glasgow!university!environmental!sustainability!team ...summaryofproposalsandoutcomes!! 1....

Glasgow University Environmental Sustainability Team

January – March 2012

Contents Background Summary GUEST Projects January 2012 Recycling Proposal Energy Conservation Proposal Bicycle Promotion Scheme Hospitality Services Investigation Biodiversity Project Environmental Events Sustainability Hub GUEST Project Proposal September 2012 Overview and Action Plan Positions with GUEST Take 2 Considerations for GUEST Take 2 GUEST Team Members January 2012 Acknowledgements

Background

The Glasgow University Environmental Sustainability Team, GUEST, was awarded a grant of

£6,600 by the Chancellor’s Fund, October 2011, to continue an investigation to help improve

the environmental practice on campus.

Over the summer of 2011, Roisin Lyle-‐Collins, a life-‐sciences undergraduate at Glasgow

University, was involved in a project funded by the University Settlement and coordinated

by Friends of the Earth Glasgow. The outcome of the project was a report, which identified

many of the good and weak areas of environmental practice at the University. Based on this

work, Roisin decided to apply to the Chancellor’s Fund to fund work placements for

students to help implement some of the proposals in the report and to raise the profile and

continue a more in-‐depth environmental investigation.

GUEST, a team of 10 students, undergraduates and one postgraduate, working in

communication with University’s Carbon Management Committee, the Green Champions,

the SRC and who met with representatives from other Scottish Universities; created this

report of current Glasgow University environmental practice and future action proposals.

In this report there is a focus on The Gilmorehill Campus, where all team members were

based. The team wishes to stay focused on one area where they will continue to make a high

impact and become well established within the University. The team would like to see

similar schemes running and/or have correspondence with the other campuses and

perhaps help and branch out in future projects once GUEST is well established on

Gilmorehill.

Summary of Proposals and Outcomes

1. The University needs to make sustainability a core value which is present in all aspects

of its practice

2. Certain job descriptions should include a responsibility to enforce and ensure university

sustainability policy, not only the Green Champions

3. A standarisdised University Recycling Scheme to be implented

4. The Recycling scheme at Halls will continue, develop and be monitored and supported

by GUEST

5. A Climate Challenge Fund bid is underway to support The University Community by

engaging staff and students on Carbon Reduction, offering training and advice in Carbon

Conversation workshops

6. GUEST wish to support the work of Estates and Buildings in Energy Conservation

7. And to continue to support the GU Energy Ambassador Society

8. An Awards for All Application is underway in order to promote bicycle use on campus

9. Cycling Promotion events were arranged and contacts were made in order to develop

the scheme further at Glasgow engage with City Cyclists

10. A ban on the sale of plastic bottled water on campus

11. The sale of reuseable coffee cups on campus and subsidise discount for their use

12. Support of the GU Willowbank Community garden is crucial to help the project start

13. Support of the Biodiversity Surveying Scheme will enable the project to reach out to

more students

14. The University’s environmental achievements and targets must be broadly publicised

15. An environmental hub website is going to be created, in the meantime information and

advice on sustainable living is now available on the SRC webpage and the

guenvironmentblog has been sharing environmental news and events on campus and

around the city.

16. The Green Champion network must have continued support and training in order to

expand and thrive

17. Continue to fund GUEST-‐ The placements provide students with work experience and

an insight towards understanding how such an establishment, is organised and

functions

Recycling Proposal

People and Planet's 2011 Green League recorded the percentage of waste that Glasgow

University recycles as 7.8%. Figures, which we have procured from Estates and Buildings,

confirm that the percentage seems to flutter at around 10%. Comparatively, Nottingham

Trent University is recycling 78% of its waste, as is Worcester University.

We believe that the university, which as a research institution should be at the forefront of

sustainability, has a responsibility to deal with its waste in an environmentally conscious

manner. Universities across the country are finding waste management is being forced up

the agenda because of environmental best practice, compliance with legislation, and

economic efficiency.

The university is wasting massive amounts of money through its current waste

management system. The University of Glasgow spends approximately £125,300 on

disposing of its waste in term time. If the university recycled 50% of its waste it could

reduce this figure by £31,325. 80% recycling, like Nottingham Trent, could reduce it by as

much as £50,120. If the university chooses to make an investment in improving recycling

facilities, it could be making significant savings within just a few years of the initial

investment.

From our meetings with staff, we have identified two key problems with waste management

at the university.

The first is that there is no infrastructure for recycling. Apart from mandatory paper

recycling, there is no general recycling policy which all departments must adhere to, and no

member of staff whose role focuses largely on recycling. There is no consistency in the

provision of recycling bins throughout the university. Some areas are reasonably well

provided for, whilst other areas have few or no bins. The recycling bins provided are also

inadequate because they are confusingly marked, stating 'Waste Paper Only' and 'Mixed

Recycling' on the same box. This confusion and lack of overall policy is likely to be why the

recycling bins are simply not being filled.

This leads to the second problem, which is a perception that no culture of recycling exists at

the university. We do not agree that recycling doesn't happen because people are too lazy

or ignorant. Nor that it is somehow to do with the fact that we are an ancient university, as

St Andrews University, for example, recycles 68.74% of its waste. Students are interested in

recycling. Talking to students on campus resulted in over 100 people signing a petition in

favour of improved recycling facilities. We believe that if proper facilities were provided,

staff and students would willingly use them. Recycling can and should be made so simple to

understand and easy to do that it need not be a matter of preference as to whether or not it

is done, but rather a simple matter of course.

Our proposals for improving the recycling rate at the University of Glasgow

At the very minimum, the university should take basic steps towards improving recycling,

such as making the current bins more simply and clearly labelled, and increasing the

proliferation of the bins around the university. We have, however, developed a more

ambitious set of proposals, which we believe could make huge savings on the waste disposal

costs, as well as improving the university's environmental credentials. Our general proposal

is that there should be a standardised recycling system for the whole university. This can be

implemented as follows:

⁃ Invest in new recycling bins

⁃ These should be provided for each department. Departments must be responsible for

finding suitable places to put the bins which comply with health and safety and fire

regulations.

