Sustainability
Energy Efficiency & Carbon Management
The University of Kent is mindful of the impact of its energy use and associated carbon dioxide emissions on the environment and for many years has invested in energy conservation projects on the Canterbury campus. The pages below contain information about energy use and emissions at the University and the progess made in reducing them.
Environment blog
For 'green news' and opportunities to get involved with ethical and environmental projects please take a look at our Environmental Coordinator's blog at http://uokgreennews.wordpress.com.
Green Impact - Take Part!
About Green Impact
The Green Impact project offers departments at the University of Kent a practical opportunity to embed good environmental and ethical practices in their everyday work. The project is part of the Degrees Cooler programme which is funded by the Greener Living Fund, and sponsored by Defra. Green Impact recognises the great influence that both academic and non-academic departments have in the university environment, and that any changes made here will go a long way!
How does it work?
Departments sign up to the scheme and receive a workbook detailing Bronze, Silver and Bonus Criteria. Each criterion is an action that can be implemented in the typical work place, such as paper recycling and collecting postage stamps to send to charity. Departments gradually implement criteria, aiming to achieve either Bronze, Silver or Gold awards.
We're aiming for all departments at Kent to achieve Bronze, but departments are encouraged to take Green Impact as far as possible! At the end of this process departments receive a simple audit, carried out by trained volunteer students. An awards ceremony later in the year will commend all actions taken by participating departments and confer a Gold Award on the highest achieving department.
Green Impact awards
The University of Kent has just completed its second year of Green Impact, part of the DEFRA funded Degrees Cooler program which aims to green Universities through behaviour change. Green Impact is an environmental accreditation scheme with an awards element designed for university departments, which supports individuals in making positive environmental behaviour changes.
This year's award ceremony was held in the Darwin Conference Suite on 6th April and was attended by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Keith Mander who presented the awards to this year's winners, who were as follows:
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Gold (large department) | Information Services |
| Gold (small department) | Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching |
| Silver with honours | School of Engineering and Digital Arts |
| Silver | Kent Innovation and Enterprise, Research Services, Student Services at Medway, Estates, Admissions and Partnership Services |
| Bronze with honours | The Gulbenkian, Kent Sport |
| Bronze | Finance, Human Resources, School of Anthropology and Conservation, Undergraduate Office - Humanities and Social Sciences, School of European Culture and Languages |
| Office Depot Innovation Award | School of Engineering and Digital Arts |
| Best Energy Saving Idea | Information Services |
| Environmental Hero | Barbara Criddle |
Useful links for participating departments
- Green Impact
- Posters and stickers
- Sustainable transport info
- Departmental food
- University car sharing scheme
- Vacation shutdown checklist
- Lighting plan shutdown checklist
- De-bunking climate change scepticism
For more information about the scheme please contact greenimpact@kent.ac.uk.
