greenlines: issue 29
DESCRIPTION
The University's sustainability newsletter.TRANSCRIPT
Issue number 29 December 2012
ISSN : 2048-2442 (Online)
Greenlines A sustainability newsletter for the University
Energy and Carbon Reduction Project
The Department of Engineering was the initial pilot Department and
has been a front runner in proving
academic excellence whilst saving
money and resources.
Engineering is planning an ‘energy
roof’ for part of the Department,
which will provide energy using
photovoltaic panels as well as a
research opportunity for
Engineering’s Energy Conservation
Group.
The anticipated system will have an
estimated annual saving of 61,188
kWh, equating to a carbon saving of
33 tonnes of CO2.
The Department of Chemistry is working on air flow management of
fume cupboards.
The trial involves the installation of
Zone Presence Sensors on existing
fume hoods to optimise the air-flow
through fume cupboards and
minimise the amount of air-
conditioned laboratory air that is
exhausted out of the building. It is
expected that this new air flow
management system could
significantly reduce energy
consumption and have widespread
application across the University.
The University Library has begun to look into lighting upgrades for
corridor and public areas, and
investigate ways of reducing energy
use in the archives which require
strict controls of temperature and
humidity. There are implications for
T he Energy and Carbon
Reduction Project (ECRP) is
the University’s programme to
reduce carbon emissions and
energy use.
With a £2m annual budget to
implement Cambridge’s Carbon
Management Plan, the ECRP is
running pilot projects in 5 high energy
-using departments.
The objective has been to focus on
energy management initiatives that
achieve energy reduction measures
whilst not adversely affect the
University’s research and teaching.
Pilot departments are already using
up to 18% less energy, comparing
November 2012 to the same month in
2010.
Successful strategies or working
practices that are identified will be
rolled out across the wider University.
What initiatives are in progress in
the pilot departments?
The examples below are designed to
give you a flavour of what is
happening in the pilot departments.
Subsequent issues of Greenlines will
take a closer look at each
Department to keep you abreast of
further developments.
other libraries and museums across
the University. Cambridge Retrofit1
and Living Lab2 are developing a
heating survey and audit of the
Library to assess the heating loss of
the building. This survey will
produce potential changes the
Library can apply to save heat and
energy.
The Department of Plant
Sciences has been trialling LED lighting in one of its plant growth
facilities to research whether the
University can achieve the savings
from changing fluorescent lamps for
lower-energy LED alternatives,
whilst maintaining a sufficient light
spectrum range to enable the plant
growth required for research.
Results so far have been positive.
There will be potential for lessons to
be shared with the Sainsbury
Laboratory, which will be bringing a
further 300m² of growing space
under glass.
The Gurdon Institute held a 3-day exhibition to promote energy
awareness, and launched an inter-
lab energy reduction competition.
The Brand Lab reduced its energy
use by 52.8% winning a cash prize
and setting the challenge for the
other labs.
The Gurdon plans to continue to
work on embedding best energy
practices into the Institute culture
and to continue to motivate and
inspire individuals.
Energy and Carbon Reduction Project 1
Switch-off Week 1
Electrical recycling 2
Have a sustainable Christmas 2
Sustainability at West Cambridge site 3
From inside a Department 4
Environmental Office, Estate Management
University of Cambridge
74 Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1RW
Tel: 01223 337770
E-mail: [email protected]
Follow the University’s Environmental Team: @CambridgeSust
Inside this issue
Now
Monthly
Switch-off Week is coming
18th—24th February 2013
“Switch on to switching off”
The week will be full of events to raise awareness and encourage
staff and students to switch off lights and equipment when they
are not needed and to promote energy conservation generally.
Please send your ideas to
1 https://sites.google.com/site/cambridgeretrofit/ 2 see Greenlines issue 28
Page 2
Greenlines
Electrical equipment recycling event
T he Environmental Office
and Cambridge City
Council are pleased to announce
the second annual waste
electrical and electronic
equipment (WEEE) collection
event on the Sidgwick Site, 14-
15 March 2013.
Last year's event collected 37.62
tonnes over 3 days including
everything from mobile phones to
freezers. There were some
unusual methods of delivery
(including the coupé sports car that
had to make a few trips), and
several Departments and Colleges E-recycling event 2012
Have a sustainable Christmas!