The Box Cycle recycling bin has been developed by Edinburgh University and we propose

that it is the bin in which the university should invest for a university-‐wide recycling

scheme.

It is see-‐through, and therefore 'self-‐polices'; people know what to put in the bin because of

what it already contains. This will also make it easy for cleaners to see if the bin has been

contaminated. At £69 per unit, the Box Cycle may at first appear overly expensive, but in

comparison to other professional recycling bins, which may cost as much as £725, it is

relatively low-‐cost. It therefore appears to be the most effective bin in terms of cost and

functionality.

⁃ Recruit a member of staff to run and oversee the new recycling scheme

⁃ We believe this is the best way to make sure that this new infrastructure is properly

implemented and reaches its full potential. It would mean that the university could

increase its recycling rate significantly over time. Therefore the staff member could

potentially 'pay for themselves' through the savings they could bring about in their

role.

⁃ Create a recycling policy which makes recycling of paper, plastic bottles,

cardboard, drinks cans and tins mandatory for all departments

⁃ This would ensure consistency and cohesion throughout the whole university.

⁃ Remove under-desk bins from staff offices and replace them with collective

recycling bins

⁃ There are two important reasons for this. The first is that we will be asking cleaners to

deal with the recyclable materials as well as the general waste. For a long time

cleaning staff have complained that under-‐desk bins are an inefficient means of

waste disposal. Removing them and replacing them with collective and centralised

waste disposal points would streamline and simplify the waste disposal process for

all concerned.

We should work with cleaners to ensure that they are able to properly dispose of recycling

waste.

Outdoor bin areas should be kept in a tidy condition and be clearly labelled, to ensure that

recycling waste is properly disposed of by cleaners and other members of staff.

Student Halls Recycling

We researched recycling at different student halls and discussed Glasgow University’s own

accommodation with Karen Morton. We found out that the provision of recycling facilities in

student halls is currently very limited and not consistent, especially in comparison to other

universities. We realize that recycling should be part of a wider initiative towards

sustainability involving students living in University accommodation. Together with Karen

we came up with a trial scheme at both an undergraduate and postgraduate

accommodation to test the effectiveness of our proposal.

Our proposed measures are:

⁃ To provide each flat with a clearly marked container for each recyclable group (mixed

recycling, and glass) and the correspondent outside bin.

⁃ To involve Senior Residents in order to educate incoming students about how to correctly

dispose of their recyclable waste.

⁃ To include in the compulsory online student induction a video visually demonstrating

how the bins should be correctly used.

⁃ To provide students with the information about recycling and what exactly can be

recycled (posters, leaflets, clearly marked bins).

This trial will be reviewed at the end of term through feedback surveys from staff and

students, and any adjustments will be made in preparation for the scheme to be

implemented in all university accommodation at the beginning of next semester. GUEST will

continue to work with Karen on this.

Energy group proposal

The energy conservation group within GUEST focused on finding ways to assist with energy

conservation on campus. We have held meetings with Albert Young (Carbon and Energy

Manager within Estates and Buildings), Nick Wade (Corporate Communications), David

Somervell (Sustainability Officer for the University of Edinburgh), Joseph Farthing

(Communications Officer at Transition Edinburgh University) and Laura Copley (National

Union of Students).

Our meetings with Albert Young highlighted the University’s commitment to a 20%

reduction in CO2 emissions by 2014, and the various steps being taken towards this. We

believe that these efforts should be better communicated and publicised, with data easily

accessible on the University’s website, making it simple for interested staff, students and the

general public to obtain this information.

We propose that future GUEST work in the area of energy conservation should be carried

out with improved coordination with Estates and Buildings: we feel that GUEST has the

potential to provide valuable help to the Carbon and Energy Manager in terms of data

collection, collation and analysis, and that both parties would benefit from this.

We were also alerted to the University’s awareness-‐raising ‘Save It’ campaign through our

meetings with Nick Wade. Unfortunately, due to a lack of coordination we were not able to

contribute to the campaign within the given timescale of the GUEST pilot project, but we

feel that the future GUEST team would be well suited to work on the project once more

established.

Following useful meetings with David Somervell of Edinburgh University’s Sustainability

Office and after attending Joseph Farthing’s Project Development and Communications

training, we are keenly aware that the ideal time to begin engagement with students is at

the beginning of their first year of studies. An ideal channel for this is through student

residences. At Glasgow University a significant proportion of residences are privately

owned by Sanctuary Housing, and we feel that connecting directly with these students, and

possibly introducing energy saving measures, therefore demands more effort and greater

liaising with Sanctuary staff. This knowledge will be incorporated into our CCF funding bid

and the work of the newly founded GU Zero Carbon Society.

We have been working on a funding proposal which will be submitted to the Climate

Challenge Fund (CCF), a Scottish government initiative supporting community-‐led projects

which aim to reduce carbon emissions. Eligible projects need to deliver measurable carbon

reductions, a lasting legacy and value to the community.

Funding from the CCF would be used to create a full-‐time and a part-‐time position to

coordinate activities which will achieve significant carbon reduction, with a focus on

student engagement. It was felt that this was an area which would benefit from a significant

allocation of paid time, following on from Joseph Farthing’s training, which showed that

personal contact is the most financially efficient method of engaging individuals. Concrete

activities will include the development of a university-‐wide Energy Ambassadors Scheme

and the setting up of a Carbon Conversations series – a group experience that helps

individuals halve their carbon footprint. We are working on the Expression of Interest,

which will be supported by survey evidence that is currently waiting authorisation from the

SRC but once collected will back the application and show the need for The Zero Carbon

Awareness Campaign at Glasgow. Upon successful acceptance of our Expression of Interest,

we will be assigned a project development officer who will guide us through the full

application process.

The CCF does not support applications coming from institutions (such as the University),

and therefore the funding bid will be placed through the Glasgow University Zero Carbon

Society. It has been affiliated with the SRC, with the aim of lowering the carbon emissions of

the university community through awareness raising activities.

