Both the private and public sectors, including the university and college sector have a legal and social responsibility to promote and protect human health and the environment by safely, responsibly and efficiently managing and reducing waste and maximising waste reuse, recycling and resource generation opportunities.
As large organisations that manage staff, student, visitor and supplier waste, institutions must contend with a host of operational matters. Common concerns today include the increasing costs of disposal charges and landfill taxes, and the potential to adhere to Scope 3 guidelines on carbon emissions relating to estates.
To connect with like-minded sector experts on the topic of waste, join the EAUC's Waste Community of Practice. This group is for EAUC members only.
EAUC-Scotland's Waste Management Topic Support Network (TSN) is open to all, providing an opportunity for those working in or with the further and higher education sector to share ideas and questions and to get together to hear from particular speakers or discuss topics of interest.
The Green Consultancy successfully tendered to the University of Oxford for a programme to create a new Five Year Carbon Management Plan
The University of Aberdeen is working with the Creative Waste Exchange to divert material from landfill to community groups and other organisations such as schools that are able...
The University of Glasgow and the Carbon Trust worked together on a Carbon Management Programme which identified opportunities to reduce energy consumption and make the...
Information on the London School of Economics' HEFCE-funded project, moving towards zero waste.
A project that designed, implemented and evaluated a suite of social software applications, to encourage positive changes.
Here is a project summary of the LGM HEFCE funded project, led by Harper Adams University College to develop Carbon Management Strategies.
The EcoCampus encourages and rewards universities for moving towards environmental sustainability and therefore good operational and management practice.
A University of Bradford led project stimulating strategic change & operational improvements by working with estates & other departments with energy/environmental...
The Energy Consortium has led a partnership made up of Harper Adams University College and the Universities of Lancaster, Liverpool and Surrey to develop additional...
Keble College is one of the largest of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford with 410 undergraduate and 235 graduate students. It was the wish of the founders in...
EAUC Member responses about heating policies which includes ots of examples of heating policies at universities and colleges which can be used to help create your own policy.
Lucideon's Quick Guide to ISO 50001: The New Energy Management System Standard - a reporting guide and a video.
A case study about Queen Margaret University’s Corstorphine Campus which was relocated and how it embraced the challenge to deliver the most sustainable campus in the UK.
Survey results from Heriot-Watt University's Energy Performance and Estates Condition Survey.
Recycling and sustainability within rural further and higher education institutions can be difficult without the support and advice that is more readily available to those...
A case study on Oxford University reducing energy use from out-of-hours working in research buildings
A case study from The University of St Andrews getting to the next level and integrating sustainability into every part of the institution.
The University of St Andrews implemented a compulsory in-house recycling scheme for staff and students. Working closely with the local authority they undertook a rationalisation...
A case study of Elmwood College which used the golf course and farm as living/working educational resources to increase environmental awareness.
A case study from WRAP on the use of recycled paper at the University of Gloucestershire.
Steinel UK Limited shares a number of case studies from some work completed with three EAUC Members in the installation of sensor controlled lighting to reduce energy.
MITIE shares two case studies from some work completed with a school and a college in the installation of Ewgeco systems to monitor electricity.
After 10 years of research and development with Stafford-based company Talbott's Heating Ltd, the BG100 biomass generator began testing at Harper Adams in December 2005
A case study of Oxfam’s partnership with Birmingham City University on "Oxfam Collects at Work" to engage employees in sustainability whilst raising money for...
In 2007 the University of Birmingham upgraded one of its computer clusters, replacing 70 traditional workstations with equivalent specification but lower energy TFT-PCs.
Case study of Coventry University Enterprises, piloting a voluntary location-independent working scheme encouraging participants to work out of the office for 40–60% of their time.
A case study from Jisc and the London Metropolitan Network (LMN)which provides a data back up solution to London institutions using the state-of-the-art technology.
Ave Maria University has integrated all its IT and facilities management, including air conditioning, lighting, security cameras, fire alarms, electrical and building-access...
Case study of the University of York cutting carbon in computing initiative
A case study from Jisc about how WEEE Regulations stimulated NTU to reduce the amount of waste generated and to manage the residue more effectively.
