25 September 2012 - University of Exeter

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY GROUP
A meeting of the Sustainability Advisory Group was held on Tuesday 25 th September 2012 at 10am in the
Council Chamber of Northcote House.
PRESENT: Prof. Mark Overton, Deputy Vice Chancellor External Affairs (Chair) (MO)
Peter Lacey, Council Member (PL)
Karen Gallagher, Sustainability Manager (KG)
Julia Jack, Travel Plan Coordinator (JJ)
John Malloch, Head of Procurement (JM)
Paul Mucklow, Deputy Director EDS - Engineering (PM)
Graham Moncur, Head of Facilities (GM)
Allan Edgcumbe, Head of Security (AE)
Jim Myton, Marketing Officer - Business School (JMy)
Grace Hopper, VP Welfare & Community Students’ Guild (GH)
Philip Rees-Jones, Assistant Director of Catering (PRJ)
Harriet Sjerps-Jones, Sustainability Curriculum Development Manager (HSJ)
Juliette Stephenson, Head of Student Learning/Senior Teaching Fellow (JS)
Norrie Blackeby, Admin, Facilities & Enterprise Manager, Students’ Guild (NBa)
Sophie Chung-Pan-Lan, Environment & Ethics Rep Elect Students’ Guild (SC)
Hugh McCann, Director - Estate Development Service (HM)
Godfrey Whitehouse, Energy Manager (GW)
Kate Couper, Waste and Recycling Assistant (KC)
Prof. Tim Lenton, Chair in Climate/ Earth System Science (TL)
Finn Woodhill, Project Support Officer - Students as Change Agents (FW)
IN ATTENDANCE: Lucy Kimberley, Sustainability Project Officer (LK) (Minute Taker)
Carolina Garcia Whiting (MSc Sustainable Development Student) (CGW)
APOLOGIES: Karen Clowes, Sustainability Manager - Tremough (KC)
Leona Blaney, Travel Plan Coordinator Tremough (LB)
Peter Connor, UEC - Cornwall Campus (PC)
Nicola Baker, Contract & Private Sector Accommodation Manager (NB)
Edmund Phillips, ICT Co-ordinator (EP)
Frances Vowles, Deputy Director (Development (FV)
Justin Pollard, Associate Research Fellow (JP)
Richard Price, Procurement Officer (RP)
Shannon Springer, Student, One Planet MBA (SS)
WITHDRAWN: Stewart Barr, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography (SB)
Paul Adams, Director of Health & Safety (PA)

MINUTES OF MEETING
ITEM ACTIONS
1.0 Welcome
MO opened the meeting and welcomed new members (Professor Tim Lenton,
Grace Hopper and Sophie Chung-Pan-Lan). MO expressed thanks to both Paul
Adams and Stewart Barr’s for their contribution to the group.
JS requested that agenda and papers continue to be shown electronically.
2.0 Minutes of last meeting: Matters Arising
The minutes of the last meeting were agreed and the following updates were
also provided:
• GW reported that EDS are currently carrying out a feasibility study
regarding the use of kitchen oil in the Streatham Farm boiler.
• KG to liaise with Iain Park regarding the continued use of footpath
lighting in the plantation area.
3.0 Sustainability Plan 2011/2012
KGa reported that over 80% of the plan has been completed in full. Achieving
ISO14001 certification had made a particularly important contribution to further
improving the University’s environmental performance.
The Items allocated Red status on the Sustainability Plan were discussed:
• Item 2.4 (Skip Management) in the plan will be addressed now the new
permanent Waste and Recycling Supervisor is in post.
• Item 3.5 (Sustainability Resources for Students) was not complete as
resources were diverted to the Grand Challenges project. This was
viewed as a good use of resources given the positive sustainability
impact of the initiative. It was requested that a footnote describing the
Grand challenges project be included in the final 2011/12 plan.
• Item 5.2 (Car sharing) will have its first phase launched on 1 st October
2012. Post meeting note: The programme will be launched on 1 st
November.
4.0 Sustainability Plan 2012/13
MO invited the group to comment on content and discuss the plan for the coming
year.
PL requested that more detail be provided regarding the relative importance of
each action and noted it would be helpful to include further narrative within the
criteria.
KG stated that Item 1.3 (Achieving ISO14001) would need to change in 2012/13
as recent environmental audits had highlighted areas requiring action across
colleges. The present action would only target a single college / service.
5.0 Energy and Water Performance Report (SAG 2012/13/01)
GW presented the Energy and Water Performance Report. It was highlighted
that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are below target and GW is confident that
the Staff Bonus criteria will be triggered.
LK
PM
KG
KG
KG
KG