Meeting Laura Copley has greatly contributed to our decision to apply for funding at the

Climate Challenge Fund (CCF), and enabled us to place the Energy Ambassador scheme at

the core of our bid. We propose continued future collaboration between GUEST and People

& Planet Scotland, who will be continuing Laura’s work, as they have a wealth of experience

working with students in this area, and are very supportive.

We have assembled a document of energy saving tips for student homes which can be

published on the GUEST blog, the SRC website and the University’s main website. We have

discussed joining the UK-‐wide 10:10 campaign which is a pledge signed by several UK

institutions to reduce their carbon emissions by 10%. Unfortunately this was abandoned

because there was no permanent staff member able to manage it. If GUEST becomes a

permanent group within the University from next term this should be discussed again.

If the final CCF application is successful and the GU Zero Carbon Society is awarded funding,

office space will be required for the positions. This would ideally be located in either Estates

and Buildings, or Corporate Communications.

Bicycle Promotion Scheme Proposal

Aims:

GUEST aims to reduce carbon emissions from travel to and from the university campuses.

The Bicycle Promotion Scheme is focusing in particular on the increasing cycle confidence

and usage amongst staff and students, by making the use of bicycles more convenient and

also more available to those on a daily commute to the university.

Project Overview:

This year the work going into the Bicycle Promotion Scheme has mostly been centred on

raising awareness and improving the convenience of cycling for students and staff who

already cycle. An Awards For All Application to the National Lottery was made to gain

funding for several events and workshops that give inexperienced cyclists access to cycle

training and short term bicycles, as well as seasoned cyclists bike maintenance and

servicing workshops through the Dr Bike workshops provided by the Glasgow Bike Shed.

The funding application also will cover the cost of day bike hire vouchers from local

companies to be distributed to students to encourage new cyclists.

A Critical Mass ride during Go Green Week 2012 was organized by the Climate Action

Society and supported by GUEST, which aimed to engage active and potential cyclists at the

university in awareness of cycle safety on Glasgow’s roads. The Dr Bike workshops which

took place in Go Green Week 2011 and 2012 allowed those who ride to university have

their bikes serviced on campus for free. These workshops proved to be very popular and

well-‐received. Cyclists were also encouraged to “Reclaim the Road” during a mass night

cycle ride event during the GUEST-‐organized Climate Week. This event highlighted night-‐

time cycle safety and included a petition to improve cycle infrastructure and facilities

available to students and staff at the university. 'Reclaim the Road' was well-‐received by

participants, with over 50 attendees and coverage from STV news.

Cooperation/Engagement:

GUEST has actively engaged with the cycling community outside of Glasgow University, in

particular with individuals at Go Bike!, the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain and Cycling

Scotland. We have also been in contact with Glasgow Bike Station to arrange bike hire

schemes for university students and staff.

Communicating with these groups has allowed GUEST members and other student cyclists

to participate in discussion outwith the university, regarding the improvement of city-‐wide

cycling facilities.

University Policy:

GUEST has also been in contact with the university’s travel planning officer, Viola Retzlaff

regarding the role of the Bicycle User Group (BUG) in encouraging student and staff cyclists

and possible incentives that could be provided by the university to encourage staff and

students to cycle to campus more. There appears to be an existing scheme (Cycle Plus) that

allows staff in particular to gain access to bicycles for a discounted price and also a car-‐

pooling scheme that reduces emissions from vehicular traffic to campus as well. It appears

there are also plans to increase the university’s cycle storage capacity and provide sheltered

storage for bicycles, as shown by the installation of a new sheltered cycle stand at the

Hetherington Building on 14/03/2012.

Showers are also available in multiple buildings for staff and student cyclists should they

require them after their commute, however the provision of storage for cycle-‐related gear

seems to be poor particularly for student cyclists who are very mobile on campus. An

emergency repair kit is also made available at the main gate.

The Travel Planning website details all showers that are available as well as the locations of

cycle stands for cyclists. There is also information on the location and access times for all

gates on campus for all modes of transportation. Links to various travel planning sites in

Glasgow, including active travel maps, tips for purchasing second hand bikes and tips on

how to keep a bicycle secure are also provided. However it does not seem that this website

is particularly well advertised on the main page that provides information for current

students (http://www.gla.ac.uk/students/) and sadly, most participants of the Bicycle User

Group tend to be staff rather than students.

There have also been events encouraging active travel in the past, in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

These have provided group tower walks, bicyclist’s breakfasts as well as limited free access

to public transport. Breakfasts for cyclists have also been arranged in the Dumfries campus

and seem to be reasonably well attended. The Dumfries campus seems to have more activity

in terms of cycling arrangements than the Gilmorehill campus.

Bike Hire:

In particular, a great deal of research on the possibility of Glasgow University establishing a

bicycle hire scheme has been done during the course of the project. The proposed bike hires

so far have been modeled upon similar bike hire schemes in Stirling University and

Aberdeen University.

The proposed bicycle hire would be run through the University’s Halls of Residences,

allowing students a quick and relatively carbon neutral way of getting to university. This

would be run in cooperation with the Glasgow Bike Shed, and a pilot project in which

students bring in a broken or used bike and learn to service it with the help of trained staff

would be able to easily gain access to cycling to university for a small deposit. Should the

student return their bicycle or donate it to another student using this scheme at the end of

the year or trial period, they would be able to have their deposit returned.

Staff at Glasgow Bike Shed have also proposed a larger bike hire scheme that could be

possibly funded through advertising. This proposal would involve special bicycle stands

stationed halls and at campus, and students would pay a fee for a period of time that would

enable them to unlock and access bicycles from those stands. The bicycles can then be

returned at any similar cycle stand, regardless of the start point of their journey and staff as

well as guests would be able to benefit from this scheme as well. Costing for a scheme like

this would be as yet unclear, and the proposal as well as the project needs to be fully

evaluated together with Glasgow Bike Shed in order to analyze its feasibility. This proposal

would require a greater amount of research and planning that GUEST did not have this year,

and would at least need an entire academic year of research, planning and negotiation to be

able to be executed effectively.

