Page 8 - Eclipse - Autumn/Winter 2024

Environmental sustainability update

Rachel Ward, Environmental & Sustainability Manager

We have been working hard over the past year to meet our net zero

target by 2040. Some of the highlights include:

ENERGY Last year 50 students from seven DEVELOPMENT
primary schools took part. We will
Following a competitive application, be assigned a school to support in We are working closely with our building
the RVC was awarded a grant of delivering their projects. The scheme contractors, to deliver community
£2.8 million from the Public Sector is run by the Camden Climate projects including:
Decarbonisation Fund. This will replace Alliance and Knowledge Quarter. • Carrier bag collection for local
end of life gas boilers in eight buildings food banks
with air source heat pumps which will GREEN IMPACT
reduce our carbon footprint by • Student/staff event to build
565 tonnes per annum. We took part in a staff awareness hedgehog houses
campaign called Green Impact.
Through the Mayor’s Retrofit Accelerator This is a United Nations award-winning • Using leftover building materials
scheme, we are investigating renewable programme, designed to support to make bird boxes for the RVC
energy options and energy reductions. environmentally and socially sustainable • Pet food collection
We are developing the carbon profile practice within organisations.
required to meet net zero by 2040 • Donation of wildflower seeds
and predicted associated costs. This can mean anything from • Donation of first aid boxes
communicating recycling systems,
Initial assessments have been to committing to go fairtrade; • Promotion of an Animal Care Trust
undertaken for photovoltaics from supporting team health and raffle among on-site contractors
to be installed on rooftops and wellbeing campaigns, to working and subcontractors
an agri-solar system.
towards carbon neutrality.

ENVIRONMENTAL
As part of Green Impact, students SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
attend Institute of Environmental
Management and Assessment The Environmental Sustainability
approved auditor training. This provided Committee consists of representatives
work experience for 11 students. from across the organisation. The
aim of the group is to deliver the
12 teams from across the RVC took part Environmental Strategy. Some of the
in the scheme ‘From labs to libraries’. highlights over the past year include:
Over 400 sustainability actions were
ENGAGEMENT
completed as part of the campaign • Old x-rays have been recycled.
Over 1,500 people visited Boltons The x-rays have been processed
Park Farm for Open Farm Sunday. STUDENT SWITCH OFF to recover silver, recycle PET
The theme of the 2024 event was We ran our student engagement campaign and paper elements of the film.
‘Nature’. An awareness stall was held called “Student Switch Off”. This is a Records are securely destroyed
to plant wildflowers with children friendly competition between our residence by granulation before processing.
and give information on biodiversity at to see who can be the most sustainable. • Six rooms of old clinical patient files
the farm to visitors. The competition was based on our key that has passed the seven-year
The RVC is sponsoring a ‘Green engagement statistics, as a percentage deadline have been sent for secure
Dragon’s Den’. Primary schools of residents from each residence. College shredding and recycling.
in Camden have been invited to Grove won this year. In addition, the RVC Around 38 tonnes of paper
pitch their climate ideas and receive topped two national leaderboards. records will be recycled into
a grant to help fund their project. toilet paper.

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