sustainability@bangor newsletter summer 2015
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Sustainability@Bangor
Newsletter Summer 2015
www.bangor.ac.uk/sustainability
How many of you have
noticed that 'The Sus-
tainability
Laboratory' is popping
up across the
university? Well, here's an introduction to the
new venture.
In the University’s Strategic plan for 2015-2020
'Sustainability' is identified as one of the
'strategic enablers'. We aim to become, in all
aspects, ‘the Sustainable University’. Our
ambition embraces not only the infrastructure
and operation of University sites and operations,
but also how the University plans for growth as
well as our role for Wales and beyond.
SBBS, formerly part of the Welsh Institute for
Natural Resources has been working behind the
scenes for years, but now, in response to the
University's Strategic plan we will re launch as
the 'Sustainability Laboratory' to act as a
high-profile corporate focal-point and the face of
sustainable development at the University. In the
months and years ahead we will work with as
wide a range of people and interests as possible
in order to :
Co-develop a sustainability action plan
Embed sustainability across our functions to
integrate all aspects of sustainability into our
daily operations
Conduct a programme of sustainability
reviews across all Colleges and Service
Departments
Develop a globally recognised sustainable
reporting framework
Ensure clear, concise audience-appropriate
messages on sustainability
Engage with businesses and other
organisations on sustainable business
development and resource efficiency
Reduce the University’s carbon footprint
The activities, websites and so on will continue
with new branding taking place in phases.
From a teaching and learning and student
experience perspective the University is
committed to " Ensure the development of our
curriculum reflects our commitment to
sustainable development and global citizenship”.
In terms of research we aim to "foster a culture
that values and promotes sustainability alongside
business and enterprise activities. An interesting
way of doing this and will be to enhance student,
staff and community experience of sustainability
in its widest sense through Action Research
(“learning by doing”)
In the meantime, we are looking for enthusiastic
people who want to be part of the Laboratory -
from across the University academic background
or whatever your support department.
Please get in touch! Perhaps we can include
your story in the next issue.
The Bangor University Sustainability LAB
Bangor University sustainable development experts visited Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda in February 14-19 to sign a five-year collaboration deal. Bangor University will contribute expertise putting sustainable development into action.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Bangor and Makerere Universities will work as a platform for collaboration under the recently commissioned EC programmes Joint European-African Research and Innovation Agenda on Waste Management, to boost collaborative research and innovation. The partnership could also attract Ugandan and east African students, coming to the UK for extended study and research, to choose Bangor. The visit explored ways to collaborate over technical assistance to Makerere University’s implementation of resource efficiency and the wider` network of the Innovations Systems `Cluster Programme, (part of the East African and Continental Pan African Competitiveness Forums). Makerere University also plans to work with Bangor University to embed sustainability in all its work, through teaching, research and developing practical solutions for businesses in Uganda. Leader of the visiting team, Dr Einir Young, Bangor University’s Director of Sustainability said, “Sustainability and the environment are moving to the top of the international agenda, and our expertise as a University enables us to offer businesses and institutions the knowledge and technical means to put sustainable alternatives into practice, helping them lower costs, increase productivity and be more environmentally and socially responsible.”
Dr Young added, “As a consequence of our continued commitment to sustainability, Bangor University is now rated among the top 10% of the world’s greenest Universities, according to an international league table of environmentally friendly institutions. “We are developing an international reputation for expertise in sustainable development, not just for large corporations and public bodies but for small businesses where every penny lost or won is crucial. We hope that the relationship with Makerere will flourish and that the many students who travel to the UK for further study and research will deepen the link by coming to Bangor.”
The academic delegation who visited Uganda to lay the foundations for the collaboration and discover the extent of the potential were from Bangor University’s Synnwyr Busnes Business Sense (SBBS) and Bio-Composites groups. SBBS under Dr Young has specialised in embedding sustainability within institutions and has emerged as the corporate focal point for the sustainability agenda within Bangor University. BioComposites uses biomaterials including waste and plants, to make bio-products for industry as a way of reducing negative effects on the environment. Professor John Ddumba Ssentamu, Vice Chancellor Makerere University said, “The collaboration with Bangor University will enable us to offer our students and business partners access to their teaching and practical expertise. As one of the world’s leading universities in applying effective solutions to issues such as energy efficiency, waste management, sustainable recycling and reuse of materials, they are ideal partners.”