Problems/Problem Areas:

More needs to be done to encourage students in particular to cycle, as many seem to lack

confidence on Glasgow’s roads and also possibly need refresher courses. Part of this

problem has to do with Glasgow’s roads and cycle infrastructure, which is of course outside

of the university’s direct influence.

Also theft of bicycles as well as the lack of knowledge of cycle infrastructure and how to

procure a bicycle seems to be an issue with students.

Proposals/Suggestions:

GUEST suggests that in the future academic year a greater amount of cooperation and

engagement with Travel Planning to be able to work on further cycle related infrastructure

on campus and improve the current availability of that infrastructure to students. Possibly

the Bicycle Promotion Scheme could also include Active Travel Promotion and it would be

ideal if students in GUEST would be able to work with university staff in arranging an Active

Travel Week for the 2012 -‐2013 session.

GUEST would also like to continue its current promotion of cycling and should funding be

secured from external sources, provide monthly Dr Bike sessions as they have been

extremely popular with cyclists on campus. GUEST would also like to see to the provision of

Bike Maintenance workshops to students as well as short term bike hire and cycle training

or refresher courses for novice cyclists as a lot of potential cyclists are not confident with

road cycling, particularly on the busy West End roads.

The Travel Planning website should also be more visible and accessible to students, to

enable them to plan their travel to university more efficiently and would possibly encourage

more students to cycle as the many are unaware of available showers and emergency repair

packs on campus. It would also be ideal to advertise and possible work with Travel Planning

to expand the Bicycle User Group’s membership and activity on campus, as currently it

exists as a mailing list only.

With the aim of increasing cycle-‐safety for Glasgow University’s cyclists, GUEST would also

like to work with the SRC in providing cycle-‐safety gear for students such as reflective vests,

or reflective ankle and armbands. Through cooperation with the SRC or with Travel

Planning it would also be possible to negotiate discounted headgear and bicycle lights for

cyclists to purchase through the SRC.

Finally further engagement with members at Glasgow City Council and outside cyclists

groups would take place to update the Glasgow City Council’s Cycle Plan and push for better

cycle infrastructure on Glasgow’s Roads. GUEST would like to increase the university’s

participation in this, so as to ensure that cyclists that come from outside the West End

would also benefit from safer cycling conditions on the way to university. Reclaim the Road,

which was successful at this year’s Climate Action Week should also be organized by next

year’s GUEST members with possibly a larger budget and more promotion across all cyclists

groups in Glasgow as well as to students and staff at the university as well.

Hospitality Services Investigation

There were two main issues which were observed through research and meetings with the

providers of this service to the University body; the lack of reusable coffee cups and the sale

of plastic bottled water.

Within the Hub (located in the Fraser Building), none of the waste is recycled apart from

cooking oil. During a meeting with Hospitality services GUEST were informed that the initial

intention when moving to the refurbished Fraser Building was to have a service which

prioritized recycling and ‘green issues’ and fully integrated the University’s long-‐term

carbon reduction plan into its practice. However, this did not occur. As stated, neither

material waste (such as packaging, plastic water bottles and coffee cups) nor food waste is

recycled. According to Hospitality Services, this decision was taken upon the discovery that

even if they chose to separate and encourage recycling and provide the initial capital for

large recycling bins, when the recyclable material was collected by Glasgow City Council, it

would go to landfill anyway. Upon investigation of Glasgow City Council’s refuse and

recycling policy, this was confirmed. With only 11% of waste being currently recycled at

Glasgow University, members of GUEST are astounded that this issue has not been resolved

thus far. The refurbishment of the Fraser Building would have been an ideal time to

prioritise sustainable waste management within Hospitality Services. This could be

accomplished by transferring the waste management contract from Glasgow City Council to

another provider with experience in large scale recycling and refuse management.

This would also require an initial investment in large, waste division recycling bins for the

Hub and the several smaller outlets across campus. Leeds University, which also sits within

the Russell Group, currently recycle plastic, paper, cardboard, mixed glass and Tetra Pak

within their Hospitality Services. Glasgow University does not provide facilities to recycle

any of these materials. Leeds University Union also operates a composting service, detailed

below:

“All the left over and out of date food from our shops, cafes and bars is recycled through a

composting scheme in conjunction with the University. We have compost caddies at each

recycling station in the Union Building for our staff, members and visitors to use.”

(www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/greenguide/whatsluudoing/)

Currently, all food waste from the University of Glasgow Hospitality services goes to landfill.

GUEST then proceeded to investigate two specific materials which have a significant

environmental impact: plastic water bottles and cardboard coffee cups. Both coffee and

bottled water are available to purchase in every outlet and more students utilize these

facilities than perhaps purchase meals at the Hub. University of Glasgow recycles neither, as

detailed above.

The Coffee cup Proposal

The coffee cups, which Hospitality Services are currently using, are non-‐recyclable due to

the glue that is used to attach the cardboard outer section to the paper inner section. They

use these cups as they were calculated to provide the best value for money. Due to the high

levels of consumption and non-‐reusable nature of these cups, they represent a significant

proportion of waste. Many shops and cafes now sell reusable coffee cups; often known as

keep-‐cups. In return for using the cup, customers are given a 10-‐15% discount. This

scheme is widespread with retailers such as Starbucks and Costa having their own branded

cups and offering the subsequent discount. At the University of Washington, a college of

roughly 42,000 students, the Housing and Food Services Department estimates that 5000

paper coffee cups are thrown away every term-‐time day. Currently there are approximately

23,000 students at the University Of Glasgow so we can estimate that 2500 paper coffee

cups are thrown away every day of the term.

Currently Hospitality Services do not offer a discount to students who use keep-‐cups

despite the reduction in waste. They also do not sell their own reusable cups. During this

investigation, GUEST discovered that Hospitality Services had a contact with the company

known as ‘Keepcup’ (www.keepcup.com). An initial batch of cups was ordered which sold

well. However, this contract was discontinued when Hospitality Services could no longer get

the cups in the colours that they desired (black and orange), as these colours rose in price.

