Cranfield University awarded 2:2 class in the People & Planet Green League 2011
- Ranked 73rd with a score of 30.0 out of 70 (26 for policy, 4 for performance)
Case Study from the University
Cranfield University has developed an ambitious Carbon Management Plan, with a target of reducing the University’s carbon footprint by 50% by 2020. The University plans to achieve a 50% reduction through a variety of measures, including investment in infrastructure and increased awareness.
A new Combined Heat and Power Plant has been installed at the Cranfield Campus. By generating our own electricity on site and, using the heat which is normally wasted in conventional power stations in our District Heating, we will be less dependent on imported energy and will save carbon. Energy efficiency improvements to lighting, insulation, electricity distribution networks and cooling systems are also under way.
Increasing awareness and creating changes in behaviour will also be crucial to meet the planned carbon footprint reduction. More than 50 staff and student have volunteered as ‘Green Champions’ to assist with reducing our energy use.
A particularly successful awareness campaign was the Cranfield Carbon Competition, which ran for six weeks in November and December 2010. Each of the 20 buildings involved had its own green champions who encouraged others in their buildings to pledge to save energy. From changing their light bulbs to installing power-saving computer software, all the buildings achieved savings in their carbon emissions. The contest drummed up much enthusiasm and competitiveness between the buildings, with a large number of hits on the contest website. The results in some buildings were spectacular, with the winning Building achieving a 31% saving.
Scorecard
So how did Cranfield University score against the 13 Policy & Performance criteria in the People & Planet Green League 2011? Check out the full breakdown below.
Policy & Management Section
1. Environmental Policy
Total Score: 3/5 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Does Cranfield University have a publicly available environmental policy? |
1 |
Is it reported on annually at a senior level? |
2 |
Does it set SMART targets reduce environmental impacts in all the following areas?:
|
0 |
2. Environmental Management Staff FTE
Total Score: 8/8 points.
Cranfield University has 7.5 staff dedicated to environmental management per 5000 students (capped at 15,000 students), giving a score of 8 out of 8 points.
3. Environmental Auditing and Management Systems
Total Score: 7.5/8 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Cranfield University has audited its environmental impacts in the following areas within the last five years (0.5 points for each area):
|
3.5 |
Does Cranfield University operate an externally audited Environmental Management System (e.g. ISO14001, EMAS, Ecocampus, Green Dragon, IEMA Acorn Scheme [BS8885])? |
4 |
4. Ethical Investment
Total Score: 0/3 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Does Cranfield University have a publicly available ethical investment policy? |
0 |
Is the publicly available ethical investment policy reported on annually and/or are there ongoing opportunities for staff, students and other stakeholders to engage with the policy? |
0 |
Has Cranfield University, on ethical grounds: a) divested, b) invested, c) engaged with companies as a shareholder, or d) changed banking provider in the last year? |
0 |
5. Carbon Management
Total Score: 4/7 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Does Cranfield University have a publicly available Carbon Management Plan which meets the Carbon Trust and Capital Investment Framework requirements? |
2 |
How ambitious is Cranfield University’s average annual % carbon reduction target (calculated from an institution’s short-term targets from a 2005 baseline) |
2 |
The scope of Cranfield University’s carbon management plan baseline & targets includes emissions from the following areas:
|
0 |
6. Fairtrade & Ethical Procurement
Total Score: 0/2 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Is Cranfield University an accredited Fairtrade University with the Fairtrade Foundation. |
0 |
Does Cranfield University have a joint staff/student steering group with the remit of going beyond Fairtrade and increasing the sustainability of all procurement categories? |
0 |
Is Cranfield University affiliated to the Worker Rights Consortium, in order to monitor the suppliers and parts of its garment supply chains that are not covered by Fairtrade certification? |
0 |
7. Sustainable Food
Total Score: 0.5/2 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Does Cranfield University have a publicly available Sustainable Food policy which sets specific timebound targets for improvements? |
0 |
Is the sustainable food policy reported on annually at a senior level? |
0 |
Cranfield University is implementing the following sustainable food practices or is working towards Soil Association Food for Life catering mark:
|
0.5 |
8. Staff & Student Engagement
Total Score: 3/3 points.
The following activities to engage students and staff in sustainability issues are taking place at Cranfield University:
Students’ Union or Students’ Association associated to the institution has achieved a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award in this year’s Green Impact Union Awards (or similar) No
University actively supports an annual Go Green Week or Environment Week Yes
Staff engagement scheme to involve staff in improving the environmental performance of the university- for eg. Green Impact Universities or departmental eco-champions Yes
Initiatives to increase energy saving behaviour of all students in halls of residence (eg. Student Switch Off) Yes
Initiatives to increase recycling behaviour of all students in halls of residence No
Student representation on all university committees concerned with estates, planning, finance and resource allocation. Yes
Environmental awareness-raising campaigns that reach all students and staff Yes
Coursework linked to sustainability projects within the university/estates department. Yes
Availability of university funds for student or staff-led practical sustainability projects (eg. campus allotments, recycling schemes etc) Yes
Oversight and involvement of students and staff in the development and ongoing moni- toring of Carbon Management Plan. Yes
Provision of space for student / staff food-growing projects Yes
All staff inductions cover sustainability policy and issues Yes
Trade Union climate action groups (eg. GreenReps) or time off to participate in Union- linked sustainability initiatives. No
9. Curriculum
Total Score: 0/2 points.
The following activities to integrate sustainability issues throughout the curriculum are taking place at Cranfield University:
- Is there a commitment to integrate sustainability into the curriculum in their Corporate or Strategic Plan? No
- Is there a commitment to integrate sustainability into the curriculum in their Teaching and Learning Strategy? No
- Is there a commitment to integrate sustainability into the curriculum in the Environmental Policy? No
- Is support or training made available to all staff to help them integrate sustainability into the curriculum? No
- Is there a review and reporting process in place to monitor the integration of sustainability into the curriculum? No
Performance Section
10. Renewable Energy
Total Score: 2/6
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Cranfield University purchases 65.00% of its electricity from renewable sources. |
2/3 |
Cranfield University generates 0 kWh of its energy by Combined Heat and Power (CHP). |
0/1 |
Cranfield University generates 0.00% energy on-site from Low or Zero-Carbon energy sources. |
0/2 |
11. Waste & Recycling
Total Score: 2/8
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Cranfield University recycles 31.66% of its total waste. |
1/4 |
Cranfield University produces 211.36 kg of waste per head |
1/4 |
12. Carbon Reduction
Total Score: 0/10
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Cranfield University's average carbon emissions per head is 3627.55kg CO2eq |
0/6 |
Cranfield University has increased its emissions since 2005 by 9.51% |
0/4 |
13: Water Consumption
Total Score: 0/6
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Cranfield University uses 40.13kl water per head. |
0/4 |
0.0000% of Cranfield University's water comes from grey or rain water sources. |
0/2 |