Ugandan University signs
Sustainable Development Deal with Bangor University
A breath of new life came to an empty store in the Deiniol Shopping Centre in March with the student enterprise project ‘The Ugly Foods Shop’ which sold food deemed to ugly for supermarkets, and the good new is it will return in September due to popular demand.
Bangor University said the Ugly Foods Shop which sold irregular looking fruit and veg in the Deiniol Shopping Centre throughout the month of March was a great success and had a “very positive” response from the community. A university spokesperson said: “The shop brought a new lease of life to Bangor’s Deiniol Shopping Centre as well as allowing students to develop vital enterprise and employability skills that will be invaluable in the world of work.
“The response from customers of the shop was very positive and due to popular demand it is planned for the shop to re-open its doors in September 2015 with students looking forward to developing the Ugly Foods brand even further.”
The shop, managed by Bangor University students, sold fruit and vegetables which do not meet the conventional beauty standards set by supermarkets before they can be stacked on shelves, usually because of their size or irregular appearance.
The shop offered customers the chance to save the ugly produce from landfill and buy at a cheaper price than from conventional retailers.
Goods on offer included Soup in a Sack and freshly made smoothies, as well as loose fruit and vegetables.
Gwyn Hughes, Town Clerk, Bangor City Council said “the store helped ensure Bangor offered a different experience to what shoppers can get elsewhere.”
Dan Taylor, a student from the University's School of Psychology who managed the shop, said: “The ugly foods shop has taught me of the potential to become an entrepreneur in the future.
“It has been a really worthwhile experience and great to be able to be involved in a venture which seems to have been able to meet a need in the community.”
The university’s B-Enterprising team, who helped to coordinate the venture, thanked Bangor City Council for working with the students of Bangor University and to the Welsh Government for helping to fund it.
The Ugly Foods Shop pop up success
Bangor in top 10% of World’s Greenest Universities Bangor University’s commitment to sustainability has again earned it a commanding position in an
international league table of environmentally friendly institutions. The league was first launched by
Universitas Indonesia in 2010 to highlight sustainability and environmental management at
universities across the world. Each year the number of Universities taking part increases; in the
current league 360 Universities from 62 countries took part and Bangor has been placed
in 28th position.
“I am delighted that Bangor continues to maintain its position as a sustainability leader within the international higher education sector. This latest announcement demonstrates our ongoing commitment to taking positive action in promoting sustainability and achieving continual environmental improvement,” said Vice Chancellor Professor John G Hughes. Ricky Carter, Environmental Manager in the Estates and Facilities Department added: “We are continuing to make significant progress not only at home but globally, as shown by our recent achievement of the internationally recognised ISO14001 Environmental Standard. In addition we have held the Welsh Green Dragon environmental certification since 2009”. Head of Sustainable Development at Bangor University, Dr Einir Young responded to the announcement saying: “Our efforts in driving environmental improvements and resource efficiencies throughout the organisation continue to show dividends. We recognise that the environment is just one aspect of the sustainable development agenda, and we are focusing our efforts on integrating sustainable practice into everything we do, through our research, our teaching and our own supply chain”.
Sustainability ThinkTanks
We’ve had another successful year of Sustainability
ThinkTanks. Bringing Sustainability to life by promoting
ideas and discussion around Sustainability@Bangor.
There have been discussions on behaviour change and
sustainability, mindfulness, sustainable procurement and
buying green, reducing environmental impact on food
packaging, the Love Bangor Partnership and much more.