GUEST contacted Keepcup to open a dialogue with them. Information included below:

“Back in October 2011, I heard from Aileen McInnes regarding your catering companies

interest in the Keepcup. Unfortunately nothing came of it as I believe there was issues with

funds. Let’s hope a second time is a charm!

We have had great success in the University sector with clients like University of Edinburgh,

University of St. Andrews, Manchester University, University of Art London (to name a few).

Students love the Keepcup for its cool look, functional design and sustainability.”

Some statistics about the sustainability of the Keepcup product as opposed to the current

use of disposable cups:

• There is enough plastic in:

32 disposable cups and lids to make a medium Keepcup.

• The break even with disposable cups estimated to be as low as 15 uses over the life

cycle of the Keepcup including cleaning.

• Manufactured from single component materials to facilitate recycling and reuse.

• Since June 2009, Keepcup users have diverted an estimated 30000 tonnes of

disposable cup waste from landfill, that's about 2 billion disposable cups.

• Keepcup users have stopped 750,000 trees being felled for paper pulp. (January

2012).

• A Keepcup compared to a disposable paper cup (including coffee) sees a: 36-‐47%

reduction in global warming, 64-‐85% reduction in water use, 91-‐92% reduction in

landfill waste annually.

Facts about Disposable Cups

• Half of the plastic used in the world today is for single use items.

• On average, each disposable cup contains 5% of the raw materials involved in the

process of making and delivering it.

• The 500 billion disposable cups we manufacture annually placed end to end could

circumnavigate the earth 100 times.

• 4 billion trees or 35% of the total trees chopped down are used in paper industries

on every continent.

• 1 tonne of paper consumes 98 tonnes of resources in manufacture.

• Globally, we go through about 300 million tonnes of paper each year. Most paper is

made from virgin pulp.

• Very little recycled paper is used to make disposable cups due to health risk

and contamination concerns. Because most disposable cups are coated with

polyethylene, both composting and recycling of disposable cups is not common.

• 71% of the world’s paper supply comes from diminishing forests, not tree farms or

the recycling bin.

Current UK retailers of Keepcup include the following educational institutions:

• London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

• Open Universities

• University of Arts London

• University of Bath

• University of Edinburgh

• University of Manchester

• University of East London

This includes both the University of Edinburgh and the University of Manchester, who both

sit within the Russell Group. According to a colour chart sent to GUEST by Keepcup on

March 13th 2012, a cup incorporating only black and orange would now be possible. It is

also possible to have the band inscribed with custom text which could also provide an

advertising incentive for Hospitality Services. This would require an initial capital

investment by University Management to purchase the cups and also to offset the initial

decrease in profit from offering the 10-‐15% discount. If this is not possible, then

Management could also offset the initial decrease in profit so that students and staff who

already use this product could be offered the discount and would purchase coffee for

University of Glasgow outlets more frequently.

Plastic Bottle Free Campus

The sale of plastic bottles of water on campus was also investigated during the GUEST pilot

project. Similarly, these are not currently recycled. In February 2010 Leeds University

Union took the decision to ban the sale of bottled water on campus. They calculated 180,698

bottles of water were sold in the Union in the academic year 2007–08. There are 32,000

students at the University of Leeds and 23,000 at the University of Glasgow – a rough

estimate might be that 120,000 bottles of water are sold each year at the University of

Glasgow.

Leeds University Unions state that:

“Not only does bottled water cost up to 10,000 times more than tap water, it costs the

environment too; our decision will save 22,587 litres of oil every year.”

(www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk)

They installed nine free drinking water fountains and increased the sale of reusable

alternatives on campus. In October 2011, the ban was voted on again in a democratic forum

similar to the SRC. Student’s voted to maintain the ban.

A statement about this process from the Leeds University Union website:

What have we changed?

We’ve installed nine free drinking water fountains in convenient locations and removed

bottled water from sale.

Why have we changed it?

Bottled water costs around 500 times more than tap water and carries a high

environmental cost too. Producing a one litre bottle itself uses up to seven litres of water as

well as a quarter of a litre of oil. Despite this, 180,698 bottles of water were sold in the

Union in the academic year 2007–08.

How have we changed it?

Alison Vernon put this idea forward in November 2008. Students voted in favour of it in a

campus-‐wide referendum, and Communications & Internal Affairs Officer Laura McFarlane-‐

Shopes began working to implement water fountains soon after, leading to the removal of

bottled water from sale in Healthy Week 2010.

• Nine water fountains installed in our building

• Bottled water removed from sale

• Bigger range of reusable bottles stocked

• More water fountains across campus.

Sophie Haydock discussed the impact of the ban in The Guardian in December 2008:

“Leeds has been forced to "reduce". In doing so, it forfeits £32,940. But reduction in practice

will have an impact. Leeds will not sell the 180,698 bottles it sold from 2007-‐2008. Because

of that, there will be 146,365 fewer plastic bottles in landfill sites (based on the British

Plastics Federation's estimate that 81% of plastic is not recycled). There will be 632,443

litres of water saved (based the Beverage Marketing Corporation's estimate that it takes

three litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water). And there will be 22,587 litres

less oil used to make plastic bottles (based on the BMC's estimate that for every bottle of

water produced, enough oil is used to fill a quarter of the bottle).”

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/20/bottled-‐water-‐ban-‐leeds)

Students for Free Water (a campaigning group) also discussed the practicalities of the ban:

“Having won our campaign by a large majority and produced a record turnout of around

4000 students voting, we had meetings with a senior member of union staff to talk about

implementing the changes. A timetable was set out for the union to install water coolers

and remove bottled water from the union shelves. There was a time delay of about a year

due to the fact the union had to prepare for the large financial loss from bottled water,

which was one of the best selling products in the shop.

Union staff also had to work out how it could make money back from other products, such

as selling reusable bottles. The union shop now sells reusable plastic bottles which it

branded with information about why tap water is better than bottled! They also sell metal

bottles and fancy bottles with built in water filters. A few weeks after the campaign stickers

appeared next to taps in the toilets saying “refill your bottle here” and a few months later

the union began trialing two water coolers, after these proved to be an instant success and

were working fine another 4 were installed. In May 2008 LUU People & Planet who a

prestigious union award for the best campaign for our efforts to ban bottled water and the

campaign received coverage in the Guardian.

