Sustainability

Smart House launch

30 November 2022 at BT’s Adastral Park

The project is a collaborative research facility that aims to demonstrate the regional capacity for designing, building and occupying sustainable homes. Partners in the project include the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and BT and it coincides with the launch of the Suffolk Sustainability Institute. The DigiTech Smart House will utilise systems to evaluate the performance of sustainable materials, low carbon energy and water consumption addressing two pressing concerns - climate change and the impact of the construction industry has on this and the UK housing crisis through chronic shortage of affordable homes and will be used as a ‘living laboratory’ and demonstrator by the University of Suffolk and a range of third-party innovation partners. The building will be easy to maintain and comfortable to be in offering a vision for a sustainable way of life that enhances lifestyles and acts as a template for future domestic homes. Professor Darryl Newport, Professor of Energy and Sustainable Development and Director of the Suffolk Sustainability Institute, said “The launch of the Suffolk Sustainability Institute and the opening of our new Smart House Living Laboratory at the University of Suffolk is an important milestone in our journey to addressing some of the major global sustainability challenges. “Our research experts will use their knowledge and understanding to work with our local, regional and international partners and collaborators to deliver innovative solutions for a cleaner greener future.” Mohammad Dastbaz, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said, “The University of Suffolk is a strong advocate of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), working closely with BT, New Anglia LEP, our county and borough councils as well as significant energy companies in our region including EDF. “We hope that our collaborative research and knowledge exchange work will contribute to our region’s ambition for transition to a zero-carbon economy as well as the University’s key objective of carbon neutrality for scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.” Lisa Perkins, Adastral Park & Research Realisation Director, at BT added, “Adastral Park is home to a thriving innovation ecosystem, comprising BT, Openreach and 150 businesses in the Innovation Martlesham tech cluster.

“It has long been home for the invention and delivery of impactful technology solutions that make a real difference to society. The ecosystem has been recently enriched with the presence of the University of Suffolk’s DigiTech Centre, with the aim of creating opportunities for research, education and training. “The Smart House is another opportunity that we have co-launched which will enable exciting research into sustainability linked with smart technology. We are excited to see what further purposeful solutions may come from this.”

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability Reporting 2021/22 — How Did We Do?

Our Annual Sustainability report provides an opportunity for the University to communicate its strategic performance against our sustainability plans and key performance indicators against baseline data, providing transparency and accountability for that performance and an analysis of the activities and initiatives that have put us there. This process is a critical tool for organisational evaluation, enabling us to track our progress and make this journey available to internal and external stakeholders.

With the ink still drying on the report for the Academic year 2021/22, just how did we do?

Sustainability continues to remain very much in the foreground of our University Estates Strategy, with the ongoing energy crisis dominating cost variations, supply availability and contract service provision costs. Tackling these challenges has led to the development of a strong strategic direction that will bring sustainability into the centre of our infrastructure, operations and procurement decisions, building campus resilience, whilst simultaneously enhancing teaching and learning, and the student and staff experience. The Sustainability team has also been working closely with the Digital directorate, as we begin to define and derive insights into space, place and what it means to be a University in a post digital landscape. Discussions around, and considerations of, Smart Building technologies, critical upgrades to our Building Management Systems and associated infrastructure are all tools that will support us in moving more rapidly toward decarbonisation through energy and cost reduction, and have dominated much of the later part of the reporting year. Post Covid-19 we have seen an increase in campus footfall, and some encouraging continued reduction in carbon emissions. We were also delighted from April 2022 to include the newly refurbished Health and Wellbeing building into our building portfolio. The University continues to perform well in several key areas implementing further energy efficiency projects, waste initiatives, procurement and design policy amendments and strong engagement with our campus community, external partners and national bodies.

The headlines of the University’s Sustainability Report 2021/22 include:

„ Approximately 90% of our electricity is now procured from verified renewable energy suppliers. „ A CO2e emission reduction of 76% against the baseline, exceeding our 55% reduction annual KPI target as we move towards decarbonisation. „ Combined systems across campus have generated some 41,293kWh of solar electricity during the reporting period, representing a saving of 8,766 kg CO2e. „ The Digitech Smart House has reached the final stage of completion and is being kitted out with sensors and smart projects to inform sustainable materials and living research. „ Launch of an EV lease salary sacrifice car. „ A waste recycling rate of 90.18%, awarding us with a top ten position for waste and recycling within the People and Planet

University League. „ Furniture doctor program to ensure ease of repair and extension of life cycle. „ Think Before You Print Campaign, saving 610.2kg of CO2e. „ In celebration of the Queens’ Jubilee we planted seven trees near the Atrium, chosen specifically for their ability to provide pollinator corridors and student learning opportunities. „ We had over 147 student participants across a wide range of environmental 12 events.

If you would like to know more about our achievements over the year, please do take a deep dive into the Annual Report available on our Sustainability web page.

SUSTAINABILITY

Let’s Talk Travel

Cars and Climate

The transport sector is reported to be the second largest greenhouse gas emitting activity in the UK and is responsible for approximately 24% of emissions. The linkages between poor air quality and transport emissions are well reported upon. Most local authorities implement an Air Quality Action Plan to help monitor and calculate the air quality within town centres; Ipswich Borough Council is no exception and has an obligation to assess areas where pollutants may exceed desirable levels.

These assessments are paramount in reducing the health risks associated with air pollution and help shape the traffic management of areas around Ipswich identified as producing excessive Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulates (PM2.5 and PM10). Air quality monitoring stations are located close to the University, measuring not only our exposure, but also our contribution to this environmental impact.

How are we driving the change?

With the University’s goal of achieving NetZero by 2050, the University of Suffolk Travel Plan is being implemented to encourage sustainable modes of travel, and aims to reduce the reliance on petrol and diesel vehicles. The plan seeks to reduce the contribution of carbon emissions in the local area and with the support of the Transport Working Group, enhance the availability of, and access to, greener travel. The Travel Action Plan helps to steer objectives for reducing local emissions and movement towards the decarbonisation of our campus areas, improve sustainable access for employees, staff, visitors, contractors, and couriers, and to promote greener, healthier travel engagement. As part of our Travel and Action Plans, the University is now proud to offer a new staff benefit that will allow staff to take advantage of a car EV lease salary sacrifice scheme with Tusker Cars, driving down costs and carbon emissions.

Tusker Cars Staff Benefit Scheme

Tusker Cars is an award-winning carbon neutral company who provide company and salary sacrifice car schemes to UK organisations in both the public and private sector. The University of Suffolk and Tusker Cars have partnered together to provide staff with a salary sacrifice scheme, to allow staff to lease electric cars. Employees can drive a brand new, fully insured and maintained car for a fixed monthly amount from their salary. The benefit of the salary sacrifice scheme includes a brand-new car built to specification, fully comprehensive insurance, annual servicing, routine maintenance and more.

More information about the scheme can be found on our Tusker Electric Vehicles web page.

Sustainability Team

University of Suffolk