Green League Oversight Group

The Green League Oversight Group 2012 has been formed as an outcome of People & Planet’s Green League stakeholder meeting in November 2011.

Each year, a GLOG is recruited from among sector stakeholders, with members selected to represent the widest possible diversity of the sector in terms of:

• Geographical: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, rural, urban
• Range of role holders: Sustainability professionals, Directors of Estates, Energy Managers etc.
• Size & Type of institution: eg. from large research-intensive ones to small specialist colleges.

The GLOG has a remit of providing:

• advisory capacity to People & Planet Green League team
• consensus position to assist People & Planet rather than each university looking out for their own interests.
• Consultation over wording, evidence requirements and weighting of different criteria
• Role in validation of Green League – eg. helping to design and agree on an Appeal Process by which universities check scoring before publication
• Scoring – provide advice on evidence requirements for each criteria

“I signed up to the GLOG because I wanted to make sure that the voice of the small specialist institution is taken into account as the Green League develops. The GLOG provided an excellent forum for a frank exchange of views between representatives of a wide cross section of HEIs, and it was clear that both the staff at People and Planet and the members of the GLOG were equally committed to getting the survey right. I guess it will never be perfect in such a diverse sector, but hopefully the 2011 survey will be seen as coming close.” Clive Russell, Guildhall School of Music and Drama

GLOG Membership 2012

• Dr Emma Fieldhouse, University of Leicester, Environmental Manager
• Peter Rands, Canterbury Christchurch University, Sustainability Development Manager
• Ricky Carter, University of Bangor, Environmental Manager
• Heidi Smith, University of Swansea, Sustainability Manager
• Patrick Pica, University of Sussex, Sustainability Manager
• Matt Dunlop, University of Newcastle, Energy Manager
• Richard Bettle, University of East Anglia, Environmental Officer
• Clive Russell, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Director of Strategic Projects
• Kat Thorne, University of Greenwich, Sustainable Development Manager
• Daniella Tilbury, University of Gloucestershire, Director of Sustainability
• Harriet Waters, Oxford Brookes University, Sustainability Manager
• David Somervell, University of Edinburgh, Sustainability Manager
• Karen Gallagher, Exeter University, Sustainability Manager
• Rebecca Maiden, Queen Mary University of London, Head of Energy and Environment
• Adrian Davis, University of Ulster,

Interviews with GLOG members

Harriet Waters, Sustainability Manager, Oxford Brookes University

Harriet Waters

Why did you join the GLOG?

I joined the GLOG because I think the Green League has been pivotal to driving sustainability in the Higher Education sector up the agenda. I would like to see the league improve and hope I have some contribution to make towards that.

What do you think of the Stakeholder consultation and transparency levels of this year’s Green League process?

Consultation and transparency has vastly improved since previous years.

How has the Green League changed/improved in the last year or so?

The big difference has to be asking institutions about their curriculum content and making the criteria more testing which is obviously the way to go.

What does People & Planet still need to improve on?

Making this a league which encompasses sustainability in a wider sense - is an institution which has fantastic environmental management systems but no integration with its local community truly a sustainable one?

What benefits has the People & Planet Green League brought to your institution/business/organisation, if any?

he league has added to the weight of evidence for a more sustainable approach in many areas within the University. Areas within the University where the sustainability profile has vastly improved over the last few years are capital projects and catering.

With funding cuts already threatening sustainability budgets within the higher education sector, how important do you feel the People & Planet Green League’s role is as a high-profile, independent tool for keeping sustainability on the sector’s agenda?

The sector needs a high profile tool for showing progress towards being more sustainable. As institutions we need to move towards being much more sustainable and on the way share best practice and set challenging targets; a tool that compares the sustainability profile of different organisations is a vital part of this process.