In the union’s Green Week in February 2010 bottles of still water were removed from the

shop shelves and a sign up in its place explaining why the bottled water had been removed.

The ban generated a rush of people buying reusable bottles.

Evidence of the amount of free water dispensed from the union’s water coolers shows than

students are probably more hydrated than they were before we had water coolers, taking

into account the previous bottled water sales.

In October 2011 a motion was put forward by a student to overturn the ban on bottled

water at the union’s “better union forum” (union decision making body). People & Planet

with support from a couple of student exec members successfully argued to keep the ban in

place, with the vote firmly in their favour. In March 2011, the University of Sheffield also

banned the sale of bottled water and the ban was implemented in March 2012. They

followed the transition plan set out by the University of Leeds. The environmental impact of

bottled water is huge.

GUEST created a ‘plastic bottled water free campus’ petition for the table at the Fraser

Building which accumulated 50 signatures during Go Green Week. This campaign will

continue to be backed by GUEST and will continue to run and engage with more students.

GUEST recommends that Glasgow University management support a ban on the sale

of bottled water and provide capital investment to both encourage Hospitality

Services and the Unions to support change. This would follow the Leeds model of

transition. An investment in reusable bottles would also help to minimize concerns

about the project on campus and provide a visible alternative that students and staff

can recognize as cost effective i.e. once they have made an initial investment in a

subsidized reusable bottle then they can access free water.

Biodiversity Project

GUEST have been involved in setting up the Glasgow University Willowbank Community

Garden, which is council land in the Woodlands area secured by the SRC Environmental

Officer, Ellen Docherty, in the academic year 2010/11. Working with enthusiastic members

of the university community, the society has now been affiliated with the SRC and is open to

all students and staff. It will work with the local community to create a space for growing,

learning and community gatherings. The site will host herbs and vegetables to be shared

with volunteers, a sensory garden to reach to organizations such as Sense Scotland and will

generally help to improve the biodiversity of the area. The society will work closely with the

Council to develop this area and will source recycled materials and use organic gardening

methods. A relationship with the local Woodlands Community Garden and Kersland Lane

Community Garden will be built in order to learn skills from each other. A member of

GUEST has been trained in Organic Gardening and will share skills with the rest of the

group. GUEST will continue to support this project and ensure it develops into a thriving

community with sustainability at its heart.

A member of GUEST also attended a Campus Biodiversity Meeting and the team wish to

support this group of enthusiastic biologists. GUEST aim to be involved in organising

Biodiversity Surveying on campus for students next term. This project will provide students

with essential fieldwork skills which will enhance their C.V. There is opportunity for this to

be carried out in association with external environmental consultants who could offer

professional training to a GUEST team member who could then host workshops and share

their knowledge with fellow students.

GUEST has also investigated the illusive university Wildlife Garden and made contact with

Stuart Leflie, a student who has been keeping a watchful eye over the garden and keeping it

maintained. Student awareness of the garden is low, and GUEST hope to work with and

support next year's SRC Environmental Officer, Kirsty Maine, who has plans to make the

most out of the garden.

Environmental Events on Campus

This year has, for the first time, seen two weeks of environmental events on campus.

The first was Go Green Week in February. It was organized by the Climate Action Society

and supported by GUEST. Events included a West End critical mass bike-‐ride, free locally

sourced lunch in woodlands community garden, a biodiversity talk by Prof. Roger Downie, a

swap shop, and a bag-‐making workshop. The week received STV news coverage and was

well-‐attended by students and successful in engaging them with environmental issues.

In March, Climate Week hosted events organised by GUEST and the Climate Action Society.

Although it coincided with the nation-‐wide event sponsored by EDF energy and Tesco, we

wanted to make it distinct from that week and unique to Glasgow University, especially as

we do not support the greenwashing campaign by those companies. Events included film

screenings on Fracking and the Tar Sands, talks on the Rio + 20 campaign and UN climate

talks, which raised awareness of global climate campaigns. The first GU Environmental

Summit, Environmental Careers Fair, and 'Reclaim the Road' midnight cycling event,

meanwhile, raised the profile of local campaigns, opportunities and environmental practice

to staff and students.

Future Environmental Events

The GU Environmental Clubs are working together; The Climate Action Society, The

Willowbank community garden, The Energy Ambassador Society, The Food Coop, The Zero

Carbon Society and the soon to be affiliated Oxfam Society are reaching out to other

relevant societies, The Zoology Society, The Vegan Society; in order to host environmental

events through out the coming year. Plans are underway already following a ‘Big Green

Meeting’ between students in April. Go Green Week 2013 will go ahead with continued

support from GUEST and plans to reach out to even more students! The Reclaim the Road in

Climate Week was a success which will be organized again alongside the developing GU

Environmental Summit. Both will join the environmental programme of events with many

different film showings and inspiring talks coming up in the next academic year.

...

The ultimate aim is to improve the university's sustainable performance and individual

activities by its thousands of students and staff are the one linchpin of this goal.

GUEST Sustainability Hub

In addition to official policies and institutional activities, GUEST also regards individual

everyday practices as crucial aspects that need to be addressed if the University of Glasgow

is to move towards a more sustainable future. One of GUEST's projects, therefore, was the

development of a one-‐stop environmental website for students. This hub is meant to

provide general and more permanent background knowledge. The already established

GUEST online blog (www.guenvironmental.blogspot.co.uk) on the other hand delivers

relevant updates and functions as the main means of communication between GUEST and

the wider student and staff population.

While much information around issues of sustainability is already obtainable from various

university, university-‐associated and external sources, this knowledge is not readily

accessible and user-‐friendly available to the wider average Glasgow University's student

population. In order to establish sustainability as a fully incorporated characteristic of the

university's performance however, it must be easier to access this knowledge and it should

arguably not be left to every individual student to gather specific information on the various

aspects of sustainable practices at and beyond campus. GUEST therefore decided to address

this issue and build and online presence that serves as a hub for the fundamentals of

environmental sustainability.

