{"id":8742,"date":"2022-01-12T13:07:30","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T13:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=8742"},"modified":"2022-01-12T13:23:33","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T13:23:33","slug":"greening-readings-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"Greening Reading’s Campus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The University of Reading is known for its beautiful, leafy campuses<\/a>. However, in recent years, significant progress in lowering their carbon footprint now means they are green in more ways than one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This week, CONNECTED speaks to Dan Fernbank, Energy and Sustainability Director, and Luke Cantellow, Energy Officer, about the University\u2019s new sustainability ambition \u2013 to \u201cbecome one of the greenest universities in the world\u201d \u2013 and how Reading aims to deliver on its mission.<\/p>\n

The sustainability team is responsible for \u201cembedding sustainable practices across the University\u2019s operations to become a leader in environmental sustainability,\u201d Luke explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019re currently leading the way in cutting our carbon footprint. From 2008 to 2019 we achieved the\u00a0biggest proportional carbon reduction\u00a0of any research-intensive university in the UK, and we continue to set ambitious targets, invest in sustainable technologies, and introduce new initiatives to lower our environmental impact,\u201d Dan added.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dan also explained that an estimated business as usual case would have seen the University at 45.7% below their baseline at the end of the 2020\/21 academic year, meeting its 45% reduction target.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith campus buildings closed and a significant reduction in international travel, plus staff and students mostly working from home throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our emissions fell by 64.8% below baseline. As the University opens up again, we expect our emissions to increase but we remain on track to continue to reduce them.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSustainability is at the heart of our new ambition, which is to become one of the greenest universities in the world,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Operating more sustainably<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In addition to significantly reducing its carbon footprint, the University has helped prevent more than half a million plastic bottles from being thrown away each year on campus by introducing refillable\u00a0drinks bottles\u00a0and\u00a0coffee cup schemes, as well as\u00a0removing plastic straws\u00a0from bars and cafes.<\/p>\n

Luke said: \u201cWe\u2019re really proud of what we\u2019ve done to reduce waste on campus so far. Recycling rates reported to The Higher Education Statistics Agency indicate that Reading has\u00a0the fourth highest recycling rate of any research-intensive university.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve also met our target to recycle 60% of our waste and have recently published a new Waste and Resource Use Strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As well as reducing waste, Luke explained that the sustainability team are encouraging staff and students to take action to reduce their collective emissions through\u00a0smarter energy use<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0greener travel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Investing for the future<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Operating more sustainably on campus is a key part of the University\u2019s new ambition, and Dan and Luke highlighted the need to continually invest for the future to help them deliver their mission.<\/p>\n

Dan told CONNECTED that the sustainability team were awarded over \u00a33.4 million of funding from Salix Finance<\/a> to deliver a range of carbon-reduction projects. He revealed that one project includes a major expansion of solar panels on campus which would quadruple the University’s solar power generation.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThese installations are part of a programme of works to make significant strides in slashing our carbon emissions, bringing zero carbon electricity supplies to many more buildings.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThese systems produce almost twice as much energy per panel as our older systems, demonstrating how rapid technology advances can help us deliver on our zero carbon targets. Once the installations are complete, we expect to generate 886,000 KWh annually, which is enough to power 306 average homes for a year,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

In addition to solar panels, other carbon-reduction projects that Dan and Luke highlighted include replacing catering ovens, lab refrigerators and drying ovens, over 5,000 light fittings, and making improvements to heating and ventilation systems across campus.<\/p>\n

Becoming net zero <\/strong><\/h4>\n

Turning his thoughts to their next key milestone, Luke revealed that the University has pledged to become net zero by 2030 \u2013 and at the Energy Management Awards 2021 run by the Energy Managers Association, Reading won \u2018Net Zero Strategy of the Year\u2019 and its Net Zero Carbon Plan<\/a> was named as the best of its kind in the UK.<\/p>\n

The judges highlighted the clear, comprehensive nature of the Plan, including the clearly-defined milestones to help measure progress.<\/p>\n

