Date: 15th May 2017
On 18th October, over 100 staff and students from across Cambridge University filled Downing College’s Howard Building to hear about Green Impact, as well as the brand new ‘Cambridge Carbon Challenge’. The Green Impact initiative is now entering its fifth year and has already made a huge contribution to the University’s environmental sustainability. The Cambridge Carbon Challenge is a new scheme and provides an exciting way for staff and students to bring about energy reductions in their buildings. Speakers included the University’s Registrary Jonathan Nicholls who introduced the event and made it clear that environmental action has support at the highest level in the University, backed up by such actions as the roll-out of a £2 million per year carbon reduction fund, action on sustainable travel, improvements in recycling practices and innovations in sustainability teaching and research.
Peter Lumb, the University’s Environmental Coordinator highlighted many of the simple but effective actions carried out by staff – just last year 43 Green Impact teams implemented 2174 actions ranging from simple improvements in recycling practices to switching off lights. Teams were given awards for their efforts and achievements. Emily Dunning from the Living Laboratory for Sustainability announced the new Cambridge Carbon Challenge which is a competition for staff and students to generate new ideas to reduce energy use and associated carbon emissions from buildings on the University estate. Peter Lumb said: “Downing College was the perfect setting for our Green Impact event and I’d like to thank the Conference Team for their help in making it run so smoothly. It was very fitting that we should use a venue which has its own excellent standards of sustainability, which were recently recognised for the second time with a Gold Green Tourism Award.”
