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The UK's University of Bradford Wins Recognition for Sustainable Building

August 16, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Despite stiff competition, the UK's University of Bradford has won recognition for its sustainable building programme. Although there were many excellent projects entered into the competition, the University won the 'Carbon Champion of the Year,' award for 2012. The award is given out by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE).

Because green buildings educate while at the same time reducing their environmental impact, schools are the perfect place to lead the green building revolution.

As noted in the awards programme for the event: "The Higher Education sector is in a unique position to make a positive contribution in meeting one of the challenges in our global society. The University of Bradford has embarked on a journey of embedding sustainable development across the whole of the University. It is an ambitious and visionary programme which is creating systemic change across everything they do."

The CIBSE programme judges commented of the award: "The University has a comprehensive programme which has not only reversed the previous trend of rising energy use and emissions, but reduced them by 8% since the start of the programme in 2005. The length of the programme and the commitment of the University to deliver improved building performance marked them out as the 2012 CIBSE Carbon Champion of the Year."

Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Mark Cleary, said: "It doesn't get much bigger than this in terms of recognition from the Industry of exceptional work in sustainable and environmentally friendly development. As the CIBSE judges said, this award is not for a 'one-year -wonder' but recognises the culmination of the best part of a decade of determined work by the University to produce world-class facilities for our students to live and learn in. We are bucking a trend across the sector as we now seeing our carbon emissions levels falling, and will continue our good progress by opening our Sustainable Enterprise Centre building in 2012."

For more information about the University's Ecoversity programme click here, or the Estates & Facilities Environment website here.

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Greenbuild NEXT Opens in Toronto: First Time Outside of the US

October 05, 2011 Add Comment Edit

Greenbuild NEXT is the first time the US Green Building Council is hosting Greenbuild outside the United States. Greenbuild 2011 is located in Toronto and is taking place between October 4th and 7th. The event celebrates what's new and innovative in green building.

At the opening Plenary on October 5, The event's keynote speakers included, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, ABC News political commentator Cokie Roberts, former Prime Minister of Canada Kim Campbell, medical anthropologist and physician Dr. Paul Farmer,

Friedman, a Pulitzer Prize-winner and internationally renowned author, reporter, and columnist, will provide the keynote, then lent his expertise to USGBC's Resiliency Agenda panel.

In his 2008 bestselling book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—and How It Can Renew America, Friedman explored the parallels between the climate crisis and the global economic crisis, proposing a national strategy, coined "Geo-Greenism," to make America healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure. "I find this set of issues—how we take the lead in the clean-tech revolution and use that to refresh, renew, and revive America—is what animates me most," Friedman has said.

Joining Friedman on the panel was medical anthropologist and physician Dr. Paul Farmer. As Chair of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Founder of Partners in Health, Dr. Farmer has written extensively on health, human rights, and the consequences of social inequality. His new book, Haiti: After the Earthquake, makes a thoughtful assessment on what works — and what doesn't — in helping communities recover from disaster.

The panel was moderated by Roberts, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, bestselling author and a native of New Orleans, will discuss resiliency and demonstrate how all industries can play a role in community rebuilding efforts in Haiti , New Orleans and around the globe. Roberts serves dually as Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio and Political Analyst for ABC News. An inductee into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, Roberts has won countless awards, and was cited as one of the 50 greatest women in the history of broadcasting.

To complete the panel, former Prime Minister of Canada Kim Campbell addressed what she has called "the trifecta of disadvantage" where countries most at-risk from global warming are also among the world's poorest economies and weakest states. In the past, Ms. Campbell has addressed not only the impact of the physical changes of global warming on human societies but also the security risks that can be posed by this global threat as well.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Green Building Council's World Green Building Week 2011: Powerful Plants

September 21, 2011 Add Comment Edit

World Green Building Week takes place between the 19th and the 23rd of September. Green Building Week is a global event organised by the World Green Building Council.

In honor of World Green Building Week 2011, eFIG will be presenting a webinar called Powerful Plants on Friday 23rd September. The webinar will explain how important plants are to our well-being and to the environments in which we work. As they explain on their site, plants are an essential part of any sustainability programme. The webinar explains why every building should have plants indoors as well as outdoors. And how these can contribute to the UK Government's Happiness Index and their targets to reduce absenteeism. The webinar will be hosted by Brighttalk and will be available to view after the event as well.

Check out the UK Green Building Council’s website for more events taking place during the week 19th to the 23rd of September.

For the full schedule of Green Building Week events click here.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Australia's National Solar Schools Program

September 16, 2011 Add Comment Edit

The National Solar Schools Program (NSSP) officially commenced in July 2008 and offers grants of up to $50,000 for schools in Australia to install solar power systems. The program also applies to other sustainable initiatives such as rainwater tanks and a range of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.

The exciting National Solar Schools Program (NSSP) will help primary and secondary schools around the country take practical action to save energy and cut their electricity bills; while providing educational benefits for students in learning about renewable energy and environmental stewardship.

Schools need to install a 2kW PV solar power system or larger to be eligible for the full $50,000 grant. If no solar power system or a system of less than 2kW is installed, a grant of up to $30,000 (GST exclusive) is available to be spent on eligible items.

NOTE: The National Solar Schools Program (NSSP) 2011-12 application round may close as early as 30 September 2011.

Click here to see the program guidelines.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The Campus Green Builder Online Portal

September 05, 2011 Add Comment Edit

The Campus Green Builder (CGB) online portal provides information for academic institutions. this is a one-stop online resource on campus green building that is free and accessible to all higher education institutions. Though the information provided is relevant to all higher education institutions, the CGB is particularly geared towards under-resourced colleges and universities. It aims to level the playing field for all institutions of higher education to gain access to funding and technical resources for green building.

Under-resourced colleges often have financial constraints that make it difficult for them to embrace the shift to green building and sustainability initiatives on their campuses. The goals of the Campus Green Builder are to:

1. Advance green building at colleges and universities so that it becomes “business as usual."

2.Level the playing field for all institutions of higher education in terms of accessing funding, technical resources, and networks for green building.

3. Provide an up-to-date resource on relevant news, events and other opportunities, including grant opportunites.

4. Provide opportunities for under-resourced institutions to share their experiences and learn best practices.

Second Nature, a nonprofit organization advancing sustainability in the higher education sector, launched a strategic outreach and education program, the Advancing Green Building in Higher Education Initiative, to assist under-resourced higher education institutions, such as many Minority-Serving Institutions, community and technical colleges, and small inner-city, rural, or religiously affiliated institutions to “build green” on their campuses. The Campus Green Builder web portal is one of the principal activities within this initiative.

The Advancing Green Building in Higher Education Initiative, in collaboration with The Kresge Foundation, aimed to provide long-term capacity for under-resourced higher education institutions to advance and become leaders in the field of green building and sustainability, while encouraging them to commit to climate neutrality through the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

Based on the success of this initiative, Second Nature has recently launched a new phase of its capacity building work. This comprehensive "Education for Sustainability Innovation Program" promotes innovation and leadership among financially strained and minority-serving colleges and universities.

The Education for Sustainability Innovation Program will help ensure that graduates are prepared to lead the changes needed to overcome the interrelated social, environmental and economic challenges of the 21st century by driving innovative approaches to Education for Sustainability (EfS).

The Campus Green Builder offers the following information and opportunities for networking: