A ceremony celebrating students co-creating projects with staff showcased the reflections and learning from student Green Impact Project Assistants, and student volunteer Green Impact auditors. Green Impact empowers individuals and departments to reduce their sustainability impacts by encouraging, rewarding, and celebrating sustainability improvements. Green Impact is a change and engagement programme that aims to help staff to understand sustainability and… Read more →
Volunteering Opportunity – one day Are you interested in gaining some valuable training and experience in environmental auditing? We are offering FREE accredited auditor training -Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) Approved. You’ll receive a full mornings training in the requirements of environmental auditing followed by a free lunch, and then first-hand environmental auditing experience in the afternoon. No… Read more →
The University of Worcester is collaborating with Sanctuary Group and Worcester Students’ Union to make Carbon Literacy training available to staff, students and customers across both organisations. The next course is running November/December 2023 contact g.slater@worc.ac.uk for booking details. Carbon Literacy training is an opportunity to learn about the carbon costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the steps we… Read more →
Sustainability learning by cooking pizza in a wood-fired oven During our training as Residential Life Team members (RLT), were introduced to the significance and impact of Sustainability, by the University of Worcester sustainability department. Giving us a chance to develop our skills for maintaining and protecting the environment and importantly making a positive societal impact. A fun way to learn… Read more →
Four hundred and twenty-one University of Worcester students participated in the 2022-23 SOS UK student skills survey, the fifth-highest number of responses across the country. Students Rosie Bramwell and Fay Askew review the data and discuss what are the next steps. The University of Worcester students also took part in the 2020-21 Sustainability Skills survey which received over 8700 responses… Read more →
Additional material Estela Castelli Florino Pilz Projects and Community Management at Sulitest The University of Worcester has already more than proven its commitment to building a sustainable future with its many community and environmental projects leading to the acquisition of several awards. As Sustainability Institution of the Year in 2019 with a High Commendation in the International Green Gown Awards… Read more →
by Katy Boom, Director of Sustainability at the University of Worcester Do you want to learn new skills in sustainability? Do you want to understand how social, economic and environmental factors influence and interplay and how we can protect our planet for future generations? The Introduction to Sustainability presentation below gives a taster of the work we do at the… Read more →
In March this year, the Department of Geography at the University of Worcester held its annual public conference that focuses on a specific theme in global development. The conference, organised collaboratively with the local Beacons Development Education Centre, was attended by students from across the university, as well as University staff, Beacons volunteers, members of the public, and representatives from… Read more →
The University of Worcester set a target to be net-zero carbon by 2030. We think students and staff working together on projects they’ve designed is the best way to do this. Credits listed below, Edited by Rosie Bramwell.
Above: Highlights – University of Worcester – Net Zero Carbon by 2030
Katy Boom – Director of Sustainability, Presenting
Jess Tasney – Carbon Reduction and Sustainability Manager, Data
James Atkins – Technician, Drone Footage
Molly McMahon – Digital Creative Assistant, Filming
Aly Elsaid – Digital Creative Assistant, Editing and Graphics
With support and additional material from Digital Creative Assistants Rosie Bramwell, Charlie Marston and Diego Arachchi
Having declared a climate emergency in 2019 we set a target to be net-zero carbon by 2030 for both direct and indirect carbon emissions. Our total carbon footprint in the academic year 2018/19 was about 22,000 tonnes. This is our baseline year.
In 2022-3 it had increased to over 32,000 tonnes. Direct carbon has reduced by 25%, but our indirect carbon is up by 63%. Why is this?
Direct carbon is produced by the energy we use and the fuel for our vehicles. It is called direct because we own and control these. This has reduced because of changes to lighting, heating, on-site renewable
energy and changing to electric vehicles. Lighting is predominantly LEDs, and by adding double glazing and insulation we have improved energy efficiency of our buildings. We installed solar thermal and PV panels to heat our water and generate our own electricity.
We’ve also expanded our building management system to help us control temperatures in response to weather conditions and heat buildings to 19 degrees. We can also save carbon and money by sharing heating and cooling and create a community heat network. The university is working to see if we can do this in Worcester. Government funding has appointed consultants to work on a design to use the river as the heat source.
Indirect carbon refers to what we have less control over changing. Most of our indirect carbon emissions are from what we buy, and by staff and student travel. Together this made up 29,000 tonnes in 2022-23.
To reduce commuting carbon, we installed 100 electric vehicle charging points on Severn Campus, one of the largest single installations in the country. Students are working with a global travel planning app which provides small rewards from local businesses for travelling sustainably. To reduce procurement emissions, we work with our suppliers and give them free access to a tool to help them work with their supply chains to reduce their emissions and include carbon reduction commitments when awarding contracts.
To be net zero by 2030, we aim to reduce our carbon first. Then will we invest in credible schemes that will take carbon out of the atmosphere, such as planting trees and soil conservation projects. In short, we are aiming to be low carbon and high nature. Our biggest area of impact are our students and staff – around 11,000 people.
To help reach zero, people need to understand carbon and high impact solutions for reducing it. We offer 8 hours of carbon literacy training to all. It is important when our students graduate, they leave with the skills, knowledge and experience of climate action and sustainability. We think students and staff working together on projects they’ve designed is the best way to do this.
