Final Words to the VC

Sorry, Nick here again - I promise my last ever post here, and I'll definitely shut up from now. In drawing a close on my year, I wrote a final letter to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Noel Lloyd, focusing (as ever) on the Go Green campaign and I've reproduced it here:

Dear Vice-Chancellor,

Re: Will the University Go Green?

As I formally complete my degree here in Aberystwyth, I thought that I should take a few moments here to offer some concluding thoughts on the university’s environmental performance as it relates to my year on the Guild of Students’ Executive.

An Environmental Manager

You will be personally aware of the messy situation regarding the Wastewise waste awareness campaign’s distribution following Ben Gray’s communication with you in the spring. I am sure you agree that there are better uses for Pro-VC John Harries’ time than the minutiae of putting up stickers and door hangers. This has been perhaps the most glaring example of where communication and management on environmental issues continues to fall through gaps. As further work on waste management and travel, for instance, continues to develop in the months and years to come, simply put, an increased staff capacity through a full-time environmental manager is needed to ensure the optimal use of resources.

At its most basic level, this is about matching your verbal commitment to environmental progress with new and additional staff time dedicated to making change happen. The Wastewise episode exemplifies the risks of doing otherwise. Bring the various strands of energy and ideas together and we could have a great future ahead of us. When a few student colleagues and myself met you in February, you promised us that the current part-time energy consultant would be closely reviewed when his contract ends around now, and it would be regressive if there was no further commitment made in this regard. If you still do not feel that a full-time environmental manager can be employed, I would at least ask that you set out your reasons for this in writing.

A Refreshed Environmental Policy

Technically speaking, the University has an environmental policy as part of its broader Health, Safety & Environment Policy. This policy statement, however, has not been updated recently and its environmental assertions are extremely general and vague. When you put the existing HSE policy next to the newly-introduced Energy Management policy, the former is almost embarrassing to read in terms of the strength and clarity of its commitment. In my view, this needs to be substantially redrafted to reflect the obligations, responsibilities and targets that are, for instance, expressed in the Environmental Strategy document. A substantive, rather than merely procedural, student contribution to this process is also essential.

There has undoubtedly been progress over the past year, and I will be the first to acknowledge that. For all the methodological quibbles that you may put to People & Planet’s Green League 2007, however, there is no disputing that in broad terms other institutions have stolen a march on becoming a truly environmentally sustainable university. You can be sure that these issues are here to stay, and I very much hope that the pace of progress is only quickened.

Thank you for your time, and I trust and ask that you will direct your response to my successor, Jenny Mace, at the Aberystwyth Guild of Students.

Yours sincerely,

Nick Chan
2006/07 Aberystwyth Guild of Students Environment & Ethics Officer