The search for an appropriate provider resulted in an association with the Glasgow

University Students' Representative Council (GUSRC). The GUSRC's Media and

Communications department was very open to our suggestions and welcomed the idea of a

sustainability hub on their online presence. It was agreed to host the hub under the GUSRC

website's 'Advice' section. The GUEST members in charge of the project developed six

subcategories for the hub: biodiversity, waste and recycling, sustainable transport,

sustainable food, energy savings and official policies.

Naturally, much of the content for these categories got only available in the course of the

research for the various other GUEST projects associated with them. Creating the

appropriate online content was therefore a subsequent step to the work of these other

GUEST projects. Further, much of the later period of GUEST's work overlapped with events

that were more pressing on the GUSRC's agenda, such as the recent SRC elections. Time

constraints were inter alia thus a main obstacle to the development of the website. The

sustainability hub is therefore still a project in process and will, after consultation with the

GUSRC, be finished over the course of the next weeks.

While the creation of a one-‐stop point of reference is a great leap forward in terms of

accessibility of knowledge for student, it must however also be noted that the availability of

appropriate information around issues of sustainability must be given a more prominent

positions on the University's agenda. Taking that the GUSRC's online presence is rather

limited regarding its design and freedom of programming, GUEST sees the hub in its current

form and planning as a starting point for further action rather than a sufficient answer to

the abovementioned lack of coherent and easily accessible knowledge about sustainability.

GUEST would like to suggest possible improvements to these issues. The shared view of

GUEST and the GUSRC's is that the SRC's website is in dire need of a fundamentally new

setup. While this is certainly an issue the GUSRC has to tackle internally, the University

could consult with the future GUEST and the SRC about how the best possible viability of the

sustainability hub can be achieved. The hub's content may well be incorporate into a similar

one-‐step section within the university's website itself and does not exclusively have to stay

on the SRC's online presence. As suggested above, knowledge about sustainable practices is

already available. The crucial aspect, however, is its viability by students and staff. It is

therefore fundamentally important to address and improve the way how this content is

presented. The ultimate aim is to improve the university's sustainable performance and

individual activities by its thousands of students and staff are one, if not the, linchpin of this

goal.

GU Environmental Sustainability Team: Take 2

September 2012 -‐ March 2013

Twelve positions overall.

Eleven positions is a manageable number to host interviews to be managed by the

Coordinator, two of these positions are already filled by previous GUEST members; who,

alongside the Coordinator, will share their knowledge, help interview and advice new

student members as Mentors.

Coordinator and two Mentors working 22weeks

Nine Student placements working 20 weeks

Contracted on an ‘atypical worker’ form

Receiving minimum wage -‐ £7 per hour

Who will be the financial overseer of the project? Green Champion Representation?

Application forms and information to be sent out and made available to students mid May,

as not all students check their email over summer.

An ‘all Level 2’ Student email informing students of opportunity with application form

attached and information on deadline. (L2 students crucial to ensure legacy of GUEST)

Level 2 students will have the time, there is limited time for interviewing, therefore

restricted number of students informed.

Students of Environmental Clubs will also be informed as they are interested and have been

an invaluable source of enthusiasm in the pilot scheme of GUEST.

This method is allowing for more equal opportunities than last year.

Students will apply for specific role.

Application forms will be read over summer and interviews to be arranged with plenty of

notice for Freshers week/first week of term.

Unfortunately not all students will be offered an interview.

Panel of judges:

Including Coordinator, GUEST mentors Marlina and Melanie. Would the Green Champions

like to be involved?

Coordinator and Mentors will start work 2 weeks before project commences in order to

recruit the team. The first official week of the project will involve training workshops given

by Coordinator and Mentors, to introduce students to the layout of the university and the

history of the project. During these workshops the students will hopefully have the chance

to meet the Green Champions and the SRC Officer. Training will also be offered on

communication and a project development, based on Joe Farthings training workshops

received by GUEST at the Sustainable Futures Conference, Strathclyde University.

Coordinator and Two Mentors

Semester One = 3rd September til 9th Decemeber

Semester Two = 14th January til 24th March

Nine Student Placements

Semester one = 10 weeks – 17th September til 9th December

Semester two = 10 weeks – 14th January til 24th March

First payment will be received end of October; this will allow time for work numbers to be

processed and the hours to be logged in time for 5th October.

The team has raised awareness to the coordinator of issues that have come to light from the

placements this year. These have been considered as the job descriptions below were

created.

Positions within Glasgow University Environmental Sustainability Team

September 2012 – March 2013

Coordinator x 112 hours per week, 22 weeks =£1848

• Roisin Lyle-‐Collins

• Advertise, shortlist and interview for new positions

• Continue to advise and support team

• Communicate with all team members to ensure work is carried out

• Meet with Green Champions

• Process contracts, log hours for payroll and claim forms

• Attend team meetings

Mentors x 2 (members from GUEST Jan-March 2012 )

6 hours per week, 22 weeks = £1848

• Essential role to the team as will ensure legacy and allow the team to progress

further

• Devise and deliver training for new team members

• Support interview process where necessary

• Advise new team members

• Attend team meetings

• Share the knowledge they gained during their first placement

• Help with project work

Communicator x 1


• Manage team email account

• Manage GU Sustainability Hub Webpage once up and running

• Correspondence with staff /students /SRC

• Articles in University Newspapers/magazines/newletters

• Inform societies of our work and share feedback and queries to team

• Maintain the guenvironmental news blog –guenvironmental.blogspot.com

Reduce Reuse Recycle Promoter x 3


• Continue to help to improve recycling facilities on campus

• Raise awareness of recycling to the student population – creative recycling

workshops/student media

• Encourage sustainable printing – double sided printing as mandatory, not single

sided handins

• Continue the recycling project in halls and expand on this

• Continue to encourage Hospitality Services to consider the environmental impact of

