Submitted by Grainne Kennedy on Thu, 2018-12-13 16:02
2019 has been designated as the Year of Green Action in the UK. This follows 2018, a year where environmental issues were rarely out of the news; “single-use” was the Collin’s Dictionary word of the year, our collective environmental conciousness was raised and everyone from David Attenborough to the cast of Love Island did their bit to reduce plastic waste. For many in the environmental sector, 2018 felt like a turning point, and here in the University there were many who joined in in the effort to improve the environmental performance of the University. Here are just some of the highlights of the year.
Lent - Sustainable problem solving
The year started with a focus on innovation in the research that we do and consideration of sustainability in how we do our research. Spotlight on Sustainable Research month in February had many events and we learned about everything from behaviour change research to reducing energy in our laboratory operations.
In this term we extended our learning further as students and staff looked for solutions to reduce the University’s travel emissions in the Cambridge Carbon Challenge. Finally, all staff had an opportunity to learn about sustainability in the University through the new online sustainability induction.
Figure 1: Dr Cameron Brick speaking at a Spotlight on Sustainable Research behaviour change event
Easter – Bikes and biodiversity
As the evenings got longer, we took the opportunity to look at travel options in the University and to encourage active travel where possible. During Spotlight on Travel month many departments ran events, promoted travel initiatives and helped their staff to access support.
In Easter term too, the University was able to extend its biodiversity work; establishing a baseline for the health of all habitats on the University’s estate, as well as holding a ‘citizen science’ swift survey involving staff and students. In 2019 we hope to building on this work and engage all staff and students through the University’s first Spotlight on Biodiversity month – mark your diaries for April!
Figure 2: A nature walk for the green team at Maths
Summer – A season of firsts and celebrations
The University hosted its first Repair Café in early June, staff and students came to have their items repaired by volunteers from Cambridge Carbon Footprint and to learn how they could keep their belongings in good condition for longer. Later in the month there was another first as Eddington hosted it’s first cycling festival. Hundreds visited the site for a fun, active day for the family.
46 Green Impact teams received their awards at a packed ceremony on 21 June at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences. The event was made all the more special as teams were recognised for their work by Vice Chancellor, Stephen Toope.
The awards continued in August as the University Catering Service’s (UCS) efforts to reduce waste were recognised at a national level by TUCO, the University Catering Organisation. The UCS have since gone on to put in place a programme to remove single-use plastic from their sales, with the help of the student campaign #OneLessCambridge.
Michaelmas – New bus services and electricity schemes
In Michaelmas term the University’s bus service, the Universal, was extended to operate later and to deliver a new service on Sundays. The service has gone from strength to strength and we look forward to seeing increased passenger numbers in 2019.
In this term some departments were introduced to a trial year of the Electricity Devolution Programme; a new programme which aims to give departments a financial incentive to reduce their electricity consumption.
As reported in last month’s Greenlines, a busy month of activities took place during Spotlight on Waste month.
It has indeed been a very busy year, but we are already looking forward to extending this work in 2019 and building on the enthuasiasm of an ever-growing number of staff and students who are committed to making the University of Cambridge as sustainable as it can be.