Courier Article

A short article titled 'Why We Need an Environmental Manager' that I wrote a while back has finally been published in this term's edition of The Courier - you can download the whole edition digitally (the article is on page seven).

I reproduce the article here below:

"A priority over the past academic year has been putting pressure on the university to get its act together on environmental issues and sustainability. This has taken the shape of the Go Green campaign, which identifies four key factors that would really transform the base upon which environmental improvement can be achieved.

"Full time staff dedicated to environmental management are needed, an audit of the university's environmental impacts, public support of senior management, and a publicly available environmental policy. These factors are essential to achieve long-term change and are demonstrated by other universities leading the way in environmental performance.

"One crucial issue is for the university to have full-time staff dedicated to environmental
management. An environmental manager would not end up doing everything but would fill a crucial gap in coordinating the efforts across various departments and university services. If sustained environmental improvement is going to happen, there must be someone who is directly responsible and for whom this improvement is the very essence of their appointment.

"Who will take the lead? There is a compelling need to have someone who fully grasps the 'big picture' of what is happening on a day-to-day level, who is pro-active in identifying opportunities for improvement and can communicate changes to 10,000 staff and students.

"Progress is being made, especially on cutting carbon emissions, but it is tragic that more people are not aware of these efforts. When students understand that the university is making an effort, they will respond and bring forward ideas of their own.

"There is currently an Energy Manager, part-funded by the Carbon Trust, on a part-time consultancy basis until July. The plan of improvement that he has the task of (chiefly biomass boilers and energy-efficient lighting systems) is only the tip of the iceberg and funding for this post must be continued to see changes through effectively. The University needs to back its commitment to continual environmental progress with the resources necessary to carry out the task."