Feb 11, 2013

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Green Impact Blog! – Nottingham Trent University

Green Impact Awards 2012 048Here at Nottingham Trent University, Green Impact is now into its 3rd year with a number of veteran teams taking part. Along with most other universities taking part in Green Impact, maintaining momentum is a large problem as it is seen as ‘one extra thing to do’ by some already over-stretched departments, and those who are more interested in other aims within the department.

Whilst deciding the criteria for the 2013 campaign, my colleague whom started Green Impact at NTU decided to make it more energy-focused as we are running a scheme called the “Carbon Challenge” (This aims to reduce the energy use of every department to help reduce the University’s energy bill, and therefore reducing the CO2 footprint of the University from our 2005/6 baseline) with every department taking part. This therefore makes Green Impact more integrated into what each department is doing in concern to the Carbon Challenge.

With the launch underway, we have decided to host a coffee drop-in session between 11-1pm in order to keep up interest. If the teams had any issues, they could drop in and ask us some questions about the criteria. A number of representatives from the teams currently taking part were asking questions about the criteria and evidence. I am amazed at the amount of work each of the teams have already done autonomously without any major contact between themselves and the Environment Team. They are suddenly appearing out of the woodwork having done loads for work! With the audits only two months away, we are now expecting more contact as the teams go for Gold and we will hold another drop-in in the run-up to deadline day.

Over the next week or so, NUS are training up a number of NTU student volunteers for one day as Environmental Project Assistants. These Volunteers help with a variety of environmental activities all over the University ranging from organising tree planting events to helping Green Impact teams implement their criteria in their own workplace. The Project Assistants are able to see NTU from a different perspective and will help identify improvements that the people working there cannot see. This will be of much help to the Volunteering section of the University in order to help with the “bottom-up” approach Green Impact is aiming to do for all of the institutions all over the country.

by Andrew White

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