Tag Archives: environment and energy team

Save Money with Energy Saving Tips from the BU Sustainability Team

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energy_bulbBeing a student is fantastic: cheap drinks; lie-ins all day; no parents; no bedtimes; all night parties – but the Uni experience can often be hindered by a common phase heard around campus……..

“I’m skint!”

One of the major drawbacks of living with your mates in your own house or flat at Uni is the need to start paying energy bills for the first time. Unfortunately, electricity and gas really are that expensive and the more you pay for them, the less money you have to spend on books, pens and folders/kebabs, pints and burgers (depending on your Uni experience).

BU Sustainability Team is on your side and we’ve got some top tips to help you reduce your energy usage…and therefore save you money!

Take it down! – Turn the thermostat down……..jumpers were made for a reason!

Lights out! – If you’re not using the room then why leave the lights on?

Ping it – Microwaves use less energy to cook food than using the oven.

Time for tea? – Boil only the amount of water you need……don’t waste energy boiling water you are not going to use!

Put a ring on it…..well put it on the right ring! – use the right size ring on your hob for your saucepan….don’t waste energy heating a ring that’s too big.

Share a shower…….save some water!

Turn it to 30……….it still gets your clothes clean, not dirty!

Got a dishwasher? (and we don’t mean your housemate!) – use it! Dishwashers are more efficient than washing by hand. Make sure it’s full though!

So get a grip on your energy usage, and turn those pounds into pens/pints/parties!

For more info check out the environment webpages or our Facebook page, and if you’ve got any questions drop us an e-mail

BU retains Eco-Campus Gold Award

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Bournemouth University (BU) has retained the EcoCampus Gold Award for its environmental management systems.

It is one of only 21 higher education institutions in the UK to achieve this award.

The recommendation for the award was made following a comprehensive on-site audit by the external auditors NQA, which included site inspections on both campuses, interviews with staff from across a range of functions, and a thorough review of procedures and documentation.

EcoCampus is a national environmental management system programme and award scheme for the further and higher education sector.

It encourages, rewards and provides universities with the tools necessary to assist them in moving towards environmental sustainability and good operational and risk management practices.

To successfully retain the Gold Award, BU had to prove it was operating in a sustainable manner in relation to a number of areas including; roles and responsibilities, environmental training, communication, documentation, operational control and emergency preparedness and response.

The university is also required to have an environmental programme in place, with initiatives underway to reduce its impact in a range of areas, including carbon and energy management, waste management, travel, sustainable procurement, water consumption, sustainable construction and biodiversity management.

Stephen Jones, Head of Facilities Management at BU, said: “We are delighted that the university’s continued commitment to manage and reduce our environmental impact has again been recognised through the Eco Campus System.

“It is important that the university takes this responsibility seriously and that we can demonstrate it openly across all areas of the institution.”

BU’s Environment & Energy Team will now begin work on implementing the requirements of the fourth and final stage, Platinum Award.

BU gains ‘First Class’ honours in green university ranking

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Bournemouth University has been awarded a First Class Award and ranked 11th out of 143 universities in the People & Planet Green League 2013 – the UK’s only comprehensive and independent green ranking of universities unveiled today (11 June) in The Guardian.

The People & Planet Green League, an annual ranking by the UK’s largest national student campaign group, assesses the environmental and ethical performance of all universities, awarding First Class ‘degrees’ to the greenest and ‘Fails’ to those doing the least to address their environmental impacts. Bournemouth University is among 45 institutions to achieve a ‘First’ in 2013, for the fourth year running.

Key green initiatives at BU include:

  • Implementation of the EcoCampus environmental management system
  • a challenging carbon reduction target with over 30 carbon management plan projects completed to date
  • significant investment in a 500kW biomass boiler to provide space heating to the University’s Poole House complex using renewable carbon neutral woodchip
  • recycling 52 per cent of campus generated waste, including the roll out of a food waste recycling scheme; and zero waste to landfill with residual waste now going to produce refuse derived fuel
  • a wide ranging programme of behavioural change campaigns, from the annual Green Week celebrations to the Village Green inter-halls competition
  • Fairtrade University Status since 2006
  • initiatives to reduce the University’s impact across all areas, including energy management, travel, sustainable procurement, water consumption, sustainable construction, sustainable food and biodiversity management
  • a gold award for the Students’ Union at BU in the Green Impact Union Awards in 2013

Jim Andrews, Bournemouth University’s Chief Operating Officer said: “As part of our strategic plan, BU2018, we committed to reduce the impact BU has on the environment. I am delighted that the commitment both staff and students give to this agenda has been recognised once again and that as a result BU has achieved a ‘first’ for the 4th year in a row.”

Amanda Williams, Environment & Energy Manager, said: “We are delighted that our work to reduce the environmental impact of Bournemouth University has been recognised again by People & Planet in 2013. Our strong performance and good practice in this area is acknowledgement of the importance that we place on sustainability here at BU.

“With so many exciting projects already underway and many more to come, we look forward to making further improvements in our environmental performance over the coming year and would like to thank students and staff for their on-going support.”

Louise Hazan, who compiled the People & Planet Green League, said: “The first class award represents an incredible achievement by the staff, students and management at Bournemouth University. There’s a lot they can all be proud of in this year’s Green League scorecard, particularly the improvements in renewable energy and sustainable food. Bournemouth is among the few universities to be consistently in our top 20, and is setting a great example for the rest of the higher education sector in many areas.”

For further information, please visit: http://peopleandplanet.org/greenleague or email gfrog@bournemouth.ac.uk