Improving Sustainability Across Estates

On June 30th, the JISC funded SUSTE-TECH project ran a workshop that examined how, through the clever use of ICT, estates managers can run their campus more sustainably. Over 40 delegates registered to attend the event and speakers from both the FHE and business sectors presented on what they had done to reduce energy consumption and wastage of resources by employing technology.

A presentation from the host institution’s Head of Building Operations, Kevin Cope highlighted how Imperial College have reduced their plants and services carbon consumption and how ICT infrastructure underpinned it’s delivery. Steve Scott, director of Campus Services at Queen Margaret University presented on how their sustainability strategy for the new Musselburgh campus contained a vision statement that aimed at developing a “sustainable community for learning and life”. Their holistic sustainability strategy emphasised getting the basics right first so they designed sustainability in from the start that incorporated their ICT systems. 


From the business sector, Dave Everett from RM-Utileyes presented on how real-time utility monitoring at a primary school resulted in savings of  thousands of pounds even though the school was unaware of any obvious performance issues.


Finally, Prof. Peter James Director of The Suste-IT Project showcased what a selection of UK HE institutions had done to reduce energy costs and reach carbon targets.  Feedback from the delegates was very positive with the workshop scoring an 8.25/10 for overall success.

As FHE estates struggle to find efficient ways of saving money, this workshop demonstrated how this sector wide issue can be tackled.  All presentations are available on the EAUC’s Greening of ICT with JISC workshop webpage : http://www.eauc.org.uk/workshops.

P.S. Watch out for upcoming workshops on Greening Your Institutions Network Systems and Utilisation of Space Through the Use of ICT.

Examples of Sustainable Networks

Quick question. Does anyone have information in the form of case studies and/or examples of best practice where institutions greened their ICT Networks? I'm in the process of organising a workshop that will examine "the true environmental cost of network systems at institutions", and am in need of  examples that involve changes to the use of switches, routers, cables, IP telephones, etc.

Contact me at NHogan@eauc.org.uk or on 01242 714321.

Thanks

Nicola.

2011 Green Gown Awards

Green Gown Awards 2011, Awarding Sustainability Excellence in Universities and Colleges.

Entries for the 2011 Green Gown Awards are now open. The deadline for universities and colleges to submit their Stage 1 applications is Friday 15 July.

Now in their seventh year and administered by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC), the Awards recognise the exceptional initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges across the UK to become more sustainable. The awards ceremony will this year take place on Thursday, 3^rd of November in London's Covent Garden. Since their inception in 2004, the Green Gown Awards have grown year-on-year and we expect 2011 to be no different.  The categories for the 2011 awards are:  

• Carbon Reduction
• Colleges & Smaller Institutions
• Continuous Improvement – Institutional Change
• Courses
• Green ICT
• Promoting Positive Behaviour
• Research and Development
• Skills
• Social Responsibility
• Space Efficiency
• Student Initiatives and Campaigns
• Sustainable Construction and Refurbishment
• Sustainable Procurement

It promises to be a fantastic evening so don't miss out ! For more information on the Green Gown Awards please on the following link; http://www.eauc.org.uk/green_gown_awards

 For sponsorship enquiries email darren.hale@redactive.co.uk or call 020 7880 6206

SUSTE-TECH Workshops

Procurement
The first SUSTE-TECH Procurement workshops took place on May 24th at the University of Birmingham. The aim of the event was to bring managers of ICT, procurement, energy, and environmental departments together to discuss their roles and bridge any gaps that may exist between them and those that purchase ICT equipment for their departments.  The event will include speakers from the EDS Consulting, JISC, The EAUC, DEFRA and of course from the JISC Greening of ICT programme, PROCO2 . (See flyer below for more details). The event was a success and attendance was at full capacity. Delegates left the event with a greater knowledge of sustainable ICT and a clearer understanding of the procurement process. Evaluation forms indicated the event was very well received (scored 8.25/10 for overall success) and data and information included in the presentations proved very useful. Slides from the event are listed below. Other successful workshops run as part of the SUSTE-TECH project included two on Maximising Data Centre Efficiency and two on Paper Use Reduction.


