Kingston University first to win environmental accolade (From Your Local Guardian)

Kingston University first to win environmental accolade

8:00am Sunday 17th January 2010 in

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Kingston University has won a prestigious environmental accolade by reducing carbon emissions and increasing its recycled waste.

Much work went into achieving the national standard, which is set by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.

The university did everything from removing personal wastepaper bins to encourage recycling to auditing energy use, waste and travel.

It also surveyed wildlife and habitats across the four campuses and campaigned to encourage staff and students to save energy.

The measures made Kingston the first academic institution to reach the third phase of the institute’s Acorn BS8555 standard, a Government-endorsed scheme similar to the Kitemark system.

Nicola Corrigan, sustainability facilitator at the university, said: “For a number of years we have had a sustainability strategy and various programmes to reduce our carbon footprint, improve waste management, recycling and biodiversity, as well as raise awareness with our staff, students and the local community through education, training, events and campaigns.

“Achieving this standard formally recognises these efforts to improve the environmental performance of the university.”

Ms Corrigan said she hoped that by the end of the year the university would have achieved the internationally-recognised ISO14001 standard.

Despite opening three new buildings, the university has cut its carbon emissions by 2 per cent during the past 12 months, through measures including new boilers and lighting systems.

During the same period, the amount of waste it recycled increased by a quarter and projects such as the sustainability hub, which co-ordinates sustainable activities such as courses and research, ensured the university achieved the high standard.

William Richardson, from environmental auditors AJA, said: “I have reviewed and assessed the environmental impact of the university and it has clearly gone above and beyond the certification. The sorts of initiatives that have been implemented are incredibly proactive and have led to some enormous carbon savings.”

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