C hristmas, a time of goodwill
and celebration, has
quickly become one of the most
unsustainable times of year.
That is why Greenlines has
compiled a list of top tips to help
you ensure that your Christmas
doesn’t cost the Earth!
It is estimated that English
households will throw out an extra
3 million tonnes - five bags of
rubbish per family - over the festive
period. Much of this will be waste
that could have been recycled.
Reduce your waste this Christmas
by using all the recycling
mechanisms available.
You can recycle your office cards,
wrapping paper and packaging
through the University’s mixed
recycling scheme.
Recycling your trees is a really
good way to divert items from the
landfill and an opportunity to help
provide biomass for nutrient
depleted soils.
In Cambridge you can recycle your
trees one of three ways. Cut it up
and put it in your green bin, with the
lid fully closed. The council will not
collect trees left next to bins or
sticking out of them.
Alternatively you can take it to
Cherry Hinton Hall car park
between Boxing Day and 20th
January (trees can be whole).
Finally, if it is convenient you could
take your tree to a recycling centre,
the one off the A10 near Milton is
the closest.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and
a sustainable new year!
Top tips for a sustainable
Christmas
Real trees are better, as long
as you consider where and
how they have been grown.
Buy organic food and compost
left over vegetable peelings.
Defrost your freezer before
Christmas so it works more
efficiently and has more space
for leftovers.
Buy your fruit and veg loose
and reduce excess plastic
packaging.
Buy local and buy less.
Turn your heating down 1ͦ C not
only saving money and carbon,
but also giving everyone an
excuse to wear their Christmas
jumpers!
Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
made good use of the opportunity
for a free clear-out.
This is an open event and we
welcome everyone, whether
associated with the University of
Cambridge or not.
Anything with a plug or batteries will
be collected, so have a good
rummage through your cupboards
to see what you can find.
All items will be treated in the UK to
recover their contained metals and
plastics. The recovered materials
will then be sent on to
manufacturers and used to make
new products.
If you have any questions or
comments about this event please
contact
Festive Switch-off
Before leaving for the
festive break, please:
switch off ALL electrical
appliances that don’t
need to be left on,
switch off ALL lights,
turn down your radiator
do not leave anything
on standby.
Page 3
Issue 29
Sustainability at West Cambridge Site
Bats and badgers will continue
to be regular visitors to West
Cambridge thanks to the efforts
of Estate Management to
maintain high levels of
biodiversity during the site’s
expansion.
After 15 years of work, the third of
four phases of the development of
the West Cambridge site is nearing
completion. Ever since the early
park and cycle scheme, Estate
Management has taken every care
to reduce the impact on the
surrounding environment.
This includes the preservation of a
bat ‘highway’, a row of trees for bats
to negotiate through the city at
night, and the construction of a
badger ‘hotel’, an artificial set built
in woodland. Peanut butter and
treacle treats with indigestible
yellow pellets, left out for the
badgers, were used to trace their
movement and identify the best
location for the set.
Consultation with the English
Nature and RPS Group plc has led
to the increased cultivation of native
plant species over the West
Cambridge site, providing the best
cover and food for indigenous
wildlife and boosting biodiversity.
Alongside this, a remarkable water
engineering project has been
completed protecting surround
water bodies from pollution caused
by run-off and flooding.
Underneath the car parks adjacent
to Charles Babbage Rd, lie huge
storage tanks, each with capacity
for 1,200 m3 of water. These tanks
link either to a swale or a large
attenuation lake; the whole system
is capable of maintaining natural
order in the case of 1-in-a-100
rainfall events, plus an extra 30% to
account for climate change.
The ditch, called a ‘swale’, helps
prevents pollutants from reaching
streams. This swale has also been
constructed, to allow surface water
to collect in shallow pools, slowly
percolating through underlying soil,
while specially selected plants filter
soluble pollutants and absorb
nutrients.
With time the swale will mature, and
the pool will be hidden from view by
thick foliage, leaving only the sound
of trickling water to betray its
presence.
The grasses, reeds and other flora
around the swale will attract pond
life and make it one of the most
biodiverse spots in the 16 hectare
site.
Trees, shrubs and conservation
grasses, will, once matured, make
an attractive border round the new
lake. Approximately 45,000 m3 of
soil was removed in the
construction of the lake, making up
a large part of the total 70,000 m3 of
material excavated during phase 3.
