University of Winchester

The University of Winchester has over 5,800 students studying a wide selection of courses ranging from Foundation and Bachelor Honours degrees through to professional development, postgraduate Masters and Research degrees. Programmes of study span the arts, humanities, social sciences, business, education, health and social care. The Estate comprises some 47,000 square metres of buildings, dating from 1864, through to the newest building on campus which was completed in January 2010.

Carbon Management

The University has made significant progress in reducing its environmental impact in over the past two years. A significant achievement for the institution was joining the Higher Education Carbon Management Programme in 2007/8. A target to reduce the CO2 emissions by 30 per cent by 2015 was set and, although the University is in the early stages of its carbon management implementation, it has reduced its carbon footprint by 7.26 per cent per m2, whilst increasing the size of the estate by 8.64 per cent.

The University has made significant investment in energy efficiency in 2009/10 and it is expected that their carbon footprint will reduce by the end of the current academic year. Thanks to a Salix grant, more than £180,000 has been invested in energy efficiency measures in the last year with a further £550,000 planned for investment in the next six months. Projects that have already been implemented are expected to deliver carbon savings of 300 tonnes per annum.

Energy Management

The University has taken steps to manage its energy use more efficiently. This has included investing £230,000 to increase the coverage of its Building Management Systems, purchasing an Energy Management package and implementing a sub-metering scheme for gas, water and electricity for all buildings including student residences.

Waste

The University joined a consortium of other institutions on the south coast to procure a new waste contract in 2008. It utilises pay-by-weight technology and co-mingled recycling. Recycling at the University has risen from 14 per cent in January 2009 to around 56 per cent in March 2010. A target of 70 per cent of waste diverted from landfill is planned for 2012.

Awards

The University’s Student Union was awarded Gold at this year’s Sound Impact Awards. They also went on to scoop the Ecologist Communications Award for its short film that aimed to raise awareness amongst students about their environmental impact. The University was also one of only a handful of employers to be chosen as a ‘Large Business’ finalist in this year’s Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sustainable Business Awards (www.the-sbp.co.uk)

Catering

The in-house catering team has been working hard to reduce its environmental impact for a number of years by supplying Fairtrade, local produce and has recently moved to providing 100 per cent free range meat products. They were also recognised for their long standing support of free range eggs last year when they received the Good Egg award from Compassion in World Farming.

Main Contact Name: Mat Jane, Energy and Environment Manager
Main Contact Email: [email protected]
Further information/website: www.winchester.ac.uk/aboutus/sustainability
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