People & Planet society praises "immense" green achievement
Soc chair proud of UCLan's green leap
People & Planet's annual green league for UK Universities has seen UCLan take a giant leap up to fifth in the standings.
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The University is undertaking one of the biggest solar panel installations in the UK on the roof of the Union's venue, 53 Degrees |
The University was previously ranked 50th, but is now the proud owner of a 'First - for solid environmental performance'.
UCLan's People & Planet society chairperson, Stephanie Steele, was delighted with the news.
She said: "Fifth in the green league is an immense achievement, especially when you consider that some Universities don't even seem to acknowledge the need for an environmental policy. However, there is a still a huge amount of work to be done; joint fifth is good but first is even better. UCLan still needs to reconsider it's energy sources, amount of CO2 emissions and water usage but hopefully the student community and staff can work together to solve the problem and help us come out on top."
The Union contributed to UCLan's success in the green league by securing a Silver in the NUS Sound Impact Awards for the second year in a row and also lobbying the University to become a Fairtrade institution.
UCLan’s Paul Morris, director of facilities management, said: “The University has worked incredibly hard in the last year to improve its sustainability credentials.
“We have achieved Fairtrade status, improved recycling, reduced energy use and we now purchase green energy. The University has staff dedicated to environmental management issues and we have also cut our carbon emissions by 5.2% per cent over the last three years. We will be looking to build on this successful platform in the future.”
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12 August 2008