If you have any ideas around sustainability why not bring them along to one of the monthly Think
Tank sessions, or if you’d like to take a session yourself contact Mair at [email protected]
Bangor University invited staff, students and the local community to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight 2015 in February. This year the University and the Bangor Community Fairtrade Group joined forces to put a series of events on during the fortnight to remind everyone of the dramatic difference Fairtrade makes around the world and the positive impact it has. Many successful event were held such as Fairtrade Rugby, Fairtrade Fair a Bake Off competition, a Quiz and a Movie night and there were also some Fairtrade products available at the Bangor St David’s day Parade and service at the Cathedral on the 1
st of
March. Dr Einir Young, Head of Sustainable Development said:
“Bangor University is committed to Fairtrade, we have Fairtrade status and a Fairtrade Policy which commits to making Fairtrade goods available for purchase in all campus shops and food outlets and to expand the availability of Fairtrade products whenever possible. Being a Fairtrade University and promoting Fairtrade is important to our commitment to become the Sustainable University. Buying Fairtrade products is one of the least difficult choices we as individuals can make. It sends an important message to business that we won’t put up with unfairness; that we don’t want people or the environment to be treated badly just so that we can buy cheap goods. Join with Bangor University to make Fairtrade a choice whenever possible for the benefit of developing countries across the globe.”
University supports Fairtrade Fortnight 2015
Bangor University’s Annual Environmental Management Report
2014 was a significant year in our journey to become sector leaders in sustainability. We not only achieved certification to ISO14001:2004, the globally recognised standard for Environmental Management Systems, we also featured in the top 10% of over 300 Universities worldwide for our commitment to environmental sustainability. This builds upon the Welsh “Green Dragon” environmental certification that we have held since 2009. Bangor’s achievements are a clear demonstration to our staff, students and stakeholders at a national and global level that our University is taking its environmental responsibilities very seriously indeed. Read the Environmental Annual Report
Bangor University helped to build a brighter future by supporting WWF’s 2015 Earth Hour. A spectacular and symbolic lights out event that focuses the world’s attention on our
planet, and the need to protect it.
On 28th March, at 8.30pm, Bangor
University joined forces with thousands of iconic landmarks globally, from The Sydney Harbour Bridge to Times Square in New York, as they showed their support. Earth Hour’s unique display of darkness has become a global phenomenon with hundreds of millions of individuals coming together each year. In 2014, a record-breaking 162 countries and 7000 towns and cities joined the world’s
biggest celebration for our planet.
Last year in Wales, it’s estimated that over 400,000 people took part, sending out a
united message of support. Participating Welsh landmarks included the Senedd in
Cardiff Bay, Caernarfon Castle, The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and Newport Transporter Bridge. They were among 200 of the UK’s most iconic landmarks to plunge
into darkness, alongside Big Ben and
Edinburgh Castle. 235 Welsh schools signed up and Welsh Assembly Members from all parties showed their support.
To celebrate Earth Hour 2015, Bangor
University switched off the floodlighting on our iconic Main University Building for the hour, and encouraged staff and students to join in by taking what action they could.
“We were proud to take part in Earth Hour and to be involved with such a great and
inspiring event. Everyone can make a
difference to help protect our planet and we all have a key role to play,” said Ricky Carter, Bangor University’s Environmental Manager.
Bangor University celebrate Earth Hour
Image: Ishaq Madan
Travel The World
The University is partaking in the “Travel the World” challenge again
where the cumulative distances travelled by staff powers the University
virtually across the globe. When Bangor University took part 2 years ago
collectively in 90 days we managed to travel over 67,000 miles.
Once again Aberystwyth University are also running the Challenge and
we are having a friendly competition against their staff to see which
Institution can go the greatest distance during the 60 days.
Bangor Healthy Living Week 2015 Bangor University and Bangor Students’ Union recently hosted a successful Healthy Living Week and there were plenty of opportunities for students and staff to learn about maintaining healthy lifestyles. Throughout the week various themed sessions were held from learning some basic self-defence moves, to
Dr Bike maintenance sessions, tai chi and even some taster rowing sessions. The highlight of the week was the Healthy Living Fair with over 20 stands from many internal staff and student departments as well as external agencies and companies like Lidl, Coppafeel, Always Aim High Events, British Liver Trust, Dimensions Health Store, Motiv8 and the NHS Blood Transfusion service. The Sustrans SMOOTHIE BIKE giving away free smoothies was also a big hit across campus.
