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The University of Gloucestershire has risen four places to top the Green League 2008.
Daniella Tilbury, Director of Sustainability explains how sustainability lies at the heart of the university.
Learning and Living Sustainability
We believe in promising futures. We are not alone in our commitment to sustainability, but after more than 20 years it’s our dedication which sets us apart.
We are proud of our achievements. We have collected a range of awards in teaching, learning and curriculum development as well as campus management. Earlier this year we received a Green Gown Award for Continuous Improvement in Sustainability and we’re recognised as a sector leader by funding councils, education authorities and business leaders.
We are proud, but not complacent. Our vision is one in which students not only learn through engaging with sustainability in the classroom but also experience it throughout our university. We were the first English university to achieve ISO 14001, the internationally recognised Environmental Management System, across the full range of activities, including curriculum development.
We believe in looking after tomorrow, today, so we’re striving to reduce our environmental footprint. We introduced green electricity as the first customer of locally based Ecotricity in 1993. We use solar powered pay and display machines, rainwater recycling and photovoltaic cells for electricity production. We’ve also joined forces with Stagecoach, offering subsidised public transport to staff and students in and around Gloucester and Cheltenham. A university wide bicycle loan scheme for students to cycle between campuses and around town was established earlier this year. Working in partnership with Cheltenham Borough Council, the scheme has been extended for use by local residents and a sustainable procurement policy and fair trade accreditation underpin its contractual arrangements. It’s also committed to releasing an annual environmental report.
Our Teaching and Learning Plan, Academic Development Plan and Research Plan place education for sustainable development (ESD) as a priority. We are host to a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning which is linked to sustainability and focuses on supporting inquiries into active and participatory learning.
The Pedagogic Research and Scholarship Institute offers research fellowships and holds annual symposiums which feature ESD as one its core themes. We have set ourselves the ambitious target of embedding sustainability within current course offerings and support staff through various professional development initiatives to achieve this. A recent publication, Greener by Degrees, captures the efforts of staff across the university in this area.
Our recently established International Research Institute in Sustainability (IRIS) seeks to strengthen research, professional development and outreach activities in this area. IRIS hosts a United Nations University Regional Centre of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development which has a strong focus on public engagement for sustainability. It brings together partners from business, community, communication, education and cultural organisations.
IRIS has expertise in measuring progress towards sustainable development as well as in the area of leadership, governance and organizational change for sustainability. It offers annual PhD Studentships in these areas and opportunities for students to contribute to real change towards sustainability, through participatory inquiry, critical action research and other innovative methodologies.
The University of Gloucestershire has identified sustainability as it defining principle and is working towards embedding sustainability in its DNA, for today, and tomorrow.
For further information contact: Professor Daniella Tilbury, Director of Sustainability.