– My name is Elena Lengthorn. I work in the School of Education. We introduce the SDGs in the core professional studies program for all our secondary teachers in training. It includes the background to the goals, a critical evaluation of the roles and responsibilities of educators, and insights on how the SDGs can be taught in practice. This year we held an educator climate assembly to support the development of a course on education in a climate emergency. This innovative program includes elements of carbon literacy and nature connectedness, climate anxiety and the SDGs.
– My name is Paulo Mora and I teach brand management. Nowadays consumers demand sustainable and responsible brands and small and large corporations are using the United Nations Sustainable Framework. My students implement the same tools used by these companies to measure their impact and identify areas for possible strategic development.
– Hello, my name is Rachel Cooper. I teach responsible business and accounting and finance at Worcester Business School. How are we going to finance zero carbon?
Businesses are looking for graduates with knowledge, skills, and experience to make this happen.
Our aim is to inspire future business leaders and we bring experts in to explore what is really happening. How do businesses report and deliver results? There is momentum and our graduates are ready.
– Hi, I’m Daniel and as a psychologist, I’m interested in social forces on our behaviour, including altruism such as kindness and helping behaviour and the role it can play in romantic long-term relationships. In a paper published recently, we looked at pro environmentalism. We found that people find it desirable in long-term partners and, we display it more in the presence of potential partners. In our courses here in psychology, we look at global themes, including climate change and the environment so that students can understand the role of psychology and helping make a difference in the world.
– My name is Alan Dixon and I’ve been doing research and teaching in sustainable development for over 25 years and I’m looking at the interrelationships between society and the environment in Sub Saharan Africa. I’ve been exploring how wetlands contribute to food security, poverty reduction and climate resilience and work with different stakeholders to develop wetland management strategies that balanced development with environmental sustainability. This informs the teaching on our geography courses such as our fieldwork to Malawi, where students gain first-hand experience of sustainability and climate change issues in the global South.
– I’m Ian Maddock and I’m a geographer and professor of River Science. My research involves investigating ways to use un-crewed aerial vehicles or drones to map and measure rivers, in particular their morphology in their flows. At Worcester, we’re also using drones to monitor soil erosion and provide evidence of the best farming practices to reduce soil run-off into rivers that can cause pollution. Rivers have suffered greater ecological declines than any other part of our natural environment and the results of this research can help us restore our rivers and enhance biodiversity.
Big thanks to the susthingsout.com Digital Creative Team for putting this video together, to Sheridan Courtney for the video footage for Professor David Green, University of Worcester Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, CBE – and to the students and staff who are embedding sustainability into their teaching and research projects at The University of Worcester.
How can you get involved? Check out our Carbon Literacy Training in Worcester post for more!
Dr Alan Dixon and Albert Mvula from the University of Worcester’s Department of Geography have been researching the social-ecological sustainability of a new farming system in Malawi… In its 5th assessment report on the impacts of climate change, the IPCC (2014) placed sub-Saharan Africa at the front line of climate unpredictability, suggesting that it is here where people will be… Read more →
JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN TO INCREASE RECYCLING RATES ON CAMPUS Hurry, only 100 breakfast vouchers to give away! If you are a student at Worcester use this hashtag (#Bin It Right) and take the ‘proof of use’ to the SU reception desk to claim a free 5 item breakfast worth £3.35. Join the NUS/Coca Cola National Campaign The University of Worcester… Read more →
Dr Alan Dixon’s work on developing a Functional Landscape Approach to managing wetlands has recently been integrated into the work of international non-governmental organisation Self Help Africa in Zambia, where it will inform the Zambian government’s ongoing efforts to implement climate-resilient sustainable development and its national wetlands policy. Their PRESERVE Kafue programme is a three-year project that aims to improve… Read more →
Build organic ranking in search engines; develop digital campaigns to share information about your services; sell your products online; attract more volunteers to sign up to campaigns. The University is providing a FREE TALK to all charities, organisations and businesses who are supporting Go Green Week, 2019 to help you with your digital presence. The session is delivered by Wendy… Read more →
Hello! We are students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), located in Worcester, Massachusetts in the USA. We were in Worcester, UK to complete a project as part of our degree requirements. The four of us that make up this team are in our third of four years of university. We are working with the Severn Rivers Trust (SRT) on their Unlocking the Severn project,… Read more →
Operating on the University of Worcester campus since 2012, an investment from the WLEP, Worcestershire County Council and Worcester City Council has now blossomed into a successful bike share of 100 bikes, 50 are Gtech electric bikes. Known as Woo Bikes this 2 year pilot is investigating the impact of e-bikes to the fleet and is working with large employers… Read more →
American Students Collaborating to Combat Energy Inefficiency in Student HMO Properties For the past 8 weeks, students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the United States have been working with the University of Worcester to continue the Energize Worcester project, a sustainability project that has been going on for a few years. The team wanted to further understand both student perceptions… Read more →
A successful Go Green Week collaboration in Worcester promoting the 10 Golden Rules of Living Sustainably Volunteers and local businesses showed that small changes in daily lives can help the environment by reducing water and energy usage, using sustainable methods of transportation, re-using & recycling, and reducing food and plastic waste. We kicked off with ‘Feed the 1,000’ at the Guildhall… Read more →
University and College leaders recognise sustainability as priority but fail to deliver Sustainable Education sector report 2017 from the National Union of Students (NUS), Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC), University and College Union (UCU), Association of Colleges (AoC) and the College Development Network (CDN). The research shows 1 in 3 respondents reported sustainability as a strategic priority for… Read more →
