University embarks green mission
University embarks on £3.8 million green missionA major £3.8 million investment at the University of Sheffield has been kick-started to further slash the University’s energy consumption and C02 emissions, a move believed to be the first of its kind in the UK education sector.
As part of a continued bid to champion greener living, the University has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with energy and building management specialist Schneider Electric.
The performance-based agreement is set to deliver up to £500,000 annual savings - £360,000 of which is guaranteed – and release capital for investments that will lower energy consumption, slash the University’s carbon footprint, and deliver an enhanced working environment for staff and students.
The combined facility improvement and 10-year support deal covers 38 buildings and 120,000 m2 of the University’s estate. The technical investment programme – which incorporates mechanical services, lighting services, and control systems - will deliver direct energy savings of 15-20% and is expected to cut CO2 emissions across the entire campus by 1.68 million kg per annum.
Additional operational and environmental performance gains will be achieved through lower annual maintenance costs and a human behaviour change programme.
The University has already received awards for being `green,´ including the Carbon Trust Standard for its commitment to reducing carbon emissions. It has also already begun striving to change the behaviour of staff and students to encourage them to help the environment as part of `Degrees Cooler `, a two year project being run in conjunction with the National Union of Students (NUS), the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC), Student Switch Off and People & Planet. The project has seen the University recently take on a Greener Living Assistant to help champion greener living and students are being encouraged to sign up to become Eco-power rangers - residents who pledge to use their energy carefully and encourage their friends to do so as well.
Neil Cameron, Director of Estates at the University of Sheffield, said: “Entering into a strategic partnership has enabled us to investigate new and emerging innovative technology – with Schneider Electric taking on the risk of its performance. Efficiency will always be an investment for the future, and funds that would have been spent on energy bills can now be diverted elsewhere.”
John Cleaver, Strategic Business Solutions Director, Schneider Electric, said: “By taking a strategic approach to energy management, the University of Sheffield has embarked on a project that delivers guaranteed performance without the resource implications and risks of managing that performance itself, and is now well positioned to achieve tough new sustainability targets.”
