King's College London awarded 2:1 class in the People & Planet Green League 2011
- Ranked 50th with a score of 33.5 out of 70 (21.5 for policy, 12 for performance)
Case Study from the University
This year King’s College London has developed new ‘Environment & Sustainability’ and ‘Energy & Carbon Management’ Policies.
The College has achieved certification to BS EN 16001:2009, and an EcoCampus Silver Award. The College has also set a target of ‘BREEEAM Excellent for the refurbishment of the newly acquired Somerset House East Wing building, which is a phenomenal achievement for a Grade I listed building. A BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating is achieved by incorporating rooftop solar thermal water panels and ground source heat pumps operating under floor heating and chilled beam systems. The exterior if the building is designed to provide thermal mass, optimise daylight and minimise heat gain; and is naturally ventilated through ‘stack’ effect within the central atrium. Voltage optimisation has also been implemented.
Sustainable development (S.D.) education is fundamentally embedded within the curriculum of College Schools, Departments and Divisions. Geography plays a significant part in promoting education for S.D. through developing student’s knowledge and understanding of the key concepts of sustainable development, such as interdependence, quality of life, resource use, diversity and global development. The five Health Schools provides opportunities to promote education for S.D. through developing students’ skills in decision making on the basis of sound science, the exploration of values and ethics relating to the applications of science and technology. History provides opportunities to promotes education for S.D. through developing students’ knowledge and understanding of how past actions, choices and values may impact on future societies, economies and environments.
Scorecard
So how did King's College London 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 King's College London 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: 6/8 points.
King's College London has 1.5 staff dedicated to environmental management per 5000 students (capped at 15,000 students), giving a score of 6 out of 8 points.
3. Environmental Auditing and Management Systems
Total Score: 4/8 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
King's College London has audited its environmental impacts in the following areas within the last five years (0.5 points for each area):
|
1 |
Does King's College London operate an externally audited Environmental Management System (e.g. ISO14001, EMAS, Ecocampus, Green Dragon, IEMA Acorn Scheme [BS8885])? |
3 |
4. Ethical Investment
Total Score: 0/3 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Does King's College London 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 King's College London, 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: 5.5/7 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Does King's College London have a publicly available Carbon Management Plan which meets the Carbon Trust and Capital Investment Framework requirements? |
2 |
How ambitious is King's College London’s average annual % carbon reduction target (calculated from an institution’s short-term targets from a 2005 baseline) |
2 |
The scope of King's College London’s carbon management plan baseline & targets includes emissions from the following areas:
|
1.5 |
6. Fairtrade & Ethical Procurement
Total Score: 1/2 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Is King's College London an accredited Fairtrade University with the Fairtrade Foundation. |
1 |
Does King's College London have a joint staff/student steering group with the remit of going beyond Fairtrade and increasing the sustainability of all procurement categories? |
0 |
Is King's College London 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: 0/2 points.
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
Does King's College London 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 |
King's College London is implementing the following sustainable food practices or is working towards Soil Association Food for Life catering mark:
|
0 |
8. Staff & Student Engagement
Total Score: 2/3 points.
The following activities to engage students and staff in sustainability issues are taking place at King's College London:
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) Yes
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 No
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. No
Environmental awareness-raising campaigns that reach all students and staff No
Coursework linked to sustainability projects within the university/estates department. No
Availability of university funds for student or staff-led practical sustainability projects (eg. campus allotments, recycling schemes etc) No
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 King's College London:
- 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 |
|---|---|
King's College London purchases 0.00% of its electricity from renewable sources. |
0/3 |
King's College London generates 21090784 kWh of its energy by Combined Heat and Power (CHP). |
1/1 |
King's College London generates 0.13% energy on-site from Low or Zero-Carbon energy sources. |
1/2 |
11. Waste & Recycling
Total Score: 7/8
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
King's College London recycles 61.12% of its total waste. |
3/4 |
King's College London produces 41.74 kg of waste per head |
4/4 |
12. Carbon Reduction
Total Score: 2/10
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
King's College London's average carbon emissions per head is 2089.44kg CO2eq |
0/6 |
King's College London has decreased its emissions since 2005 by 10.42% |
2/4 |
13: Water Consumption
Total Score: 1/6
Criteria |
Score |
|---|---|
King's College London uses 13.21kl water per head. |
1/4 |
0.0000% of King's College London's water comes from grey or rain water sources. |
0/2 |
