Plans are underway to enact an Easter heating plan to maximise financial savings and to minimise carbon emissions during the upcoming Easter shutdown. Term ends on 22/03/24 and the University will close fully from 28/03/24 to 02/04/24. The changes in use throughout this time will allow for optimisation of heating hours which will be trimmed in buildings. There will also be focused actions in identified zones within specific buildings such as turning the heating off where it is practically feasible. This approach maximises heating savings from underutilised spaces.
The Easter plan has been informed by what was achieved over the Christmas 2023-24 closure period. The Sustainability team led this programme which has delivered more than £80,000 of savings. The team were very grateful to everyone that supported the programme which showed what is possible through the collective contribution and determination to see change happen at the University. This was made possible with the support of 60 individuals from across the University as well as the assistance of many different teams within Estates including Cleaning Services, Security Services and the Portering team. The Our Future First Sustainability Champions were critical to facilitating some of these conversations and changes. A further £4000 in savings were made thanks to a DTS initiative that saw many of the computer labs switched off for much of December while students were on their end of term breaks.
We can all take the following actions:
- Turn off lights where possible.
- Turn off small power and all non-essential equipment at plug if possible. This includes PC, laptops, side lamps, extra monitors, phone chargers, any other small power devices.
- Turn off conference/AV equipment at the plug.
- Close windows and doors.
- If you have locally controlled heating or cooling, turn it off.
- Make sure fridges and/or freezers are defrosted and clean and that doors are closed properly (but no need to switch off).
- Turn off microwaves, kettles, hot taps, and other kitchen equipment (other than fridges and or freezers).
Colleague comfort remains a priority and we would encourage anyone with concerns to raise the issue with the Estates Helpdesk in this first instance so they can be discussed.
You can earn 125 Green Points per week by logging your actions on the Doing UoR Bit platform.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this programme so far – together, we can bring about collective change.
