Young and Camila Egusquiza

University Land Management: The Stats on what UWA is doing for the Environment

AiDeen gAllAgher is a final-year JD student reporting to you straight from quarantine CAmilA egusquizA is an overly anxious South American student, trying to make a career in journalism

‘Climate anxiety’ is a condition now officially recognised by the Australian Medical Association. Thankfully (or not, I am yet to decide) I now know that my persistent environmental existential dread is a nearuniversally shared experience. Whilst the turbulent era of snap lock downs and ‘Mark McGowan swooning’ has been a whirlwind distraction from the environmental emergency, it still pays to consider policy other than how speedily a premier can shut the border to NSW.

Arguably, all organisations and institutions should be turning their mind to their individual contributions for the sake of greater cultural and social momentum. To keep you up to date, we will summarise UWA’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy, which is divided into five main points.

Biodiversity

UWA plans to enhance flora and fauna on campus to preserve and protect green space. To do so, they aspire to establish an ‘urban forest’. An urban forest is a collection of trees growing within a city, and to be considered as such the land needs to be at least 30% canopy cover.

To achieve this status, UWA has committed to green landscaping, tree assessments, organic pest removal, and strategic design for all new campus developments.

Energy

Currently, UWA’s emissions sit at 38,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The university’s goal is to be an energy-neutral campus, which translates to net-zero emissions, by 2025.

This is set to be achieved through “Initiatives based around the themes of energy efficiency, on-site renewables generation, and off-site renewables procurement.”

UWA has also emphasised becoming a virtual power plant or microgrid, supported by distributed energy generation and storage.

Recycling and waste

The primary waste goals include an overall reduction by 10%, plus increasing the diversion from landfill to up to 70%, by 2025.

The desired strategies are based on reduction, diversion, circularity, innovation and management. Some of the initiatives they plan to undertake include:

• Food waste reduction programs, such as

OzHarvest • Increased uptake of compostable packaging, especially to replace single-use • Creation of a ‘circular economy’ index for the University (i.e. design and/or use

of reusable products) • Collaboration with other institutions that focus on sustainability for research and innovation

Water

The university hopes to reduce total water use from all sources by 10%, plus reduce scheme water usage by 20%, by 2025.

Such a reduction is to be implemented by establishing initiatives based around usage efficiency, collection from alternate sources, innovation, and management. This includes such things as collaborating with the school of environmental sciences, and better rainwater capture technology.

Climate resilience

When it comes to changes in the climate, UWA’s goal is to identify direct risks that could affect campus life and develop plans for action and accountability by 2022. The risks identified include reduction in total humidity, increased rainfall, and increased storm severity. To address Perth’s changing weather patterns, “UWA has completed a Climate Change Risk Review identifying likely climate change scenarios and developed a risk matrix classifying specific risks.”

Action!

The action plan, following the assessment of the several criteria, is supposed to be considered within future campus planning and design.

Being aware of the plans and strategies our university has set will not just help us to understand how to care for and protect the land we study on; it is also a mechanism for us to keep those accountable on notice, and to make sure that they are following through with their commitment to help build a sustainable future.

All this information, and further reading can be found in the Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2020 document on the UWA website.