A case study from City and Islington College, which donates its old computers to developing countries via the charity Computer Aid.
This case study explains how the University of Sheffield has undertaken a detailed estimate of the energy/carbon footprint of its ICT estate.
By investing in low energy PC and server systems, the research team has lowered the environmental impacts of their computational-intensive modelling
A case study from SUSTEIT about free cooling, avoidance of hot/cold air arrangements, and variable speed drives, which can save in energy costs, compared to older, unoptimised,...
Purpose-built to house the School of Computing, a simple, low energy design, which saves energy, reduces environmental impacts and enhances productivity
At the University of Liverpool, the self-developed software powers down around 3,500 participating computers that are idle for over 10 hours daily, bringing numerous benefits.
Case study of the University of Gloucestershire realizing that computer and printer procurement and usage was a significant contributor to the university’s environmental...
When City of Bristol College encountered a growing number of servers with the related power and cooling requirements, it looked at virtualisation mainly for server...
This case study introduces "HECToR" (High End Computing Terascale Resources)
This case study explains how Jisc were able to provide Cardiff University with new technology allowing twice as many servers in less space and the total cost.
A case study, from Cardiff University, explaining how using Condor could help cut your electricity use.
In the Queen Margaret University campus a key feature is thin client IT infrastructure, which produces less heat and allows the building to be mostly naturally lit and ventilated.
Replacing 120 physical servers with 13 VMware ESX host servers has enabled Sheffield Hallam University to expand server capacity considerably, while reducing energy costs and...
The Suste IT Tool is a simple carbon accounting tool that calculates the amount of energy (kWh), carbon (CO2) and money (£) is spent on ICT related energy use.
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has embarked on a comprehensive utilisation survey for the whole academic year in order to gain an insight into the use of the estate. The...
Coventry University’s Carbon Challenge scheme is an inter-faculty energy competition with eagerly anticipated monthly reports, quarterly league tables and prizes....
Imperial College London is committed to provision of sustainable operation of its estate, despite a strategy of refurbishment, new build and staff/student growth. To support...
Love Food Hate Waste aims to raise awareness of the need to reduce food waste and help us take action. It shows that by doing some easy practical everyday things in the home we...
ICT (or e-Waste) at your institution, an EAUC Insight Guide, provides useful information on e-waste, covering a number of areas such as regulations, storing, recycling and...
Sustainable ICT in Further and Higher Education, a JISC report, provides useful information on good practice in environmentally sustainable ICT
Reducing Paper Use at Your Institution, an EAUC Insight Guide, provides guidance on reducing paper use and recycling waste paper, embracing other relevant aspects such as legal...
Elmwood College has adopted an innovative approach for meeting the requirements of the ISO14001 Environmental Management Standard. It uses curriculum as a mechanism for...
'How is it recycled?' is a series of videos produced by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and 'RecycleNow' providing useful information about...
A case study looking at City College Norwich who in December 2009 launched a five-year Strategy which contained an objective of developing 21st century environments that are...
A spreadsheet from the Furniture Reuse Network with average weights of furniture, household and larger appliances, useful in estimating the weight saved from sending to landfill.
Benchmarks for target setting, a short guide developed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), provides information on selecting suitable metrics and KPIs; project...
A completely free ‘Fleet Health Check’ is available from The Energy Saving Trust for organisations with more than 20 vehicles
Sustainable ICT Procurement for Institutions, an EAUC Insight Guide, offers advice on selecting most sustainable ICT equipment for institutions, encompassing a range of topics...
A case study by WRAP which focuses on the recycled content in construction of the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science of the University of Strathclyde.
CEREc is a unique, teaching, research and demonstration resource for the built environment hosting a number of renewable and intelligent energy solutions.
A briefing document prepared by ECUS Environmental Consultants (October 2011) which discusses the proposed revisions to ISO14001: 2004 Environmental Management Standard.
A briefing on new waste management legislation by the University of Greenwich to its staff who deal with or are responsible for handling and collection of waste for disposal...
