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The university recruitment circuit is alive with environment-friendly appointments.
Candy Snelling: “Our green ideas really have an impact”. Photograph: Graham Turner.
When Mark Warner started a new job at Leeds Metropolitan University, he faced a dilemma about his commute into work. “I was offered a parking space, but turned it down because taking it would lack credibility,” he says. As the university’s sustainability officer, it wouldn’t really do to drive to campus.
At first, he travelled by bus, but even that didn’t go down too well with staff. “I was constantly asked how I could support cycling if I didn’t do it myself.” So Warner bought a bike via the Cycle to Work scheme, and now rides into work, encouraging fellow staff and students to do so, too.
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Such carbon footprint decisions are now common in thousands of workplaces, but are perhaps most pressing at universities. A growing army of environmental experts like Warner are being recruited at universities as they aim to “go green” – and their workload is growing.
Sustainability and environmental awareness are progressively coming under the government’s legislative spotlight, and the message is even stronger on campus. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) last month told universities they should lead by example, and cut carbon footprints more quickly than the governent’s legally binding targets. It suggested that universities slash emissions in half by 2020 against 1990 levels, and 100% by 2050. Adding to the sense of urgency, the government has warned that, from 2011, elements of funding will be linked to universities’ environmental policies.
On campus, that means a growing need to hire graduates with a specialist awareness of the technicalities, costs and benefits of green initiatives. The university recruitment circuit is buzzing with environmental appointments.
This month, Aberystwyth University appointed a new energy manager to ensure that electricity, gas and water are used more efficiently. Its first incumbent, David Oldham, describes himself as a “caretaker of energy” who enjoys the variety of the role, with its mixture of promotional work to encourage things like recycling, and hands-on tasks: one of his first jobs was organising £200,000-worth of lighting equipment that turns off the lights in unused areas. He says that working as an energy manager means every day is different. “There are the practical aspects, like installing more efficient boilers and alternative forms of energy such as biomass, but there is also the job of raising awareness among staff and students.”
Warner says: “There is always a good debate among students. A high proportion are very commercially astute when it comes to the green agenda and their future careers.”
Once environmental work at universities was mainly about encouraging students and staff to get involved with things like recycling schemes, but now it is far more structured. As well as working towards standards like the Carbon Reduction Commitment, which aims to improve energy efficiency and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the UK, there are green league tables such as The Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges’ Green Gown awards, which “recognise exceptional initiatives being taken by universities and colleges across the UK to become more sustainable”. Similarly, People & Planet’s Green League, organised by students, ranks UK universities by their sustainability, including ethical investment, environmental staff, fair-trade policy and carbon emissions.
Top institutions this year included Nottingham Trent, the London School of Economics, and Oxford Brookes. Both ranking systems have boosted the status of a green campus.
“It’s gone from PR to all-out competition,” says Warner. “Everyone wants to be the first to install new energy-efficiency kit, get the pots of funding that are available, influence legislation, get students involved, and shout about it through awards. Most significantly, though, the attitudes from high-level positions at universities have changed tremendously.”
That’s something noticed by Candy Snelling, who recently made the transition from student to full-time environment and energy adviser at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (Nocs), home to the University of Southampton’s school of ocean and earth science. Snelling graduated from a four-year master’s in environmental studies at the university last summer and, after a period working for an environment consultancy, returned to work at her alma mater in February.
“The engagement in environmental issues across universities has really increased since I started as an undergraduate,” she says. “Our work today receives very noticeable support from board members, who are really interested in our ideas.”
A large chunk of Snelling’s day is spent considering how to cut down the environmental impact of specific buildings and areas. But she also has a particular role helping Nocs to retain its ISO14001 rating, an environmental accreditation that is hard to achieve, and involves legal compliance, proving year-on-year improvement, and engaging in the task of increasing awareness of environmental issues.
Snelling also works with students, running workshops about monitoring energy, and promoting sustainable travel. “We show them our waste management area, so they know where something thrown into a recycling bin actually ends up. We find these kinds of ideas really encourage students to think about green issues.” She is also involved in “greening” the university’s IT facilities, organising automatic hibernation for computers, and making rooms more energy efficient.
Snelling sees the rapid and visible effects of her work as one of the highlights. “Our work at Nocs spreads to the other campuses, and then the best ideas go on to be picked up by other unis. We really encourage good practice to be passed on. In that way, our green ideas really have an impact. We’re making a difference every day. It’s an exciting job to be involved in.”