Upcoming Workshops.

Estates.
An Estates Workshop has been planned for June 30th 2011.
This workshop will examine how institutions are, not only using more sustainable ICT equipment in their research labs, lecture theatres, conference centres etc., but also how using "smart" ICT can help them reduce their energy consumption. The event will be held at the Imperial College in London and speakers will include the Director of Estates at QMU in Edinburg, RM Education and the PM of the JISC funded Computer Room Efficiency Improvement project. A link to register to attend this event will be created shortly so please return to this blogpage or to the EAUC’s Greening of ICT with JISC webpage for further details  (http://www.eauc.org.uk/greening_ict_with_jisc)

Networks.
As network systems run 24/7 getting them to operate more efficiently is less straightforward than other categories of ICT. An event that examines this problem is being planned for July, 2011. The event's location has yet to be decided but speakers will include ICT managers from a range of FHE institutions and researchers from various JISC funded projects. A link to register to attend this event will be created shortly so please return to this blogpage or to the EAUC’s Greening of ICT with JISC webpage for further details. (http://www.eauc.org.uk/greening_ict_with_jisc)

The Utilisation of Space in Universities and Colleges.
As university real estate is becoming increasingly scarce and expensive to manage the SUSTE-TECH project will run a workshop on exactly that topic. This event will examine how Estates departments can optimise space at their institution and examine how ICT can help make existing space more pedagogic. The event's location and date in August has yet to be decided but a link to register to attend this event will be created in due course so please return to this blogpage or to the EAUC’s Greening of ICT with JISC webpage for further details. (http://www.eauc.org.uk/greening_ict_with_jisc)

PC Powerdown.
An event that examines the use of PC Powerdown is being planned for Autumn 2011. The event's location has yet to be decided but speakers will include ICT managers from a range of FHE institutions and researchers from various JISC funded projects. A link to register to attend this event will be created shortly so please return to this blogpage or to the EAUC’s Greening of ICT with JISC webpage for further details. (http://www.eauc.org.uk/greening_ict_with_jisc)

SUSTE-TECH and CUSP to the rescue

Last week I hosted the South West and South Wales SUSTE-TECH project participants meeting at the University of Gloucestershire. Eventhough not all the South West and South Wales participants were in attendance, what was discussed proved valuable as there is much overlap in the hurdles faced by institutions wishing to green their ICT systems.

Problem : One hurdle that featured strongly was the lack of staff available to champion green ICT. Recent cutbacks have resulted in redundancies and overburdening workloads for those that remain. The responsibility of implementing sustainable initiatives becomes an unwelcome addition to any IT manager’s workload, even if they believe in the cause.  An increase in workload can often lead to an increase in stress, and sickness which often results in requests for sick and stress leave from their positions at the university. The subsequent abandonment of the championing of sustainable issues results in a lack of sustainable improvement across campus. As sustainable projects are often not the primary responsibility of ICT managers there is less of a drive for other members of staff to champion the cause.

Solution: As a mean of solving this problem I have contacted the College & University Sustainability Placement organisation (CUSP) that is run by studentforce. I am hoping organise the placement of ICT, energy or environmental graduates with SUSTE-TECH participants. This should prove to be a win: win situations as SUSTE-TECH participants avail of much needed support staff and graduates receive the benefit of hands on experience

Results of Green ICT Policy Survey

Last October a Ph.D researcher, Ian St.John from University College Plymouth St. Mark & St. John circulated a survey to UK FHE IT, Environmental and Energy managers. The aim of the survey was to establish which HEI/FEI institutions had a Green ICT/Sustainability policy in place and what their reasons for doing so were. The results of the survey would also aid University College Plymouth St. Mark & St. John in the creation of their own Green ICT Policy.