their practice and products

• Ensure that all taps which produce drinking water are labelled and encourage a

’bottled-‐water free’ campus

• Encourage ethical procurement in the University as a whole

• Help to organise and promote the Swap Shops for halls and on campus

• IT and Lab equipment recycling facilities

Sustainable Transport Promoter x 1


• Bicycle Promotion Scheme

• Work with Viola Retzlaff

• Ensure ʹ′Awards for allʹ′ funding is correctly used

• Arrange events to encourage safe cycling -‐ Reclaim the Road, Travel Week

• Continue to work with The Bike Station

• Work towards a bicycle hire scheme for students

Energy Conservation Promoter x 2


• Assist Estates and Buildings Energy Conservation Officer

• The Zero Carbon Society – CCF

• Energy Saving Halls Competitions

• Support the Energy Ambassador Society

• Revisit the 10:10 campaign

Biodiversity Promoter x1

8 hours per week , 20 weeks = £1120

• Co-‐ordinate the biodiversity student survey project

• Support The Willowbank Community Garden Society – recruit volunteers, interview

and coordinate the stduent work placements which will be funded by the council to

boost the development and community work of the garden.

• Support The Wildlife Garden

• Attend Campus Biodiversity Meetings

Sustainable Academia Promoter x1

8 hours per week, 20 weeks =£1120

• Meet with representatives of other Univerisities to learn how best to establish this

at GU

• Meet with representatives of Education and Research at GU to highlight the

importance of Sustainabilty research and Environmental awareness in the

curriculum. Share knowledge gained from investigation

• Discuss further with CMC on how GUEST can help

• Survey students and staff on this issue in order to show the strength of this

campaign

• Discuss the possibility of the integration of GUEST into the curriculum

Total investment in the potential twelve GUEST positions for 20/22 weeks = £13,496

(Previous GUEST project awarded £6,600, 10 students, 10 weeks)

Budget for research travel expenses and printing expenses not included.

(GUEST Pilot scheme = £100 per person for ten weeks) £100 x 12 x 2 = £2,400

Total investment required = £15,896

All team members:

• Will continue to meet and collaborate with other Scottish/Glasgow institutions in

order to learn from their practice

• Carry out face to face engagement with as many people of the university community

as possible in order to raise awareness of the need to reduce carbon, how this can

be done on campus and inform the community of the GUEST project

• Will be involved in the organisation of Environmental events on campus – To name

a few… Go Green Week 2013, Glasgow Critical Mass, GU Environmental Summit and

The Environmental Careers Fair

• The team will continue to support the Environmental Clubs and Green Champions of

Glasgow University

• Attend weekly team meetings, report on progress and contribute to written end of

term reports.

Considerations for GUEST 2012- 2013

GUEST will continue to feedback to the Carbon Management Committee and are open to

their suggestions but will continue to be a student led initiative. Members of GUEST will

meet monthly with the GU Carbon Conversations Group, comprising of Green Champions

and Corporate Communications in order to share ideas and knowledge.

A closer coordination with the SRC environmental officer should be established, as this will

allow both to out reach further to students and both jobs to progress smoother as the

environmental officer could act as the root of communication with the SRC.

GUEST will build a relationship with Glasgow City Council, in order to further investigate

how improvements can be made to waste disposal, energy conservation and sustainable

travel.

If GUEST were to be allocated office space within the University, this would:

• Lead to better coordination

• Provide a place for team meetings

• Act as a focus for like minded students and staff

• Promote better organisation

• Act as a knowledge hub

• Formalise GUEST with a recognised presence

• Keep better track of GUEST hours

The team will communicate with each other using Google groups as a platform as well as

weekly meetings and minutes. Although team members have a set job description it has

been useful to share and update each other regularly to ensure teamwork.

GUEST is waiting on completion of the application for The Cooperative Bank, Community

Direct Account in order to accept grant funding from external sources; ethical banking is a

priority for GUEST.

It would be beneficial to the university and GUEST if a sub-‐site for GUEST was created and

available on the public as well as the staff University website, along with information for

students being hosted through the SRC site. This sub-‐site would provide some general

information on the team, the work and a relevant contact for further information and

queries. Therefore the site would not need to be updated frequently and could be managed

by the University’s designated IT team.

Following our meetings with David Somervell and Matthew Lawson at Edinburgh

University, the team are open to the idea of renaming GUEST. We have been advised and

now believe that the name makes too strong a connection with the temporary and might

hinder formalising future GUEST groups. The inclusion of both the words ‘environmental’

and ‘sustainability’ in the team title has been questioned and the team now feel it may

hinder efforts at a broad engagement with the university population. The name however,

did reach to the current team members and has filled its purpose. Now it is time to embed

the team into University structure.

The Glasgow University Environmental Sustainability

Team Members January – March 2012:

Co-ordinator:

Roisin Lyle-‐Collins – Zoology Undergraduate, Year 2

The Recycling Investigation:

Miriam Wilson – Politics and History Undergraduate, Year 2

Giovanna Bisoni – English Literature and History of Art Undergraduate, Year 2

The Energy Conservation Project:

Melanie Hall – Geography and Politics Undergraduate, Year 3

Franziska Teichmann – MSc Environment and Sustainable Development, Year 1

Iona Innes – Earth Science Undergraduate, Year 2

The Bicycle Promotion Scheme:

Marlina Heinonen -‐ Geography and Business Management Undergraduate, Year 2

Hospitality Services – Coffee Cup Proposal:

Joanna Shaw -‐ Theatre Studies Undergraduate, Year 3

The Sustainability Hub:

Martin Espig – Sociology Undergraduate, Year 4

Daniel Henly – Marine and Freshwater Biology Undergraduate, Year 4

Acknowledgments

GUEST would like to thank…

Friends of the Earth Glasgow and The University Settlement for their continued support

Dr Johannes Courtial, Green Champion and financial overseer of GUEST, for his patience and

enthusiasm

Nick Wade of Corporate Communications for his support and advice

The Glasgow University Climate Action Society for helping to channel the student opinion to

the team

The Chancellor’s fund for backing the project

As well as all staff who have offered advice, shared knowledge and enthusiasm during

meetings and other staff and students who have taken part in GUEST surveys and events.

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