A toolkit to provide pathways that will lead us to a clean, safe and energy healthy 2050 developed by the DECC
The PPAPC produced 14 Commodity Information Sheets; Banking, Beauty, Beverages, Cleaning, Clothing, Electronics, Fruit, Oil&Gas, Paper, Plastics, Seafood, Steel, Timber,...
Legal update for EAUC Members (October 2011) about the rise in environmental taxes impacting universities and colleges.
EAUC Member responses about the use of electric heaters by staff for supplementary heating.
Climate Futures analyses the social, political, economic and psychological consequences of climate change describing how different global responses could lead to five very...
This resource consists of the weblink to the factsheets for EU Ecolabels.
This link takes you to the SPP website where you can find the SMART SPP tool and further information.
The UK Government's Sustainable Procurement Action Plan produced by DEFRA in 2007. Incorporating the Government response to the report of the Sustainable Task Force. Part...
This links to asection of the BREEAM website includes case studies on buildings certified to the BREEAM standard.
This section of BRE Group’s website includes a comprehensive list of the sustainability services they offer, such as BREEAM, GreenPrint and SMARTWaste.
The Green Deal, of The Energy Act 2011, is a financial mechanism that eliminates paying upfront for energy efficiency improvements to homes, community spaces and businesses.
A question from Lucy Latham (Carbon Emissions Officer, Newcastle University) on water audits, especially on company selection and savings identification, attracted responses...
EAUC Member responses about whether recycled paper jams printers. This lead to lots of member discussions.
This UCU energy inspection checklist is compiled from a combination of Carbon Trust and Prospect checklists and is designed to assess the energy use in your building via an...
A guide from AUDE to assist in making the replace or refurbish decision.
UK universities and colleges spend over £50 million a year on water and sewerage (which are usually based on the amount of water consumed) so there are considerable...
Examples of carbon reduction strategies, plans and initiatives from a number of universities.
Examples from five British universities on how they manage their waste. Links to websites of University of Aberdeen, University of Bristol, University of Derby, University of...
This document aims to help public bodies access potential sources of energy efficiency and renewable energy finance and to assess the costs, risks and benefits of doing this.
A link to the website of the Staffordshire University hub of regeneration and sustainability where you can find out more about how it works with with regeneration professionals.
In the 2008/09 academic year NUS Services ran two technical projects designed to find out how the equipment found in most students' unions could be managed most efficiently
Salix has worked with 725 clients across the public sector, including local authorities, central government, schools, universities and colleges and NHS trusts.
A guide to Display Energy Certificates and advisory report for public buildings
A webpage link to Defra's policy on reducing and managing waste.
Waste Online is a library of documents relating to sustainability, waste use and resource use. It provide information for people from all locations and of all levels of knowledge.
CEBenchbuild is an Excel tool that allows HEIs and FECs to benchmark the energy performance of buildings on their estate and compare it to national yardsticks.
EAUC Member responses with helpful ways to tackle recycling in Halls of Residence.
EAUC Legal Spotlight (December 2011) on the changes to the regulation of radioactive substances
A summary from HEFCE for measuring scope 3 carbon emissions
A HEFCE commissioned report to carry out an evaluation of the Revolving Green Fund (RGF).
This document from HEFCE offers guidance for institutions on producing individual carbon reduction strategies, targets and associated carbon management plans.
This takes you to more information on the Carbon Trust Standard which is the world’s leading independent certification of an organisation’s impact on environmental...
This resource takes you to a page on the Carbon Trust's website which outlines the support offered to public sector bodies.
The Carbon Trust Standard for Carbon publicly recognises your organisation's efforts in reducing carbon emissions.
This overview covers the main energy saving opportunities in lighting and presents low-cost measures without compromising working conditions.
This guide discusses; Strategic Overview, Contractual and Project Methodology, Financial Incentives, Renewable Power Technologies and Renewable Heat Technologies
A guide from TEC which discusses; Project Drivers, Project Guidance, Passive Energy Measures, Active Energy Measures, Renewable Energy, Water Measures, and Design Targets.
An update to the 2006 WRAP report "Environmental Benefits of Recycling".