jackiesimpson, Author at Sustainability

Fairtrade Fortnight: why fairtrade is important and what you can do

By jackiesimpsonFeb 20, 20230 Comments

Fairtrade Fortnight runs from February 27th- 12th March this year and is an annual campaign created by the Fairtrade Foundation to spread awareness surrounding Fairtrade products. When you purchase Fairtrade products, you are in turn helping to support communities abroad, providing ethical working standards and a better quality of living for those who farm and produce the goods. This year’s focus: The climate crisis The most common and favourite fairtrade products available are: bananas, cocoa and coffee. These are grown in tropical areas, which means that your morning coffee has travelled a long way. Bananas are the world’s most popular…

Behaviour Change, Fairtrade

Love your community and environment

By jackiesimpsonFeb 09, 20230 Comments

When it comes to February, there is no doubt that love is truly in the air, and with the upcoming arrival of Valentine’s Day we should celebrate and share our love for the earth. Valentine’s day is a popular, annual celebration in which we may gift our loved ones to show our affection for each other, however each year Valentine’s day contributes a surplus of 9 millions kilograms of CO2 into the atmosphere as well as a sizeable amount of waste. Around 40 million people in the UK celebrate Valentine’s Day each year, and spend around £1.3 billion pounds on…

Behaviour Change

Food Waste at the University of Reading

By jackiesimpsonJan 30, 20230 Comments

Here at the University of Reading, we understand that dealing correctly with unwanted food is an essential aspect of our waste management strategy to minimise the amount generated and sent to landfill. The University operates all Catering Services in-house, for the benefit of staff and students. Already, the University has processes in place to divert food waste from our main dining locations on campus (such as Park Eat, The Dairy and The Square) away from landfill and into energy generation. Current action to tackle food waste at the University The University’s catering team is committed to reducing food waste by…

Waste and Recycling

FREE Park and Ride service for staff and students from Mereoak (Junction 11 of the M4)

By jackiesimpsonJan 11, 20230 Comments

Do you want to beat the traffic getting to University, save money and reduce air pollution? A new FREE Park and Ride service has been launched from Mereoak (Junction 11 of the M4, RG7 1WJ). We have partnered with Reading Buses and the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust to deliver this exciting new sustainable travel option for our staff and students – who can now use the existing NHS H3 service from Mereoak. It runs from 06:25 to 18:55 Monday to Friday from junction 11 of the M4, with buses every 20 minutes at peak times. Travel survey results show interest…

Travel and Transport

How to have a more sustainable Christmas

By jackiesimpsonDec 16, 20220 Comments

The festive break is fast approaching and Sustainability Services wanted to share with you some top tips about how to have a more sustainable Christmas. Many of these tips will also save you money! Presents Think about quality over quantity – every year Christmas does generate many unwanted gifts. If you’re still wondering what to get for someone, why not think about an experience like a night out at the theatre, adopting their favourite animal, buying a subscription to a vegetable box or consider a charity membership such as the National Trust. If you do have unwanted gifts, consider donating…

Behaviour Change, Waste and Recycling

Celebrating sustainability – Green Festival 2022

By jackiesimpsonDec 05, 20220 Comments

Green Festival is the University of Reading’s annual sustainability celebration, where we come together to promote, educate and celebrate sustainable actions amongst our local community, staff and students. This year a range of different events were held from 1 to 11 November, with something for everyone. Sustainability is a key strategic priority for the University and an estimated 500 attendees participated in the festival –clearly demonstrating that sustainability is important to each and every one of us. Highlights this year included: The ‘Play your emissions right’ game from Reading Buses was an effective and popular way of showing staff and…

Awards and Achievements, Behaviour Change, Energy and Water

PODCAST – ‘How to be more sustainable and save money’

By jackiesimpsonNov 16, 20220 Comments

As part of our Green Festival 2022 celebrations we recorded our first very own sustainability podcast which is full of helpful tips on ways you can be more sustainable, saving money in the process. Jackie Simpson, from Sustainability Services, and the University's Director of Energy and Sustainability, Dan Fernbank, discuss simple actions to reduce waste, carbon emissions and be more sustainable at home and at University. Some highlights include: Switch all devices off as even things left on standby draw power. Buy less things, question your purchase decisions and buy second hand wherever possible. Run washing machines and dishwashers on…

Behaviour Change, Energy and Water

Helping staff to travel sustainably at UoR

By jackiesimpsonOct 17, 20220 Comments

The carbon hierarchy, as above, shows travel methods in order of sustainability – it is a helpful tool to consider the impact of travel decisions and supports the consideration of suitable alternatives. For further information and offers, please visit our sustainable travel pages. The 2022 travel survey revealed that only 57% of our staff travelled sustainably – this blog highlights all the alternative modes and offers to help you cut emissions and potentially save money by travelling by other means than driving single occupancy vehicles. Keep reading to find out how to beat the traffic with our new FREE Park…

Energy and Water

Sustainable travel target achieved!

By jackiesimpsonOct 10, 20220 Comments

The results are in from the University’s 2022 travel survey and we are proud to announce that we have achieved our Travel Plan target for 87% of all travel to be sustainable by 2022. Key findings 51% of students and staff travel by sustainable means to and from the University (with sustainable travel defined as anything other than single occupancy vehicle travel). 70% of our students travel to University locations by foot, which has risen by 10% since the last survey was conducted in 2020. The amount of students using public transport has remained static but the number of student…

Travel and Transport

How students can travel sustainably in Reading

By jackiesimpsonOct 10, 20220 Comments

Welcome to all new students that have joined our community at University of Reading. If you are wondering what the most sustainable way to get round your new home is, then this blog is for you! The carbon hierarchy, as above, shows travel methods in order of sustainability – it is a helpful tool to consider the impact of travel decisions and supports the consideration of suitable alternatives. For further information and offers, please visit our sustainable travel pages. Walking The University has beautiful campuses’ and each one is easy to navigate via foot. Our walking webpage shows how to…

Travel and Transport