Category: Sustainable Science

Our journey to net zero | Reviewing 900+ carbon saving actions

Posted on by Sustainability Communications

The University is committed to reaching carbon neutrality from its buildings by 2030, and departmental Climate Action Plans (CAPs) are integral to achieving this. Each CAP is designed by members of the School or Department, enabling them to pinpoint areas of highest impact. By empowering teams in this way, the Sustainability Team can provide expert support where it’s needed and monitor progress over time.     

In January, 26 Schools and Departments submitted plans for an initial review, detailing over 900 committed carbon-saving actions that are either in the pipeline, in progress or complete. Actions are selected under four themes: buildings, circular economy, transport and advocacy, with the online planning tool prompting relevant steps to reduce carbon emissions. The Sustainability Team’s managers for Transport, Energy, Circular Economy and Sustainable Science reviewed each CAP, and provided feedback to enable effective implementation of plans.  

Climate Action Plans will now be reviewed annually, and progress recorded and reported to the Sustainability Strategic Monitoring and Implementation Group. With the first round of reviews complete, the Team has a solid benchmark for progress across the University. 

 Anna Lewis, Sustainable Science Manager, led the review process and said: 

“It’s so important to review the Departmental CAPs so that we can provide specialised feedback and offer support for the planned actions over the coming years. Innovative activities and plans are highlighted, which allows for peer learning as well as a consistent approach across the University.”

A recent survey of CAP coordinators has enabled the Sustainability Team to identify new ways to support CAP working groups (or committees, as they’re sometimes referred to). One outcome is to facilitate peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and the Sustainability Team will soon host a session in which coordinators will be able to review other CAPs, share ideas for improvement, and collaborate on future projects. 

CAP working groups continue to benefit from bi-monthly CAP Clinics, hosted by the Sustainability Team. These clinics focus around the four themes within the planning tool, but are also a space for coordinators to share any questions or challenges with the wider network.  

Overall, 62% of Departments have submitted a Climate Action Plan, with 83% of all Departments successfully engaged in the process. CAPs will continue to be an important resource to help the University achieve its ambitious net zero targets, as well as to continuously demonstrate its commitment to sustainability and climate action for many years to come. 

For more information visit the Sustainability website or contact sustainability-comms@bristol.ac.uk.  

Bristol Medical School receives two additional sustainable science awards

Posted on by Sustainability Communications

Congratulations to Bristol Medical School for gaining Silver LEAF certifications in two of their buildings within one week, further demonstrating their outstanding commitment to sustainable research.

Research laboratories can have a significant environmental impact, often consuming vast quantities of energy, water and plastic while producing enormous amounts of waste. To help tackle this issue, University College London founded the The Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) programme in 2018.

The framework sets out several sustainability criteria for labs to meet in order to qualify for a bronze, silver or gold LEAF certification and provides calculators to track carbon and financial savings. By meeting LEAF criteria, lab users can benefit from reduced utility bills, increased research efficiency and greater access to funding, all while minimising their environmental footprint.

Last summer, the University of Bristol became the first university in the world to gain Bronze LEAF certifications in all 990 lab spaces. Building upon this success, Bristol Medical School has now been awarded Silver certifications in 41 lab spaces across two of their buildings: the BRI Level 7 and Bioresource labs. The Silver certifications were issued within less than a week of each other and are the first to be awarded this year at the University.

The Silver award includes 11 different criteria and holds a particular focus on increasing equipment efficiency and reducing single-use plastics. The BRI Level 7 and Bioresource labs successfully met every criterion required for the award, including regular discussion of sustainability topics within meetings, participating in recycling schemes and conducting regular equipment maintenance.

The labs even went the extra mile to implement several other sustainable practices. For example, the BRI Level 7 staff created a pipette shop to repair and resell unused pipettes for a discounted price, generating £400 in savings so far. Both buildings also completed this year’s Freezer Challenge, an international competition promoting energy efficient practices in cold storage management.

These latest accreditations add to Bristol Medical School’s impressive track record regarding sustainability and place the School in a fantastic position to achieve its goal of gaining Silver certifications in every lab by the end of the year.

The School’s remarkable progress further contributes to our wider institutional goals of gaining Silver certifications in every STEM School by 2024 and becoming net-zero by 2030.

The Freezer Challenge: improving energy efficiency in labs

Posted on by Sustainability Communications

STEM buildings are responsible for 40% of the University’s energy consumption, and the numerous freezers in labs contribute to this figure. A single ultra-low temperature freezer (ULT) can use as much energy as an average household each day. Ways to reduce the energy consumption of freezers that were encouraged by the challenge include defrosting freezers, vacuuming freezer coils, creating a cold storage inventory, space sharing, using room temperature storage whenever possible and adjusting ULT temperatures from -80°C to -70°C.

From January to July of this year, the Bristol Bioresource Laboratories demonstrated a commitment to more sustainable research by competing in and then winning an award in the 2022 Freezer Challenge.  The challenge, run by My Green Lab and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories, aims to achieve greater energy efficiency, sample integrity and access and cost savings all while promoting best practices in cold storage management. This year’s challenge saved a total of 6.732 metric tons of carbon, with 1,200 labs from 27 countries taking part, the highest recorded number of participants yet!

