Blog Archives

Forming the CNU Working Groups

20/7/2015

Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who showed up to any of the start-up meetings for the CNU working groups over the last couple of weeks! As mentioned in previous blog posts, in order to investigate specific ideas to reduce the University's carbon footprint we had decided to host meetings on particular topics. These meetings took place between July 6th and July 14th, and formed the basis of working groups focussing on these topics:

Behaviour Change
Buildings and Energy Efficiency
Lobbying the University
Renewable and Self-Generation Energy Solutions
Knowledge Exchange.

The main aim of these start-up meeting was for group members and leaders to be established, and to brainstorm ideas for projects that the group could follow up on. It was great to see a wide range of departments and backgrounds represented, giving the groups a much wider knowledge base to start from. Outlined below are some the ideas suggested that the groups will begin work on soon, if the any of them interest you, please drop us an e-mail and we'll connect you to the right group.

Behaviour Change (06/07/15)

Recycling Education: FInd out what existing information there is for people to find waste facilities and work on ways to advertise these more clearly to students.
University outlets carbon footprint: Find out about opening hours and procurement decisions such as food miles and packaging etc.

Buildings and Energy Efficiency (07/07/15)

Metering: Sub-metering of energy use in University buildings and monitoring of occupancy would highlight particular inefficencies that could be addressed. We want to find out about the current metering and monitoring systems installed and plans to extend these. Could try to apply for funding for a student project within this.

Survey on working/teaching environments: Ask students and staff directly to evaluate the temperature control in University buildings to identify problem areas.
Responsibilities: Whose responsibility is it to turn off lights, radiators, A/C units etc. in computer rooms and other multi-user spaces?

Lobbying the University (08/07/15)

Present our vision to important figureheads who could champion our cause, e.g. NUS, local MPs, and University executives.
Start up a student society linked to the network.
It was noted that a lot of the lobbying group's activity will be based on projects initiated by other groups.

Renewable and Self-Generation Energy Solutions (09/07/15)

Solar Panels: Check the progress of Estates in surveying the University roof space for solar panel suitability. Work with the Students' Union to get Solar panels installed on the Union building.
Solar Thermal: Is this a plausible heating technology in student accommodation?
Onshore Wind: Find out the plans for future sites (Factory 2050?). Larger project for a wind farm has also been proposed, which would need wide support to gain traction.
Biomass heaters: Substituting gas boilers for biomass in University buildings could cut these carbon emissions by 50%. Procurement of biomass and potential costs needs to be researched.

Knowledge Exchange (14/07/15)

Organise open seminars/lectures on topics relevant to Climate Change and Carbon Neutrality.
Open access database of information found from the working groups' projects.
Searchable FAQ section of our website with useful references, which answers general Climate Change questions as well as specific questions about the CNU.

The next set of working group meetings will be arranged shortly, and will take place sometime in early August. If you'd like to get involved with any of the above ideas, or you have some of your own, please drop us an e-mail!

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Meeting the Carbon Management Group

13/7/2015

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On Monday 6th July, two of us were invited to a meeting of the Carbon Management Group (CMG) to introduce the CNU network, and learn more about their operations. This group meets once every three months and is tasked with implementing the University’s energy strategy; with the aim of 43% carbon reductions by 2020. As we’re all too aware, no plan beyond 2020 exists, save for a fuzzy commitment to an 80% reduction by 2050, in-line with the Climate Act 2008. In attendance were the University chief financial officer Bob Rabone (chair), Pro-VC for research Prof. Richard Jones, Prof. Martin Mayfield from mechanical engineering, Energy manager Phil Riley and Steven Ward from Estates (later joined by head of estates Keith Lilley), Somer Finlay (Internal Communications Officer, corporate affairs), and Karen Longden (Head of E&FM Finance Team). Listening in was Mathew Billson of Energy 2050. Student representation in this group is limited to the Students’ Union development officer, who sadly wasn’t in attendance due to the change-over period.