Dan said:<\/p>\n

\n

“Winning \u2018Net Zero Strategy of the Year\u2019 gives us the confidence that we are on the right track, and hopefully provides a template that other organisations can follow in the race to Net Zero, to limit the impacts of man-made climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In addition, Reading has recently achieved its highest ever ranking in the 2021 People & Planet University League<\/a> \u2013 moving up 14 places from the last League in 2019, resulting in an overall ranking of 15th<\/sup> out of 154 institutions.<\/p>\n

Reading scored top marks for its Environmental Management and Auditing Systems, and saw improved scores in eight of the 13 categories. There was a significant improvement in the Ethical Investment and Education for Sustainable Development categories \u2013 two areas that were highlighted for improvement in the last ranking. Improvements were also seen in Staff & Student Engagement, Workers’ Rights, Waste & Recycling, Carbon Management and Water Reduction.<\/p>\n

Dan concluded: “This is our best performance in the People & Planet League, reflecting the hard work we have put in over the last few years to expand our sustainability initiatives. Many other institutions have also improved their scores, so it\u2019s pleasing to see we have risen up the rankings and are part of a \u2018race to the top’ for environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe hard work now lies ahead to ensure we live up to our ambitions and continue to lead the way in delivering a low carbon future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Find out more about the University\u2019s sustainability team<\/a>, or discover more about the work we are doing with our graduates to make the campus a more eco-friendly environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Reading is known for its beautiful, leafy campuses. However, in recent years, significant progress in lowering their carbon footprint now means they are green in more ways than one.\u00a0 This week, CONNECTED speaks to Dan Fernbank, Energy and Sustainability Director, and Luke Cantellow, Energy Officer, about the University\u2019s new sustainability ambition \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":8750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[19,23,44,56],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGreening Reading's Campus - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dan Fernbank and Luke Cantellow talk about the University\u2019s new sustainability ambition, and how Reading aims to deliver on its mission.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Greening Reading's Campus - Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dan Fernbank and Luke Cantellow talk about the University\u2019s new sustainability ambition, and how Reading aims to deliver on its mission.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-12T13:07:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-12T13:23:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/01\/shutterstock_image-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sophia McIvor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sophia McIvor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/\",\"name\":\"Greening Reading's Campus - Connected\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-12T13:07:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-12T13:23:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/#\/schema\/person\/30d41c09b68d9ce40d5202466c718403\"},\"description\":\"Dan Fernbank and Luke Cantellow talk about the University\u2019s new sustainability ambition, and how Reading aims to deliver on its mission.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Greening Reading’s Campus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/\",\"name\":\"Connected\",\"description\":\"Alumni magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/#\/schema\/person\/30d41c09b68d9ce40d5202466c718403\",\"name\":\"Sophia McIvor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e24a78aef8c4d9e633eda65e14e7917f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e24a78aef8c4d9e633eda65e14e7917f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sophia McIvor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/author\/sophia-mcivor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Greening Reading's Campus - Connected","description":"Dan Fernbank and Luke Cantellow talk about the University\u2019s new sustainability ambition, and how Reading aims to deliver on its mission.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Greening Reading's Campus - Connected","og_description":"Dan Fernbank and Luke Cantellow talk about the University\u2019s new sustainability ambition, and how Reading aims to deliver on its mission.","og_url":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/","og_site_name":"Connected","article_published_time":"2022-01-12T13:07:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-01-12T13:23:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":550,"url":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/01\/shutterstock_image-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sophia McIvor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sophia McIvor","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/","url":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/","name":"Greening Reading's Campus - Connected","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-01-12T13:07:30+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-12T13:23:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/#\/schema\/person\/30d41c09b68d9ce40d5202466c718403"},"description":"Dan Fernbank and Luke Cantellow talk about the University\u2019s new sustainability ambition, and how Reading aims to deliver on its mission.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/01\/12\/greening-readings-campus\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Greening Reading’s Campus"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/","name":"Connected","description":"Alumni magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/#\/schema\/person\/30d41c09b68d9ce40d5202466c718403","name":"Sophia McIvor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e24a78aef8c4d9e633eda65e14e7917f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e24a78aef8c4d9e633eda65e14e7917f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sophia McIvor"},"url":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/author\/sophia-mcivor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8742"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8742"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8779,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8742\/revisions\/8779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}