The Bioresource Labs from Bristol Medical School won the award for the best ‘medium size lab’ within the Academic Sector Category and in doing so saved on average 283.4 kWh/day, an amazing saving for the lab and the University as a whole! Their dedicated efforts included defrosting 53 freezers, cleaning the filters of 39 freezers, retiring 4 ULT freezers and replacing them with energy-efficient models and fully auditing 51 freezers (49 of which were ULT models).

The Bristol Bioresource Labs will be awarded their certificate at the IS2L conference and will be featured in Lab Manager Magazine. When asked about whether they would participate in the 2023 challenge the said they would aim for the Winning Streak Award, given to labs that beat their energy savings from the year before.

We look forward to seeing if the Bristol Bioresource Labs achieve their goal, if you want to join the Bioresource labs in the 2023 Freezer Challenge register your interest here!

 

Sustainability achievements in 2021

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As a University, we’re committed to becoming net-zero carbon by 2030. We’re on a challenging but exciting journey to transform our estate into a beacon of environmental sustainability. 

While we still have a long way to go, it’s important to celebrate the wins along the way and keep everyone up-to-date with the progress being made. Here are just some of our sustainability achievements from the past 12 months: 

1.Upgraded our Energy Management System 

To help us understand and improve energy usage around the campus, we upgraded our Building Energy Management System. These smart control systems help us understand the impact of environmental conditions on different buildings and see where we’re overconsuming, particularly in laboratories and our larger halls of residence.  

2. Helped over 100 staff to buy a new bike  

We launched a new Cycle to Work Scheme in April, offering a wider range of bikes including e-bikes. The increased scheme limit of £2,500 can be used at Halfords, Tredz, and participating independent bike shops, helping even more staff buy a bike to travel to work sustainably.  

3. Secured investment for an electric fleet 

In May, the University allocated a £235,000 investment for new electric vehicles and e-cargo bikes for campus transport operations and electric pool bikes for staff business travel. Once in place, this new electric fleet will improve efficiency and environmental performance in transport operations, helping us align with Bristol’s planned Clean Air Zone, as well as our net-zero target.  

4. Became a Fairtrade University 

The University became a Fairtrade University in June, recognising the work done to embed ethical and sustainable practices in our curriculum, procurement, research and campaigns.    

5. Donated 12.5 tonnes of food to local charities 

In June the University also won a three-star Zero Waste award representing several years of hard work from the University’s catering and sustainability teams. In the last 12 months we donated 12.5 tonnes of food from across the University and Students Union to local charities through the Trussell Trust and FareShare South West, supporting those living in food poverty and reducing methane caused by food waste. 

6. Became the first university in the world to gain 100% Green Lab Certification 

All of the University’s 990 laboratories gained at least a bronze certification in the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF). Hundreds of staff within the STEM community were involved in implementing actions to improve energy efficiency, waste management, sustainable procurement and research quality.   

7. Recycled 14 tonnes of student items through the Bristol Big Give 

Our end-of-term re-use scheme in student accommodation, The Bristol Big Give, reused over 14 tonnes of materials and generated up to £24,000 for local charities, diverting countless unwanted items from landfill and supporting the circular economy.  

8. Installed 80 new recycling facilities 

Over the Summer we partnered with Reworked UK to install over 80 internal recycling facilities for even more single use plastic items including crisp packets, confectionary wrappers, single use non-hazardous PPE such as face masks and Lateral Flow Test kits.  

9. Saved nearly £0.5m through Sustainable Science & Green Labs initiatives 

STEM Laboratories at the University of Bristol account for 40% of our energy and waste budget as well as 32% of our annual water bill, but only occupy 6% of our space. The Sustainable Science & Green Labs initiative in 2020/21 helped make savings of nearly half a million pounds, through energy, water, waste, behaviour change and procurement projects. 

10. Joined IEMA as corporate members  

We’ve taken out corporate membership and gone through a rigorous process to become an Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) approved training centre so we can deliver sustainability skills for managers courses for staff. In addition, 45 students benefitted from free membership for the month of November, giving them access to events, learning resources and networking opportunities.  

11. Reused nearly 8 tonnes of furniture  

We collected and reused furniture from around the campus, with 80% repurposed within the University and the rest going to local schools, and charities such as SOFA Project. This saved the University £43,800 on buying new furniture and 13 tonnes of carbon it would’ve taken to manufacture new items. 

12. Introduced Climate Action Plans 

Each school and Division have been asked to write a plan and to nominate a contact for the University Sustainability team to work with in writing the plans. To date, about 70% of departments have nominated a coordinator, with 50% starting a plan and 25% moving onto implementing actions. We’re currently recruiting a CAP Officer to support with the rollout in the new year.  

On the heels of COP26, engagement and conversation around the topic of sustainability is at an all-time high. Now more than ever we need to work together to build momentum and continue creating change across the University.  

On a smaller scale, you can start to make a positive impact today by joining the 1,800 staff and students taking part in Be the Change. Register here to complete carbon saving activities and start earning points to be in with a chance of winning one of many £10 vouchers up for grabs each month.