London Met

London Met has been providing education to people from all backgrounds since 1848, with the creation of the Metropolitan Evening Classes for Working Men.
 
Four faculties teach cutting-edge, relevant courses across the arts, sciences, business, law and humanities. Accelerator – London Met’s specialist business incubator – helps graduates get their enterprises up and running and was named among the Top Five ‘Most Active’ accelerators in Europe in 2015, highlighting its contribution to London’s booming start-up industry.
 
London Met is home to world-leading academics who regularly give expert comment to the media. The University scored well in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, being ranked 4th in the country for Area Studies and performing strongly in Education and Social Studies.
 
The University is strongly focused on employability. In 2015, London Met recorded its highest ever graduate employment score, with 91.1% of all 2013/14 graduates in work or further study six months after graduation.
 
The University has met and exceeded our 2020 carbon reduction target of 50% in 2016, four years early. As a result of this achievement, the University has won several awards including:
 
  • Number 1 university for carbon reduction 2015, Brite Green
  • Green Gowns Highly Commended Carbon Management 2015
  • Green Gown Awards Highly Commended Carbon Management 2016
  • Public Sector Sustainability Award – Most Sustainable Public Sector Runner Up 2015
  • Public Sector Sustainability Award – Best Energy Reduction 2015
  • Green Apple Award for Sustainability – Silver
  • Islington Sustainable Energy Partnership – gold certification
  • Energy Institute – Energy Champion Highly Commended
  • Public Sector Sustainability Award - Energy Champion Runner Up 2016
  • Public Sector Sustainability Award - Most Sustainable Public Sector Organisation 2016
  • Public Sector Sustainability Award - Sustainability Manager of the Year 2016
  • Edie Awards - Finalist Energy Reduction (TBC Jan 2017)
  • Edie Awards - Finalist Energy Manager of the Year (TBC Jan 2017)
Transforming Energy Efficiency at Central House
 
Transforming Energy Efficiency at Central House (TEECH) project’s aim was to improve the energy efficiency of a 1960’s building
 
Lighting Up London Met builds on the success of the previous carbon management plan which resulted in savings of 43% in 2014 and we expect to meet and exceed our 2020 carbon reduction target of 50% by the end of the academic year of 2015/16. 
 
 The windows were replaced with more thermally efficient windows and insulated aluminium cladding panels were added to the concrete structural columns to further insulate the building.   The window installation project was carried out with the building fully occupied by staff and students which presented the project team with a significant challenge, a series of mobile partitioning panels were incorporated to segregate the building occupants from the construction site and the partitioning was so successful that the lecturers requested that we leave it in place temporarily so the students could utilise it to display their end of year course work. 
 
The external image of the building has been transformed from a 1960’s factory into a modern education establishment.  The window configurations enhance the façade appearance with a thin steel section window system and large areas of glazing giving a light airy appearance whilst maintaining the ribbon window pattern with the introduction of insulated aluminium cladding panels to the concrete structural columns. Draughty single glazed windows have been replaced with double glazing thus eliminating the previous issue of draught and improving staff/student comfort levels. Heating complaints have dramatically reduced for this building.  The quality of light now entering the building has been vastly increased.  Student engagement was undertaken throughout the project including undertaking a student design project to develop ideas for how the windows should look which was incorporated into the final design, donating materials to be used in artwork projects and giving student’s photography work experience.
 
 
RE:FIT
 
Mayor’s RE:FIT scheme guaranteed a 7% energy saving across three of the University’s buildings.
 
The University installed 221 solar panels on the roof of its Science Centre building.   They are arranged in 2 arrays which can produce a combined total of 60kW. A PC monitor, linked to the panels, was also fitted in the reception area of the building so people can see how much electricity they are producing at any given time. The Science Centre is home to the University’s “superlab” with 280 individual work stations and an international quality basketball court made from recycled aircraft tyres. This building is the University’s second largest user of electricity so all electricity will be used on site.  This building was chosen so that the photo voltaic panels could be used as a teaching tool. As it is the first renewable energy at the university it is a very exciting project, one which is being used to help raise awareness amongst staff and students on sustainability issues.   The system used at London Met was a relatively new system and used a click frame to install the panels rather than having to bolt it to the roof.  This made it a quick process to install the panels and they weigh less so less structural issues and no damage to the roof.
 
3170 T8 lights were replaced at the Tower Building with LED lights.  These will reduce the University’s energy consumption by £55,000 per annum and save 225 tonnes of carbon. To ensure that the upgrades were cost effective, existing fittings were used where possible.  The lighting replacement was undertaking during term time therefore out of hours work was used to minimise disruption.  
 
Awareness
 
Due to the success of energy saving projects implemented at the University, the team involved won a staff award of £2,000.  The team decided to use to money to undertake a sustainability project to help raise awareness of environmental issues and so decided to rent two bee hives at the University.  This has captured staff and student’s imaginations and they have become involved in further green initiatives.
 
We have created a roof garden to develop a green growing space in an urban environment. We run a staff/student gardening club to get people involved in growing fruit, vegetables and flowers and meet new people.  The produce from the club is given to members and students for free.  We are planning to create a further roof garden at another building in 2017.
 
In addition to the practical projects, a programme of environmental awareness raising was undertaken to let students and staff know about the work being undertaken, London Met’s commitment to reducing our environmental impact and the actions they could take to help reduce this further.  Events were run throughout the year culminating in the University’s most successful Green Week to date with over 400 attendees.  For the first time, a Green Society was established at the University which won “Society of the Year” at the Student Union awards.
 
We have introduced a new cup scheme to try and reduce paper cup waste. We sell University branded travel mugs for £3.50 and offer a discount of 30p off a cup of tea/coffee at the University outlets if you bring your own mug.  This has proved popular and helped to reduce the amount of paper cup waste we produce.
 
We have rolled out Green Impact for the first time at the University.  Staff have organised events such as a FairTrade Bake Off to raise money for a local community green space project.
 
Our case study video for the Green Gown Awards is available on our You Tube channel
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gerBPvg_Hw0


Main Contact Name: Rachel Ward 
 
Main Contact Email: r.ward@londonmet.ac.uk 
 
Further information: www.londonmet.ac.uk/sustainability 
 
Twitter: @GreenLondonMet
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GreenLondonMet
Instagram: greenlondonmet
 
 
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