‘Ecoversity’ is leading the way (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

‘Ecoversity’ is leading the way

11:27am Wednesday 28th December 2011 in Enviro Watch By Keith Thomson

We don’t make enough fuss of one of the most impressive enterprises in the country and it’s only a few hundred metres from the city centre.

The University of Bradford is a world leader on many fronts, with its pioneering work on Peace Studies and its championing of sustainable living.

Any tick-list of the higher education centres in this country will show that our city university is the leader in all matters environmental. It lives the theory that is delivered in the lecture rooms. Indeed, it is probably No. 1 in the whole of Europe and it deserves its ‘Ecoversity’ name and ambition.

The intention is to promote sustainable living, that is to make sure that the way we behave nowadays does not make it worse for those who will follow us in the future. This unselfish and responsible approach is demonstrated in large building projects and in the daily organisation of university life.

One of the first initiatives was the Norcroft Centre in Tumbling Hill Street, with impressive insulation, and shade from the extended roof, which itself is covered in small sedum plants to reduce the run-off and provide cooling.

It’s not surprising that more recently the new Sustainability and Enterprise Centre has become the focal point as it has been assessed as reaching the highest environmental building standards anywhere in the world. There are solar panels for electricity and hot water, ground-sourced pumped heating, natural ventilation and solar shading, toilet flushing with water from the roof, and the walls are made of hempcrete panels, using UK-grown hemp, all contained in a native wood frame. It’s the largest building in Yorkshire that achieves grade A for energy-efficiency.

All of this will contribute to the university’s intention to slash carbon emissions in half by 2020. The biomass heating system at the Management Centre in Emm Lane, and the combined heat and power systems on the main campus, will drive the reduction, as will a wide range of other good practices.

Apart from beehives in the open areas, there is a closed vessel system that only takes two weeks to turn the green waste, including all the food scraps, into high-class compost, and almost 70 per cent of the general waste is recycled. They have cut paper use by a quarter and there is a well-organised scheme to either repair old furniture or sell it. To cap it, car occupancy has been improved by a third in the last ten years.

It’s not necessary for students to attend sustainability lectures – they just have to potter about the campus where they will be seriously influenced by the buildings, the practices and the commitment.