Go Green Universities Action Guide
- Step 1 - Meet, discuss and plan
- Step 2 - How green is your uni?
- Step 3 - Launching the campaign
- Step 4 - Keeping the pressure on
- How your University might respond
- Case study - Nottingham's Campaign
- Sample Campaign Timeline
- How to get your campaign noticed
- Sample letter to the VC
- Ask Robbie: Go Green advice page
P&P’s Climate Change Campaign Intern, Robbie, is here to answer all your Go Green questions.
Ask your question below
Our University hasn’t even got a decent recycling scheme. Wouldn’t it be better to get that first?
We already have an Environmental Manager- don’t we risk upsetting them by running this campaign?
Our University has got the 4 factors in place already. What can we do?
What are a University’s areas of biggest environmental impact?
How does Go Green fit into People & Planet’s climate change campaign?
Our VC wants to know exactly how much money the university would save by Going Green…
Our university already has an environmental policy. Does that mean we are already ‘Green’?
Our uni has just employed an energy manager. Is that the same as an environmental manager?
Our University hasn’t even got a decent recycling scheme. Wouldn’t it be better to get that first?
A decent recycling scheme is just one of the results that should come from a university adopting the 4 key factors that People & Planet’s Go Green campaign is calling for. This campaign aims to get much more than a recycling scheme in place by getting universities to address all of their environmental impacts. Visible results like a recycling scheme won’t necessarily be the first action that a university takes after adopting the 4 key factors. Invisible changes like reducing consumption might have a much bigger impact.
There are only 4 of us in our group and we think it would be easier to just write letters to the university, without involving other students.
This might be tempting, and it’s always possible that you will achieve one of the campaign aims, to successfully pressure your university to improve its environmental performance. But you’d be missing out on a huge chunk of the campaign. Running the campaign in a way that will get loads of students involved means that you will be raising awareness and empowering them to take effective action.
By running a stall to get students to sign the petition and wear the ribbon you’ll probably find that there are other people who want to join you in running the campaign, so instead of it being just the 4 of you, the numbers will grow. You can get other people involved when running a stall, by inviting the creative arts, juggling society or samba band to help draw attention to your stall. For ideas see ‘How to get yourcampaign noticed’.
The 4 key campaign demands sound a bit, er, dull. Do you really think we can get lots of students involved?
Yes and no!
Yes, you will be able to get lots of students involved in this campaign as students are generally sympathetic towards ‘green’ issues. P&P groups like Warwick, EastAnglia and Reading have had loads of success in running inclusive, fun and creative campaigns.
‘No’, I agree you probably won’t be able to get loads of people involved if you try and run the campaign focussing on the 4 key demands!
This is why we have simplified the campaign message overall to ‘Go Green’. And this means improving a university’s environmental performance in all of its operations, so recycling more, sending less waste to landfill, purchasing green products, eliminating unnecessary consumption and reducing reliance on the car. It is these things that students will probably think of when they hear the phrase ‘Go Green’. The thing that you need to explain to students is that all of these operational changes will only happen effectively once the 4 key factors are in place.
For more detail on the 4 keydemands, see the Going Greenreport.
How much will it cost the University to Go Green?
This will vary from university to university depending on what’s already in place. While hiring a new member of staff and implementing some changes will cost money, environmental improvements can often save money.
For example:
- The University of Hertfordshire expects to save around £3 million and 44,000 tonnes of CO2 over the length of a 25-year contract for a new accommodation block.
- Edinburgh University expects to save up to £100,000 on equipment running costs and associated fuel expenditure through a programme of building audits.
- On a smaller scale, Leeds Metropolitan University reduced the weight of the 2003 prospectus, saving thousands of pounds from printing costs, postage costs, and reducing paper use by five tonnes.
Another way of looking at the question is to ask what the global environmental costs are in terms of species loss and devastating climate change. Your University has a moral responsibility to do everything it can to reduce its negative environmental impact, and even if that costs money, it’s still imperative that they do it!
How does wrapping a length of crepe paper round a building make the world a better place?! I think it’s wasteful!
The aim of wrapping a length of crepe paper around a building is to get the attention of students, staff and the decision makers.
When charities want to get people to donate they have to spend money - on staff, advertising, and so on. It’s the same with campaigning. To get our message out there we need to communicate in a range of ways from the web to print to radio to running stalls on campus. The long term benefits outweigh the short term environmental costs. In terms of the campaign materials from People & Planet, the support office is supplied with 100% green electricity and we use recycled paper only.
If you come up with an eco-friendly idea that works at your university then contact the P&P Support Office so that we can let other groups know.
We already have an Environmental Manager - don’t we risk upsetting them by running this campaign?
Hopefully they will welcome the campaign! In running the campaign you are saying just how important you think that their job is, and that the University needs to take seriously how it manages its environmental impacts. It’s probably worth having a quick chat with them so that they know it is happening and to see how you can work together.
Our University has got the 4 factors in place already. What can we do?
The question then is: is the University achieving high environmental performance? The key way to assess this is whether or not the University has got targets in place. Examples of targets are in the Going Green report including Leeds Metropolitan’s targets of a 5% reduction in CO2 emissions, a 5% reduction in water and energy consumption over two years, and 25% reduction in waste to landfill by 2006. Targets should be publicly available, and if they’re not, there’s your first campaign demand. Contact the P&P office for advice.
