SWM member Aston University receives a prestigious EcoCampus award
Aston has been awarded the Platinum phase award, as part of the national EcoCampus scheme – this is equivalent to the ISO14001 Environmental Management Standard and Aston is one of only seven universities in the UK to receive the Platinum accreditation.
Aston signed up to the scheme in 2008, and has since successfully worked through the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards before achieving Platinum, the highest level, in October 2012.
EcoCampus is designed to help put in place the necessary systems and procedures to ensure that Universities are monitoring and minimising their impact on the environment. This covers areas as diverse as the use of natural resources, handling and treatment of waste, sustainable procurement and energy consumption.
Some of the recent ‘green’ initiatives introduced at Aston include;
- Installing a combined heat and power plant on campus which provides the University, its student residences and adjacent businesses with a highly reliable source of low cost heat and electrical power.
- Launching a successful ‘zero waste in halls’ project collecting and reusing items from students leaving residences in partnership with the British Heart Foundation.
- Achieving average annual reductions of 12% in electricity use in halls of residence through participation in the national Student Switch Off campaign.
- Running its third and most successful, annual Go Green Week in February 2012 with a series of events open to staff, students and the public.
Achievement of the EcoCampus Platinum Award is another success for Aston University, following their ranking in the 2012 People&Planet Green League, where they were awarded ‘First Class Honours’ for their position at number 11 out of over 140 UK universities.
