jackiesimpson, Author at Sustainability

Every drop matters!

By jackiesimpsonAug 10, 20220 Comments

Climate change’s affects on weather patterns means that water scarcity is becoming a reality in some parts of the world and the UK will not escape these impacts. Adaptation to these impacts will see the need to reduce consumption and careful water management will become vital in the coming years. The University is committed to managing our water use effectively to ensure that we protect this limited and increasingly precious resource. In July 2021 the University achieved significant reductions against all of its 5 year targets which were set in the 2016-21 Carbon and Water Management Plan. For non-residential properties…

Behaviour Change, Energy and Water

Take a self guided walking tour to explore our Whiteknights Campus

By jackiesimpsonMar 23, 20220 Comments

Our main University campus at Whiteknights is set in 50 hectares of parkland with a diverse mix of habitats, with over 2076 recorded species present. This includes 600 plants, 125 birds, 22 mammals and almost 1000 species of insect. Our campus has been awarded Green Flag status for 11 consecutive years – this recognises the efforts of our Grounds Maintenance team in maintaining such a lovely diverse space. We have also been awarded the bronze accreditation for having a hedgehog friendly campus and are working towards the silver level, which demonstrates our commitment to helping to protect this ever-popular mammal.…

Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure

Reducing food waste at the University of Reading

By jackiesimpsonMar 09, 20220 Comments

The University of Reading puts sustainability at the heart of everything we do, it is a cornerstone of our strategic vision. A key part of sustainability is to reduce the amount of waste generated across all streams and our commitment to reducing food waste is led by our Hospitality and Catering Teams. The University has adopted the Sustainable Food Policy And Framework, which outlines all the actions that have been completed in this area and those in progress. This policy includes many areas which are relevant to reducing food waste and those which are most relevant are highlighted below: •…

Behaviour Change, Waste and Recycling

BEIS’ Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) grant

By jackiesimpsonJan 31, 20220 Comments

The University has been awarded a £100,000 grant from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The grant comes from BEIS’ Green Heat Network Fund (GNHF) and will be fund matched by the University. The GNHF aims to transform UK heating by switching existing heat networks to low carbon fuel sources. This grant will enable us to commission design work to assist with the decarbonisation of the heating systems at Whiteknights campus. Specifically this will focus on plans to install a large heat pump into our energy centre. The energy centre currently provides heating to 16 buildings on the…

Awards and Achievements, Energy and Water

Energy Manager’s Association (EMA) award for Net Zero Strategy 2021

By jackiesimpsonJan 27, 20220 Comments

We were honoured to win the EMA’s Net Zero Strategy 2021 award, recognising our ambitious plan to become net zero by 2030 as the best in the UK. This award puts us among the leading public and private sector organisations in the UK for sustainability. The University’s Net Zero Carbon plan is wide ranging, including shifting buildings to carbon-free heating, cutting emissions from national and international business travel, and reducing waste and improving efficiency across the estate. The judges highlighted the clear, comprehensive nature of the plan, including the clearly-defined milestones to help measure progress. This award gives us the…

Awards and Achievements, Energy and Water

Big Sustainability Awards’ Carbon Reduction Project of the Year

By jackiesimpsonJan 27, 20220 Comments

Our partnership with Salix Finance has won a major sustainability ‘carbon reduction project of the year’ award. The decarbonisation and energy efficiency project has been delivered across our campuses with a total cost of £3.3m and has enabled carbon emission reductions of 816 tonnes per year. The work centred on delivering low carbon heating, with a major redesign of heating in key buildings to change how heating is zoned to reduce wastage. It has also enabled major lighting and energy efficiency upgrades and a further nine solar panel installations.

Awards and Achievements, Energy and Water

Get the 360 to 3sixty

By jackiesimpsonOct 07, 20210 Comments

There is now a free 360 bus service on Wednesday and Saturday nights to support students wanting to attend union event nights. This is a partnership initiative between RUSU and Reading Buses, with support from the University of Reading. The service operates up to every 11 minutes from 22:00 to 02:30 throughout term time. The 360 route includes the main off campus student residential areas (around Wokingham Road and Erleigh Road) and then back onto campus – enabling safe and convenient travel to and from Student Union events. The new bus service also has added benefits by providing a safe…

Travel and Transport

Let’s reuse more!

By jackiesimpsonSep 15, 20210 Comments

The University of Reading has now published its new Waste and Resource Use Strategy to cover the period 2021-2030. A central tenet of this strategy is the waste hierarchy which firmly places the emphasis on the need to prevent and reduce the amount of waste generated. This is closely followed by reuse and repair, then recycling with the last resort being landfill. This hierarchy aligns with the concept of the Circular Economy which aims to move towards more efficient use of resources by gaining maximum value from all resources through increased reuse and repair. To help encourage and manage reuse…

Waste and Recycling

How data and the Institute for Environmental Analytics’ expertise are helping Small Islands States in their journey to renewables

By jackiesimpsonAug 09, 20210 Comments

By Dr Maria Noguer, Climate Programme Manager, Institute for Environmental Analytics (IEA) When we first tuned up in the Seychelles in 2018 to explain to our project partners that a combination of space data and our expertise could help them transition to a low carbon economy, they looked at the sky and then at us with suspicious eyes. Space sounded esoteric but they were intrigued and excited. Solar farm in Vanuatu (Maria Noguer and Alan Yates on a site visit) Addressing grand challenges: high cost of energy and climate change The Institute for Environmental Analytics had just been awarded a…

Energy and Water

University of Reading is now an official Race to Zero signatory

By jackiesimpsonJul 28, 20210 Comments

The Race to Zero global COP26 campaign seeks to mobilise leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions and universities for a healthy and resilient zero carbon recovery. This campaign seeks to build momentum for the shift to decarbonised economies in the run up to COP26. The University of Reading has joined over 500 other universities in becoming a signatory of this campaign, which provides a significant and unified signal to governments that this sector is committed to meeting their obligations under the Paris agreement. This campaign mobilises a coalition of different sectors which, together with 120 countries, represent the largest…

Compliance and Systems, Policy