Before our slot - which was at the top of the meeting agenda proper - a few matters from previous meetings were discussed. Of particular interest to us were plans for a new website, detailing the University’s carbon-reducing efforts. Also the Estates had been contacting other UK Universities, to create a picture of ‘who’s doing what’ regarding emissions reductions. It seems bizarrely late in the day to be doing this, considering the energy strategy is three years old, but seeking inspiration is a positive move. A sense of rivalry was also apparent in the room, with jokes exchanged about outdoing Manchester, which can never hurt. The impressive performance of Lancaster University was noted, and it was revealed that Bob Rabone has visited their facilities.

The presentation we made to the group can be seen here. We kicked-off by reminding the group of the global carbon budget, emphasising that in order to have a good chance of limiting global warming to 2C, the globe must be carbon neutral by 2040 (10 years prior to that magic 80% target of ours). We argued even this may not be enough to stave off the worst effects of climate change, with over 100 nations now calling for an international agreement to limit warming to 1.5C. According to climate experts, this would require global carbon neutrality 10-20 years prior to the 2C scenario, reinforcing our vision of a carbon neutral university by 2025. We then turned to the University’s progress (or lack of) towards the 2020 target. A recent report by sustainability consultants Brite Green states that our emissions rose 28% from 2005 to 2013, placing us a woeful 120/126 of English Universities. However, Phil Riley brought it to our attention that the 2005 baseline adopted by Brite green (34,000 tCO2) was incorrect, and a revised figure (43,000 tCO2) has been submitted to HEFCE - putting us at a 2% reduction in 2013. The situation isn’t as bad as we thought, but without doubt the University is not on track to meet its target.

We moved on to the wind farm proposal we’ve been developing. It seems clear that the University wants/needs to own any self-generation to ensure its carbon can be offset. However, financing such an endeavour may not be too difficult, as Bob Rabone referred to favourable conditions to borrowing money (likely better than most wind farm developers). We know from previous correspondence with Steven Ward and Phil Riley that the new AMRC2 (Factory 2050) site has wind power potential, but we're waiting on the details.

We wrapped up our presentation with 4 clear requests of the CMG: that they accept our help towards achieving the 2020 target, they seek advice on how to reduce emissions by 100%, they adopt a carbon neutral target and plan to execute it, and they agree to assess/review proposals submitted by our group.

Head of Estates Keith Lilley arrived shortly after our presentation, and contributed to the discussion. He was quick to jump to the defense of his colleagues in the room - reminding everyone that by certain metrics the University are reducing emissions (when measured per person, or square meter of building space, for example), and campus expansions make reductions in real terms difficult. In this context, he was keen to frame our relatively constant emissions as a success. We countered that these (seemingly endless) expansions don’t need to come at a carbon cost. With careful design it is possible to make new buildings carbon neutral from the outset, and they absolutely should be. Indeed, this is likely much cheaper than retrofitting old buildings. You only need to look as far as the Diamond, which far from serving as a “major contribution to our determination to reduce our carbon footprint” - as stated on the University website - actually represents an astonishing missed opportunity for truly carbon neutral development.

Richard Jones was very forthcoming and approved of our drive to harness more expertise from in-house academics, and emphasised the importance of getting academics to think more critically about the emissions associated with their work. We of course agreed, and suggested that more granular metering on a group or departmental basis would allow the more research-intensive departments to realise their impact. As soon as this is available, an on-campus carbon trading system could be established.

Finally, we were thanked and asked to leave for the remainder of the meeting. We believe a decision on whether or not to have permanent CNU representation on the CMG was made, but we are yet to be informed of the outcome. Should we be invited back in 3 months time, we’ll surely have plenty of progress to report. Let’s hope the same can be said for the Carbon Management Group.

Chris Rosslowe

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Forming the CNU Working Groups

Meeting the Carbon Management Group

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