Sustainable Practice in Universities: Leading and Improving
4 September 2008
Universities are major players in regional, state, and local economies, and are responsible for educating the next generation of decision-makers in government and business. Over the past two decades, universities have experienced unprecedented growth to accommodate increasing numbers of young people entering higher education. Broadening access to higher education means increased services and activities that require new ways of managing land use, waste and recycling, transportation and parking facilities. It also means realising the role universities play in the wider community and exploring opportunities for adding value to local and regional economies. Perhaps more critically, any growth will have to take place within a carbon constrained world where tougher legislations and regulations are expected to define the margins for practice. Waiting for these regulations to arrive is no longer a viable option. Universities need to innovate on many fronts with a view to translating the concept of sustainability to the day-to-day running of university-wide operations and promote smart growth. A higher education sustainability conference will be held at Surrey that will bring together facilities managers, university decision makers, sustainability managers, and higher education professionals from around the UK and beyond.
This conference has four inter-related objectives:
- To share experiences of sustainability practices and strategies between universities;
- To appreciate the legislative and regulatory field with regard to sustainability and their effect on managing universities;
- To explore the potential for integrating environmental and social considerations into planning processes;
- To identify ways to raise the profile of sustainability and to improve links with the wider off-campus community.
The conference will consist of plenary presentations, concurrent sessions, and roundtable discussions on broader sustainability agenda relevant to higher education institutions. Presenters will mainly come from practitioners in UK universities, with some presenters from Europe and North America as part of the aim to share innovations and solutions.
The break-out sessions will explore some of the following specific issues:
- Low carbon options in various campuses
- Greening old buildings
- Sustainable lighting solutions
- Climate-related legislation and seizing opportunities
- Food waste and opportunities for waste to energy
- Waste and recycling technologies
- The role of universities in a low carbon town?
- Zero waste to landfill visions
- Strategies for financing sustainability practices
- Cultivating a shared environmental vision
- Building momentum for sustainability practice
- Hydrogen fuelled buses and campus mobility
- Air travel on university duty
- Transport and the wider community
Who should attend
The conference aims to bring together university leaders in the areas of campus planning and development, facilities management, finance and business, environmental health and safety, procurement as well as decision-makers in local and government. The conference will also appeal to academics who are interested in sustainability practice.
Conference venue
University of Surrey, Austin Pearce Building, Guilford GU2
This is a free event with a limited number of places.
Conference Ethos
In keeping with the University Surrey's Environmental Policy Statement, every effort will be made to reduce the environmental impact of the Sustainable Practice in Universities conference on 4 September 2008:- Almost all correspondence will be sent via e-mail and/or available on our website;
- The Conference Programme will be printed double-sided on recycled paper and will be provided at registration;
- Presentations will not be printed in the Conference Programme, but made available after the conference on the conference website;
- Participants should bring their own notepad and pencil;
- Recycling facilities will be available in all venues, please ensure you use these to sort waste appropriately;
- Please return name badges and any unwanted reusable material;
- Lunch and refreshments will be served using non-disposable crockery, cutlery and glassware;
- All beverages will be Fairtrade and/or locally produced;
- Our aim is to try to ensure that all food is locally produced;
- Speakers and participants are encouraged to use public transport wherever possible;
- The conference venue is ideally situated in Guildford which is easily accessible from major rail stations;
- Following the conference, the conference team will calculate the carbon emissions from the activities related to the whole event including refreshments and lunch, travel (speakers and delegates) and accommodation, as well as venue use. We aim to offset these carbon emissions via energy savings and carbon reduction measures within the Centre for Environmental Strategy and elsewhere in the University.