After an external audit, we're delighted to retain certification for our Environment & Energy Management System (EEMS), which is certified to聽EcoCampus Platinum聽as well as both ISO14001 and ISO50001, international standards that recognise organisations that manage and enhance their environmental performance.
During the four day assessment, many areas of the university were audited, including our environmental leadership, planning, procurement, communications, waste management, energy performance, and building management.
The auditor was particularly impressed with our building management system, sustainable procurement measures, our policies and registers and the management of聽BREEAM-accredited Poole Gateway Building. The environmental management of our new Christchurch House laboratories by the Faculty of Science & Technology was highly regarded by the auditor. Our communications, engagement and training was considered an area of best practice.
Richard Walsh, the external auditor, said the result 鈥渞eflects the commitment demonstrated across the university and especially those members of the Sustainability team and their management of the system and on-site activities. There is a clear pathway mapped out towards improving the environmental impact of the campus and also energy usage and associated carbon reduction across university facilities.鈥�
In addition to this success, we were pleased to retain our First Class Ranking and rank 19th聽in the聽People and Planet University League, which assesses environmental and ethical performance. The table is compiled annually by the UK鈥檚 largest student campaigning network for social and environmental justice, People and Planet. Particularly, we were pleased to score highly in the following areas:
-聽聽聽聽聽聽 100% for Environmental Auditing and Management Systems
-聽聽聽聽聽聽 100% for Energy Sources
-聽聽聽聽聽聽 96% for Education for Sustainable Development
-聽聽聽聽聽聽 89% for Water Reduction
-聽聽聽聽聽聽 87.5% for Waste & Recycling
Our聽Climate and Ecological Crisis Action Plan聽(CECAP) aims to cut our emissions in half and achieve net zero emissions by 2030/31. This ambitious target reflects the pressing need for society to cut our carbon emissions as quickly as possible to avoid the worst effects of a changing climate and pushes us to continue to work innovatively to achieve it.