The University has successfully achieved the EcoCampus Silver Award; a national accreditation for Environmental Management.
External auditors spent a full day on site to conduct a document review and site visit of our Environmental Management System (EMS). This included the review of procedures, objectives and some interviews with key stakeholders to hear about how Environmental Management and Sustainability are embedded throughout our organisation.
The University has demonstrated that it meets the requirements of the Silver Phase clauses of EcoCampus. We only have 8 opportunities for improvement, which will be really useful as we build on our current EMS.
We are working to achieve an ISO140001 accredited EMS is to reduce our impact on the environment; by both minimising or negating any negative impact, and also identifying and building on opportunities for positive interaction. This includes the integration of Education for Sustainable Development into course delivery.
We have already seen fantastic examples of sustainability being embedded in teaching such as; illustration students designing posters to increase awareness of plastics in oceans, sustainable architecture projects, and social marketing projects looking at increasing sustainable behaviours.
Key aims for the EMS going forward will include:
Waste management
- Increasing the proportion of recycling produced, in comparison to general waste
- Ensuring we gather accurate documentation to ensure compliance with waste legislation
Energy efficiency
- Reduce the amount of energy consumed across the Estate
- Alignment of the Environmental Management System with our Energy Management System (ISO 50001)
Emergency Spill Response
- Implement a process to deal with environmental incidents, should they ever occur
- Train key staff in how to respond to an environmental incident
The next steps for the development of the University’s EMS will involve the implementation of central waste management processes, promotion of our environmental objectives, and further development of Education for Sustainable Development. We will be working towards the ‘Gold’ level of the EcoCampus audit in Summer 2019, with the hope to gain full accreditation to ISO14001 by Autumn 2019.