union of Students and Higher Education Academy will soon be launching their new survey to inform the 4th annual
Green Impact Auditors We need to make sure that our staff teams across the University have completed all of the Green Impact criteria they think they have, and offer support and advice to those who have not.
Application To apply for either the Green Impact Project Assistant and/or Green Impact Auditor position visit http://www.environment.admin. cam.ac.uk/getting-involved/greenimpact/student-opportunities and return completed application form to greenimpact@admin.cam.ac.uk to confirm your place.
These are really important findings in the new funding landscape, where the student voice is notionally at the heart of the system. The survey will open later this week, and will close on 30th Nov 2013. We have again incentivised the surveys with a ÂŁ500 first prize and ten ÂŁ50 runner up prizes. Follow us on twitter to find out more.
www.admin.cam.ac.uk/environment : environment@admin.cam.ac.uk : @CambridgeSust
Greenlines Issue number 38, Oct 2013
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The estate is open for research If you are looking to connect sustainability to your degree, add to your CV, volunteer or manage your own project then the Living Lab has something for you. The Living Lab has many ways for you as a student to get involved and supports students who are interested in researching environmental sustainability at the University. Its goal is to improve the sustainability of the University by using the estate to test and research real world environmental problems while enhancing the educational experience of students. Over the past year students from a wide range of departments, including Engineering, Psychology and Architecture, have completed research projects for their degree with the help of the Living Lab. If you would like to try and add sustainability into your degree feel free to contact the Living Lab for support and advice. If you are interested in expanding your CV the Living Lab has volunteer opportunities that will allow you to join on going projects or create your own project to investigate the sustainability of
the University. We also have paid summer internships every summer. Keep an eye out for opportunities!
regard to implementing building energy performance monitoring solutions across the estate.”
Ibrahim Yates, CUECS President said, “I worked with Living Lab to conduct an energy conservation audit of the Institute of Criminology. It directed me to the Institute as a good case study, and got me in contact with all the right people within the University estate. I would definitely recommend it to students looking for a practical and educational extra-curricular activity.”
Contact the Living Lab at living.laboratory@admin.cam.ac.uk for advice on how to get involved.
You can even connect the opportunities like one of our interns Tom Norris from the Department of Architecture. He completed one of our summer internships last summer and is now using his work towards his final year dissertation. “‘My experience at the Living Lab has been invaluable in my research towards my final year dissertation and I hope that my resulting report will aid the future policy of the University in the field of sustainability. All the staff in the administrative service have been extremely receptive to my suggestions and the future is looking bright with
Upcoming Events Living Lab presentation 11 November, 7pm To hear more about Living Lab and opportunities for students please attend CUECS event on 11 November at 7pm in the Engineering Department, LR12.
Green Impact Surgery 12 November, 11-12 noon If you are interested in getting involved in Green Impact or are a team who wants extra support, please attend one of our monthly surgeries on 12 November at 11am in 74 Trumpington Street.
NUS HEA online survey Look out for NUS HEA annual survey of student attitudes towards, and skills for, sustainability. The survey will open later this week, and will close on 30th Nov 2013.
Green Impact Project Assistant Training 3 December AM To become a trained student volunteer and recieve training from the NUS to work with departments and colleges apply: http://www. environment.admin.cam. ac.uk/getting-involved/greenimpact/student-opportunities. Photo credit: Sir Cam
Subscription: If you’d like to receive Greenlines directly please email contact us on the details below www.admin.cam.ac.uk/environment : environment@admin.cam.ac.uk : @CambridgeSust