The Big Give project 2015
The project is running between 15th May and 5th of June
The Big Give is a volunteering project run annually by Student Volunteering Bangor where volunteers work with residents in the university halls and enable them to donate items that they don’t wish to take home with them.
Blue collection boxes are placed in each hall building and collections are then made regularly over a period of a month as students move out. Each year, the aim is to divert as much waste as possible from landfill and students work throughout the year to identify new homes for the thousands of items that will be donated.
A Big Give spokesperson said “Obviously, the main aim of the project is to stop what would be a huge amount of waste going into landfill. Without having a team of people to collect and then sort the items, it would not be possible to divert and recycle this waste. Donating the items on to other charities in the area is a hugely positive thing because it offers a real helping hand to these organisations and those who benefit from their services.”
Student Halls of Residence Recycling Strategy
The Halls of Residence Recycling Strategy is a collaborative project between an appointed
BEA intern, the Halls Department and SBBS. The project commenced earlier this year in mid-
April and will span over a 10 week period.
The team are currently monitoring and conducting waste composition analysis, looking at the
volume of food waste and dry recyclables in student halls and the level of recyclables that are
still making their way into the refuse bins. The work that is currently being
conducted aims to give the baseline data needed to be able to develop a recycling strategy
and an effective campaign to communicate this strategy to students.
To date, the team have measured and analysed food waste and dry recyclables in 10 flats in
different halls of residents over the past 5 weeks, whilst also conducting a waste audit from two
of the flats that are being monitored. The team are therefore half way through the study, and
look forward to sharing the results in the next newsletter.
Cefn y Coed Hall has won the Student Switch Off competition this year, they saved the most energy in their residence and have been involved with the campaign on the facebook page. As a celebration the students were awarded with a Pizza Party at Bar Uno for their efforts. It’s been a really good campaign at Bangor with students winning Ben&Jerry’s ice cream, NUS extra cards as well as BarUno vouchers and saving loads of energy! It wouldn’t have been possible without the Student Switch Off Ambassadors and the students taking part!
Student Switch Off
On the May Bank Holiday Weekend 24th May, local residents and children came together to have a fun day clearing up & learning about their local environment in Llanberis and the opportunity to take part in some adventurous activities in the afternoon. Sixty-eight people gathered 450 kgs of litter and
other trash from the surroundings of Llanberis at the first Envirotrek event of season 2015!
Local partners were: Padarn Adventures, Chartered Institute of Waste Management, Cyngor Gwynedd Council, Wise Network, RAW Adventures, Heart of Adventure ‘Calon Antur’, Outdoor Wales and The Heights.
You may have noticed a pink glow from roof of the Memorial Building recently. Far from being an alternative location for student discos, it is in fact down to the new eco-friendly horticultural LED lighting system installed in the 3 greenhouses on the building! Senior CNS Technician, Gordon Turner first came up with the idea, which he presented to the University’s Sustainability Task Group. From there the proposal was taken to the Estates Energy Management Group, who implemented the scheme as part of their annual “Invest to Save” programme. Gordon explains, “The previous lighting system was inefficient and unreliable, costing the University around £25 each day in electricity and maintenance costs. The new energy efficient Phytolux LED arrays provide an optimum selection of wavelengths for photosynthesis (hence the pink glow) that will almost half these costs. The arrays will pay for themselves over a 3 year period, as well as reducing our carbon footprint by up to 20 tonnes”. Ricky Carter, Environmental Manager, commented; “We are committed to reducing our
environmental impacts as well as our energy costs, and this project is an excellent example of how we are achieving this. Gordon’s scheme has now been extended to one of the Henfaes glasshouses, and the installations will make a valuable contribution to the energy and carbon targets set out in our Environmental Management System”. If you have any “Invest to Save” ideas like Gordon’s, and can show a payback period of 5 years or less, why not bring them along to one of the monthly Sustainability Think Tank sessions, or send them to Ricky at [email protected]
Envirotrek Clean Up North Wales, Llanberis
Bangor’s Greenhouses in the Pink
Love Bangor Hate Waste
Bangor Students’ Union and Gwynedd
Council are launching the Love Bangor, Hate
Waste campaign, to make sure we all get it
out for Bangor. On Saturday 6th
of June, and
Friday 19 of June, these streets will get
extra bulky collections to keep Bangor
tidy with students being asked to put out
their extra rubbish on these specially
designated days when clearing out of their
accommodation
Partners will work together to tackle the
annual problem of end of term waste of
rubbish spilling on to the streets and other
public places. On these days, all students
need to do is put out their household waste
and recycling as they normally would,
including any bulky items.
