Green ambitions
It is becoming impossible to ignore the concerning effects of climate change, so it’s no surprise that zero carbon is at the top of everyone’s agenda – including ours. We understand the importance of reducing our carbon footprint and supporting the sustainability of our environment, and as a university, we recognise our impact.
From our estate to our teaching, learning and research, we are making a concerted effort to reduce our emissions, set green targets and put sustainability at the heart of our growth and development plans.
- Net Zero Carbon and Energy Efficiency
- Sustainability Champions
- Green Entrepreneurs Programme
- Go Green Week
- Our sustainable campus
Net Zero Carbon and Energy Efficiency
The University received Salix funding to develop heat decarbonisation plans for our Kedleston Road, Markeaton Street and Britannia Mill sites. Salix delivers government funding schemes to the public sector to help drive energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. This will inform our plans to reduce our carbon emissions over the coming years.
This summer we also ran an extremely successful pilot to reduce energy usage of our fresh air supply system to the Kedleston Road atrium. We have achieved this by replacing the existing end of life, belt driven fans with direct-on-line fans powered by a switched reluctance motor system, reducing the energy consumption by 44%.
Another successful pilot project was the integration of our Building Energy Management System (BEMS), which controls the University’s heating and cooling, with our CMIS room booking system. Our Digital Solutions and Services team and Engineering team have worked with our supplier, Schneider Electric, to implement and test this successful integration. This offers several benefits including preconditioning teaching spaces to ensure the optimal temperature and automatically turning off the heating and cooling to areas when not in use, which will offer a massive energy saving.
Following the successful pilot, we are in the process of expanding this system with the long-term goal of using this and associated technologies to improve both student experience and energy savings across the campus.
Sustainability Champions
In October 2023, a new Staff Sustainability Champion scheme was launched which saw more than 60 staff members from across the University volunteer to encourage behaviour change among their colleagues. Sustainability Champions carried out environmental audits, attended workshops and raised awareness with their teams of the positive changes everyone can make at work to contribute to our sustainability. Of the 15 teams that took part, eight achieved the highest gold award for their work over the year.
Green Entrepreneurs Programme
Set up in the wake of national and international legislation committing the UK to achieve ‘net zero’ carbon by 2050, our Green Entrepreneurs programme won the Sustainability Innovation Champion category in the Innovation Awards 2023, organised by The Technology Supply Chain. The award recognises the success of our partnership with Derbyshire County Council, through which we are delivering a £2 million grant fund for businesses interested in developing green energy and carbon reduction schemes, and individuals who are looking to retrain in the field of alternative energy.
Organisations benefiting from the programme include the Arkwright Society, which received a grant towards reinstating renewable hydro energy at Cromford Mills, BM Tech, which was awarded funds for improvements to its process for recycling PVC waste, and several organisations that were supported with decarbonisation projects which introduced solar power and low carbon energy aimed at addressing high energy costs and reducing carbon emissions.
Go Green Week
As part of Go Green Week in March 2024, the University organised a ‘Big Derby Clean Up’ along the River Derwent in the city centre, in collaboration with Derby College, Think Ocean, Veolia and Derby City Council. More than 100 volunteers turned up to collect litter from along the riverside, much of which had been washed up by the recent flooding in the area. As well as staff and students, the event saw many local organisations pitching in to lend a hand, collecting plastic litter, a dishwasher, sleeping bags and even an electric bike.
Our sustainable campus
Food
The Aramark catering outlets at the University of Derby achieved the Sustainable Restaurant Association's 2-star Food Made Good Award this summer. This award focuses on three key elements – sourcing, society and environment. Some of the initiatives that helped us to achieve this award included Aramark’s Wipe Out Waste campaign, which uses items commonly considered as waste products such as vegetable peelings and coffee grounds to create new and original recipes. Aramark also recently introduced 'Foodprint', which shows customers the carbon footprint rating of the food they are buying so they can make an informed decision.
Travel
We have built on the success of implementing enhanced active travel facilities by installing secure cycle storage and equipped changing facilities with . This continued ambition aligns with the University’s achievement of securing £800,000 in grant funding from Derby City Council. The funding is facilitating the development of an advanced Future Mobility Hub at the University’s Kedleston Road site, due to be operational in January 2025, with construction having started in August 2024. This will usher in a new era of active travel facilities for students and staff, reinforcing our commitment to transforming the Derby campus through the integration of sustainable travel.
Biodiversity
This year academics and Estates staff have collaborated to embed elements of the University’s Biodiversity Action Plan into the practical activities of relevant Habitat Management modules. Projects have included sowing new wildflower meadows, digging out a network of wildlife ponds, planting trees, hedgerows and bulbs, as well as removing a strip of astro turf and replacing it with a coastal-themed rockery.
