Energy use and carbon emissions have been identified as one of our largest environmental impacts – find out what we are doing to reduce this.
Our energy target
We will demonstrate our success in energy and carbon management by:
reducing carbon emissions arising from non-residential building energy use (electricity, gas and district heating) by floor area by 30% by 2020.
Reducing our energy use
We are accredited to the ISO 50001 energy management system. This ensures effective monitoring and measurement of our usage and emissions. In addition to this we are:
Designing low carbon and renewable technologies into our buildings, such as solar PVs (photovoltaics), solar thermals and ground source heat pumps.
Specifying high efficiency plant and maintenance equipment across campuses.
Using techniques such as thermal imaging to identify areas for improvement.
Using engagement campaigns to raise awareness and promote behaviour change, including our network of green champions.
Monitoring and reducing Scope 3 emissions
Progress against targets is monitored on an ongoing basis, using a projection tool that predicts the impacts of potential projects. This tool was developed as part of a consultancy project and populated by a master's degree student as part of their studies. You can find out more on our education pages.
The University is also working towards calculating and reporting Scope 3 emissions. See our travel monitoring page for information on how we're reducing our business travel impact.