Updates and more information can be found
on the campaign by joining the Facebook
event and by heading to the Love Bangor
Hub.
There’s also an opportunity for students to
enter themselves into a prize draw. By taking
a picture alongside waste and the funniest
picture will win. Tweet @bangorstudents or
post it in the Love Bangor Hate Waste event
page. The three best photos will win a £50,
£30 or £20 Amazon Gift Voucher.
Help make Bangor tidy!
Cowspiracy:The Sustainability Secret Film Screening In March the Sustainability team helped organise a successful screening of the ‘COWSIPRACY’ film for the local Bangor & Anglesey Friends of the Earth group and the public. A groundbreaking feature-length environmental documentary following intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today – and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it. This shocking yet humorous documentary reveals the
absolutely devastating environmental impact large-scale factory farming has on our planet, and offers a path to global sustainability for a growing population.
The #Ecoamgueddfa (Llŷn Ecomuseum) is a collaborative digital marketing campaign between seven
heritage sites on the Llŷn Peninsula (Pen Llŷn). The #Ecoamgueddfa uses digital platforms to
promote this unique area’s rich cultural heritage to local and worldwide audiences. The vision is to see
an increase in cultural tourism in the area, leading to a year round sustainable tourist industry, which
will see economic, environmental and social benefits.
The festival is a celebration of the success of the #Ecoamgueddfa. Events will be held at each site
over the course of a week from the 6th of June until the 14th. Plenty of fun and exciting events fro all
the family.
Here's the # Ecoamgueddfa Festival Event Booklet
From the Director’s Chair
“Hed amser meddi, na; erys amser, dyn a” - the words of wis-
dom on the sun dial in the quad observes that although we
think that time flies, time stands still and it is we travel. Either
way another year has ‘flown’ by and there are an abundance
of activities that have contributed to the ‘sustainability’ of the
University.
I’ve got two topics on my mind for this issue – politics and well
-being.
Politics: I’d like to start by congratulating Mair
Rowlands who has, since November, been a member of the
Gwynedd Council cabinet and is responsible for Recreation,
Children and Young People including child and youth health.
As a local authority member she counts amongst her successes the establishment of Ment-
er Iaith Bangor (the Bangor Welsh Language
Enterprise) and the first North Wales Park Run. She was nominated and shortlisted for the
"Young Councillor of the Year” award and was a runner up at an awards ceremony in March
this year. We are all very proud of her.
Participation in the democratic process is crucial. We’ve just survived a UK general
election; Welsh elections for Assembly Members and Local Authority members are
coming up in May 2016 and between now and the end of 2017 we will be asked whether the
UK should remain in the European Union or not. Mair is a great role model for taking
politics seriously.
Well-being (how familiar are we with this word?)
On April 29th the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 entered the statute
books. It is an innovative law that places 'well-being' at the heart of decision making with
the aim of ensuring that decisions made today will not have a negative impact on the
choices available to our children and our children's children. Does it really matter? It seems
a no-brainer but I was surprised that there is a view out there that it’s 'boring' and for 'old
people'. What do you think?
Last year we held a workshop to discuss “The Wales we want / University we want” and
we’re planning to follow up with a session or two on how the Well-being of future
generations act relates to us at Bangor University. I hope you will be able to join us.
It would be very interesting to challenge each of the political parties in the coming months to
explain how their proposed policies will address the
Well-being Goals described in the Act.
I look forward to the interesting times ahead.
www.bangor.ac.uk/sustainability
Cynaliadwyedd Prifysgol
Bangor University Sustainability
@planedPBUplanet