What are a University’s areas of biggest environmental impact?
This will vary from university to university but in terms of climate change and emissions of greenhouse gases, transport and energy will usually be the two areas where a university will have by far the biggest impact on our environment.
How does Go Green fit into People & Planet’s climate change campaign?
Our universities are responsible for vast quantities of emissions of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. Energy and transport will often be the major ways that a university contributes to emissions of greenhouse gases. Implementing a sustainable transport strategy, energy efficiency measures and using 100% green electricity will significantly cut a university’s emissions. Go Green fits into P&P’s climate change campaigning on Stop Climate Chaos which calls on the Government and individuals to make pledges to reduce their carbon emissions.
Why does this campaign target our local universities? Wouldn’t it be better if everyone focussed on one central body?
It’s an interesting question, and there are a few reasons why we think the best strategy now is to target local university authorities:
- Local universities respond to local pressure. It puts real pressure on a university as it has got to answer to its key ‘customers’, in other words, students. This was clearly demonstrated in the P&P campaign to get our universities to switch to green electricity. The number using green electricity increased from 3 to 59, and the larger switches (ie greater than 50%) were at universities where there was an active student campaign.
- When LSE recently won their Go Green campaign by getting an environmental manager appointed, the uni authorities admitted that it was the direct pressure put on them by the campaign that forced them consider and agree to the Go Green demands.
- The case study from NottinghamP&P sets out how they effectively piled on the pressure and won the campaign, and the differences it has made at their own local level.
- There isn’t a central body that it makes sense for us to target now.
- Our research indicates that we will be able to make the biggest difference through pursuing this strategy. If our analysis changes then we will change the strategy.
Our VC wants to know exactly how much money the university would save by Going Green…
Until the university conducts an environmental review and sets specific targets for improving environmental performance, the potential savings to be made by Going Green won’t be clear. It’s really up to the university to do these calculations — it’s not fair to expect you to do this sort of research! However, universities have all sorts of competing demands on their resources, so try using some case studies to show the possible benefits. The report, Going Green, and the Go Green Action Guide both have examples of good environmental practice that you can use. As well as the financial arguments, stress the moral imperative: if the university doesn’t do all it can to lower its environmental impact now, what costs are they storing up for tomorrow’s students?
Our university already has an environmental policy. Does that mean we are already ‘Green’?
A good environmental policy is critical to Going Green. It demonstrates the university’s commitment to improving environmental performance. Unfortunately, some environmental policies are weak. You need to find out if your uni’s policy is worth the paper it’s written on.
- Is it publicly available? If not, then there’s no chance of objective public assessment of the policy.
- Does it set specific targets and processes to meet those targets?
- Are there any ‘get out’ clauses which only promise environmental action ‘if financially viable’?
The Going Green report gives more detail of what an effective environmental policy will include. Of course, however good the policy, your uni can’t claim to be Green until it’s met the other three campaign demands. Without senior support, full time staff and a comprehensive environmental review, that policy is likely to be gathering dust in a cupboard!
Our uni has just employed an energy manager. Is that the same as an environmental manager?
Energy is just one area where universities have environmental impact. The job of an environmental manager includes a lot more than that of an energy manager. Crucially, the environmental manager has an oversight of all the university’s impacts. They can therefore drive a strategy for meeting environmental targets laid out in the environmental policy.
My university only has 5,000 students. Is it necessary to have a full time member of staff like at a university with 20,000 people?
P&P’s research is clear: a full time staff member is the best option for any institution wanting to improve environmental performance. A dedicated member of staff will bring to your uni the expertise needed to really make a difference. It’s vital that the responsibility for environmental management is fomalised, rather than simply taken on by individuals with personal commitment and interest. Royal Holloway, with 5,500 students, have hired a sustainability officer, working full time on environment management. At bigger institutions, more than one member of staff may be appropriate. At Sheffield there is an environmental management team of four staff members.A serious commitment to improving environmental performance will mean that any university needs at least one person dedicated to overseeing the process, with responsibility for environmental management written into their job description.
At our uni we’ve already got 100% green electricity and a really good recycling system. Can we go any greener?
It’s great that your uni’s taking steps towards lowering it’s environmental impacts, but if they’re serious about it, then they need to adopt the Go Green demands. Why? Well, you might have 100% green electricity at the moment, but when the contract comes up for renewal there’s nothing to stop them switching back again. Go Green’s all about a long-term institutional commitment to higher environmental performance. If you win this campaign then students in five years won’t be struggling with the same old battles to keep the recycling scheme and green electricity contract. On the plus side, it sounds like there’s someone at your uni who’s keen on improving environmental performance — if you find out who they are they could be a really good ally in your campaign.
Why are we lobbying the university instead of the government to set universal standards for universities to adhere to?
Universities are independent bodies, and make their own decisions about policies and staff. Local campaigns can make a real difference — look what Nottingham P&P managed to achieve!
We’ve collected signatures and written to the VC but the uni’s taken no action — what can we do next?
Go Green asks universities to make significant changes to their systems and policies. This isn’t going to happen overnight, so it’s up to you to keep up the pressure. Have a look at the campaign timeline in the Action Guide and use it to plan your campaign strategy for the next few months. Use the new leaf petitions to get even more students on board and don’t give up — you can do it!
If you’ve got any other campaign questions you want answered then please email Robbie
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