Of this, only a tiny proportion that
was contaminated and unsuitable
for reuse was removed from the
site. The rest of the material was
reapportioned within the site for the
construction of new carriageways,
car parks and other features,
reducing hugely the carbon footprint
of the development and saving an
estimated £3million.
On a sadder note, the planned
plantation of ash trees has had to
be cancelled after the on-going Ash
dieback crisis. This will be replaced
by alternative native trees.
Phase four of the infrastructure
project will facilitate the further
development of a six major plots for
academic and commercial use.
If you wish to visit the site, take a
cycle up the Coton cyclepath from
the intersection of Adams Road
and Wilberforce Road. The new lake, part of a sustainable water management system at West Cambridge site
Page 4
Greenlines — A sustainability newsletter for the University
doing something, we should find that
we can actually make a difference in
terms of reducing energy
consumption – initially, by doing
some relatively small things,
such as switching off lights where
possible and turning off computers
after work.
How have you found the whole
experience? After I started doing
this, I suddenly realised that I am
actually getting more 'green', and
green-aware, than before. So, for
example, I now routinely take those
small actions, like switching off
unnecessary lights. It’s a small
example of the results of Green
Impact.
To find out more about how you
can get involved with Green
Impact please contact
Upcoming Events
Green Impact Project Assistant
training
Student volunteers taking part in
Green Impact as Green Impact
Project Assistants have the
opportunity to train with the NUS
in late January. If you think this is
of interest to your students please
contact
Switch-off Week
18-24th February 2013 is the
University wide Switch-off Week.
Get in touch with
you have any ideas or wish to
plan anything.
Electrical recycling
Anything with a plug or batteries
can be recycled for free at
Sidgwick Site 14-15 March 2013.
Start rummaging!
See you next year
T his month, Greenlines
interviewed Dr. Xin Yang, a
Research Associate in the
Centre for Atmospheric Science,
to find out more about Green
Chem, the Department of
Chemistry’s Green Impact team.
How did you hear about Green
Impact? I heard about the initiative
a month ago via an email circulated
by a colleague.
What attracted you to take part?
My research field is about
atmosphere and environment, and
my PhD study was about terrestrial
carbon cycling, thus I know how
important reducing carbon
emissions and managing energy
consumption is for our planet. Thus,
when I heard about the Green
Impact scheme, I thought I could do
something useful. So, I volunteered
setting up a team and to organise
the team meetings.
How did you go about creating a
team? It's much easier to start with
close colleagues rather than simply
emailing everyone. I got excellent
support from my supervisor
(Professor John Pyle) and my
colleagues. Almost half of the team
members are close colleagues.
They were able to give the first and
direct support. Now, more and more
people in the department know
about our Green Impact team and
are joining in. But as you know
Chemistry is a big department, so I
realised that if I really want to do
something I would have to get
support from senior members. To
my delight, after I circulated my first
announcement of the Green Impact
team to the department, I received
a supporting email from Professor
Jeremy Sanders, Pro-Vice-
Chancellor for Institutional Affairs.
Now we have in the team a senior
member of staff, Professor Michele
Vendruscolo, to coordinate our
efforts with those of the Energy and
Carbon Reduction Project
committee, which he chairs in
Chemistry.
How was the first meeting? Our
first meeting was actually very
good. We set up our team's goals
and discussed strategies on how to
complete each of the criteria. After
the meeting I felt more confident
that we can really achieve
something.
Have your team discussed
goals? Our team goal is first to
ensure the first accreditation, which
means a Bronze award. We do not
want to be too ambitious initially, as
this is our first attempt and none of
us have much experience of doing
this kind of thing. Achieving
accreditation will mean a lot; it will
be an excellent first step.
What support have you
received? Leila McElvenney, who
is coordinating Green Impact in the
Environmental Office, has given us
enormous help, from providing
advice on how to set up the group
to answering the many question
raised. For example, our
departmental newsletter editor will
publish an article about Green
Impact in the next Chem@CAM
and Leila supplied all the necessary
material.
Why do you think other
departments should get
involved? Firstly, it is not very
difficult to do, and secondly, by
From inside a Department– Department of Chemistry
Dr. Xin Yang