Make a 'Green Impact' in 2018

According to the Carbon Trust, encouraging staff to adopting greener behaviours can lead to savings of up to 10% on energy costs. For the University of Cambridge this would mean a saving of around £1.4million! But what actions can you and your colleagues take to reduce your environmental impact at work, and what effect does it have?

First, the stats on our impact on the environment. The annual carbon emissions produced from the University’s energy use would fill Wembley stadium 48 times, our annual waste output weighs about as much as four London Eyes, and our annual water use could fill 10,000 large tanker trucks – numbers so large, they seem almost insurmountable! The University is a large organisation however, with over 11,000 staff. So what is the impact if we were to share this impact between each of us? Well, the average carbon emissions from each employee’s energy use would fill a hot air balloon, their waste would weigh as much as a Smart Car, and their water use would fill around 9 bathtubs – suddenly things sound a bit more manageable!

So what can staff do to make a green impact? It just so happens that the University has run a behaviour change programme called ‘Green Impact’ for the last five years! Last year, staff and students taking part in Green Impact, completed 2,376 sustainability ‘actions’ in their places of work and study; ranging from simple actions like putting “switch off” notices on equipment, to assigning responsibility for good environmental behaviours in job descriptions.

What impact did this have? Well, it’s difficult to identify the precise energy and resource-saving impact of behaviour change initiatives; however the Faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages managed to improve their building’s ‘operational energy rating’ from 69 to 55 – equivalent to a roughly 9% reduction in energy consumption, over 3 years of participation in Green Impact. This was achieved through simple changes in behaviour and s efficiency measures; there were no changes to the fabric or operation of the building.

Recent research carried out at the University of Edinburgh has backed this up, highlighting the impact of simple behaviour changes through a study measuring the energy savings in a before/after trial within two labs and offices. Simply providing information to staff about energy saving measures, by putting up posters and giving presentations, coincided with a measured reduction in energy use per person of between 12 and 24%!

Why not see what difference you can make where you work this year? The Environment and Energy section are on hand to answer any questions you might have and to help you get started. Teams who are taking part in Green Impact in February will also be entered into a special prize draw as part of a 'bonus month' encouraging extra action. Get in touch with the Green Impact team for more details about taking part.