The Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham Professor David Greenaway said: “I am delighted by this news. Here at Nottingham we have worked hard in recent years at putting sustainability at the heart of this University’s ethos.
“Every student, every member of staff has played their part in achieving this success, by making their own contribution, however small, towards environmental excellence and realising our commitment to becoming a leading green university. This accomplishment will spur us on to further improving our performance in sustainability.”
The University of Nottingham launched an environmental strategy in 2010, managed by an Environmental Steering Group, which outlines its aims in achieving excellence in sustainability and has been underpinned by the introduction of a range of initiatives supporting its green agenda. These include the maintenance of its award-winning parkland campuses incorporating green gardening practices, the use of innovative architecture and sustainable design in building new facilities, reducing the environmental impact of its IT use and introducing sustainable procurement practices into contracts with a growing number of major suppliers.
In addition, the University has a strong research portfolio in environmental sustainability, epitomised by initiatives such as the Creative Energy Homes project, a showcase of six innovative state-of-the-art eco-homes built on University Park Campus, and the Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies at its Ningbo campus in China, which serves as a model building representing cutting-edge techniques for environmentally-responsible, sustainable construction.
Staff and students have been encouraged to make their own pledge to becoming more eco-friendly through a University-wide Go Greener campaign, whether it be by reducing their carbon footprint by switching off PCs or lights when not in use or leaving their car at home and using public transport and the University’s own fleet of inter-campus ‘hopper’ buses with new lower-emissions diesel engines.
As part of its measures to reduce its carbon footprint, the University recently unveiled plans for three wind turbines on land close to the River Trent, near Clifton Bridge in Nottingham, which, if approved, would supply green electricity directly to its University Park campus. The turbines, which would meet one-third of the electricity needs of the campus, would reduce the University’s carbon emissions by 7,000 tonnes per year, equating to 40 per cent of the target reductions required by 2015.
Professor Alan Dodson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Infrastructure and Environment at Nottingham, said: “This is a fantastic achievement which recognises our holistic approach to sustainability. Staff and students in the University have worked closely together to improve the sustainability of our operation, and help reduce our carbon footprint. This international recognition will I hope be a stimulus for further improvement in the coming years. Our plans to provide substantial electricity generation through our own wind turbines will, if agreed, provide another significant step forward.”
More detailed information about The University of Nottingham’s environmental strategy and initiatives can be found on the web at http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/about/values/environment
The UI GreenMetric World University Ranking was launched by the University of Indonesia last year as a way of providing an online survey highlighting the current activities and policies of universities around the globe in relation to sustainability and green campus issues. The seven-month survey attracted submissions from more than 90 universities from 35 countries around the world. See http://greenmetric.ui.ac.id
for further information on participants and ranking methodology.
— Ends —
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Times as “the nearest Britain has to a truly global university”, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings.
The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 39,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power.
The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.