GW said that the CO2 reduction target will be challenging because of emissions
from new buildings such as the Living Systems Building, possibly 1000 tonnes
per year. However with the planned carbon reduction projectors together with
the temporary closure of some residences on campus, it is expected that
emissions will be reduced and CO2 targets will continue to be below target. In
December GW will report on student CO2 emissions, per square meter and per
student.
GW provided CO2 emissions and water usage data broken down by college and
service. MO requested this should also be given per FTE and per square metre.
GW reported that residences consume the most energy and water across the
Exeter campuses. GW clarified that INTO water usage relates to use in
residences.
A discussion of rain water capture initiatives followed where it was highlighted
that less than 1% of the University’s water usage is derived from harvested
water.
KG highlighted the need for projects to meet their delivery targets as delays
could impact on carbon reduction performance, and it would be useful to have a
KPI for this area.
Energy usage in the Forum was discussed; HSJ highlighted that it would be
interesting for students to see how the building performs. GW reported that an
energy dashboard system is being developed to show building’s energy usage
across campus.
The emissions of the proposed Living Systems Building were discussed which
highlighted the challenge of increasing building stock and facilities while still
decreasing emissions. PM noted the importance of behaviour change and staff
engagement in reducing emissions. TL highlighted the opportunity to utilise
behaviour change research at the University to assist with encouraging
behaviour change.
TL highlighted the opportunity for collaboration between academic research and
operations on campus, where research could be used to build exemplary
buildings at the University. HJS noted that the first project of this type was
underway with the Cornwall House project
6.0 Utility Billing Project: One Year On
GW reported that the utility billing project has now been in place for a full year.
Bills are available five days after the end of the month, a significant improvement
from the original four week availability. This is largely due to the work of Tom
Brine in supporting the Energy Managers and the automatic meter reading
system (AMRS).
It was noted that it is hard for users to interpret data in shared buildings, such as
the Students Guild Buildings, but it is still valuable to see consumption trends.
GW
GW
GW

7.0 Discovering the Sustainable Academic: A case study amongst staff from
the University of Exeter (MSc Dissertation)
Guest speaker Carolina Garcia Whiting presented the findings of her MSc
research. The presentation will be appended to the meeting notes.
A discussion of her presentation and findings followed, where the importance of
including sustainability in job descriptions was highlighted. Additionally the scope
of new staff inductions to include more environment and sustainability
awareness was discussed.
8.0 Students Guild: Sustainability Priorities
SC outlined the environmental and sustainability projects and initiatives that the
Students Guild would like to see implemented this academic year. These
inlcude:
• Behaviour change campaign in Halls of Residence such as NUS’s
Student Switch Off and Snap it Off projects (GW to review)
• Battery and printer ink recycling scheme in residences
• Improved student engagement with sustainability events
• Food waste prevention scheme e.g. workshop on how to use leftover
food
• Increased use of local produce and supplies
• Promotion of re-usable drinks containers used across campus
• Address areas across campus where there are limited recycling facilities
e.g. sports centre
• Increased cohesion between societies and campus facilities to combine
passion and knowledge to bring about more changes
GH reported on the potential for a breakdown of hall fees to show energy
expenditure to raise awareness of energy consumption. GH reported on her
development of Welfare Week in November, where there will be the opportunity
to promote sustainability practices.
The potential for a collaborative Students Guild and Sustainability Newsletter
was discussed. GH, SC, KG and LK to discuss.
9.0 Reusable Coffee Cups
GH outlined the potential for re-usable coffee cups to be sold in the Students
Guild and University outlets at a cost of approximately £5, with a reduction off
drink costs when the cups are re-used. The details of this scheme are being
developed. The group were supportive of the proposals.
10.0 Tap Water
JS raised concerns that tap water was not widely available in catering outlets on
campus and if water was provided it was in plastic disposable cups. JS cited La
Touche as a specific example. PRJ noted that the provision of glassware for
water requires large amount of stock to be available and they have to be
collected and washed after use.
HSJ informed the group about a student water security project, ‘Give Me Tap’,
which uses profits from selling re-usable water bottles to fund water projects in
Africa.
KG
GW
GH, SC, KG
& LK
GH

PRJ stated that tap water will be available free of charge at all University
operated restaurants across campus as part of an ongoing project. Many
already have facilities.
11.0 Recycled / FSC Paper Procurement (SAG2012/13/02)
JM presented a paper regarding paper procurement. JM concluded that mostly
recycled paper is being purchased across campus. JM will work with the 2
colleges that are buying on-recycled paper to encourage them to change to
100% post- consumer waste recycled paper. The cost implication of changing all
non-recycled paper to recycled paper would be less than £3000 across the
University. JM would welcome a policy note on the purchasing of sustainable
office paper, over virgin paper, to support this change. MO stated he would
support the proposal of not using virgin office paper and highlighted the
importance in terms of our sustainability reputation. TL also queried whether it
would be useful to see if we are buying less paper year on year. JM reported
that this was not possible to determine with the current information available.
12.0 Sustainable IT update
PM provided an overview of recent discussions with Academic Services
regarding their endeavours to improve the sustainability of IT. MO requested
that actions relating to sustainable IT be included in the 2012/13 sustainability
action plan.
It was highlighting that 12.5 % of the University’s CO2 emissions are derived
from IT.
13.0 Car Sharing
JJ reported that phase 1 of the car sharing scheme will be launched 1 st October
and a strategic communication plan is in place.
14.0 Students as Change Agents: Sustainability (SAG2012/13/03)
FW outlined the importance of the Students as Change Agents Projects and his
role in supporting their development. See attached report. The group recognised
the value of the project and congratulated FW on his successes.
15.0 A.O.B
JM requested that furniture supply be added to the SAG meeting Agenda in
December.
Meeting closed at 12.05
PM /
Academic
Services