The questionnaire was quite short but enabled the researcher to discover what the community as a whole perceived as being important factors to consider when formulating their own Green ICT Policy. Even though only 28 people participated in the survey and not all participants completed it, the results proved useful.

Results of the survey indicated that 68% of institutions have a Green ICT/Sustainability Policy while the remaining 32% did not.

Of the institutions that stated they had a Green ICT Policy, they indicated an improvement of green credentials (23.8%) as being the main driver for creating such a policy, followed by carbon reduction (19%) and social reputation as being in joint second place (19%). Cost Savings was in third place (14.3%) but ironically, cost cutting due to the economic down turn was not cited as being a reason for any of the institutions (0%).

Institutions also stated that improvement of efficiency (9.5%), political pressure (9.5%) and legislation (4.8%) as being reasons for implementing such a policy.

However, regardless of institutions having a green ICT policy or not, results of the survey indicated that the use sustainable ICT equipment was prevalent. Results from the survey’s Q.5, regarding the use of green ICT are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Percentage Use of Sustainable ICT Equipment

Green ICT Initiative	% Use by UK HEI/FEI institutions
Server Virtualization	88.9%
Multi Functional Printing Devices	74.1%
Active Power Management	48.1%
Server Power Management	33.3%
Virtual Desktops	33.3%
Thin Clients	48.1%
Renewable Power	7.4%
Green Disposal Policy	66.7%
Flexible Working Policy	44.4%

Almost 20% of the institutions stated that they had been recognised for a Green ICT award of sorts, the remainder having not, (so far). 53% of institutions employ staff that are dedicated to environmental impacts and performance, the remaining 46% do not. This is a real concern for institutions wishing to reach their carbon targets and indeed for the overall sector.
How are carbon emissions to be, firstly established and secondly monitored and improved on if almost half of institutions do not have a staff member accounting for environmental performance.    

These results are not unlike the results of a procurement survey for ICT Managers carried out on behalf of the SPCE Green ICT Advisory Committee in February 2011.  Results of that survey indicated that ICT managers showed a strong concern for the environment and a willingness to participate in environmental matters. Results also indicated there was a good overall ICT presence in environmental /sustainable committees with a strong indication that environmental issues are a concern for ICT managers.

However, results also indicated scope for improvement as many ICT managers were unaware of key sustainable ICT issues such as e-Waste, the use of whole life costing tools when procuring for ICT equipment and disposing of ICT equipment packaging.

To summarise, it appears as though institutions are, for the most part, aware of the benefits of utilisation of Green ICT and are demonstrating best practice, even if no corresponding policy is in place. The scope for  improvement will remain and possibly grow larger as not only is technology continually advancing but many institutions unfortunately still lack such a policy, have not assigned staff to take responsibility for sustainable ICT issues and poor cross-departmental collaborative thinking still exists.

Nevertheless, such problems are easily remedied by strong leadership, proactive staff and engagement with other institutions that face similar hurdles. Following the progress of the JISC funded SUSTE-TECH project may offer a remedy to those problems and offer practical solutions to institutions Green ICT dilemmas, regardless of size or status. The same can also be said for each of the 34 Greening of ICT projects. There is an abundance of JISC funded projects currently being run that address the many ICT issues that plague FHE institutions. In fact many have finished and their results have proven very useful. Check them out on http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/greeningict.aspx

 

Video Conferencing at the 2011 EAUC Annual Conference’s Green ICT Workshop.

The EAUC’s 2011 annual conference ran a Green ICT workshop entitled Sustainability at your Institution through the Use of Green ICT and was attended by approx 30 people.

Starting off the workshop was Geoff Constable who “video-conferenced”(VC’d) in to the room from his office at the Aberystwyth University. No technical difficulties arose and linking up was quite simple. Everyone in attendance could see and hear Geoff clearly and eventhough Geoff was speaking to darkened room (lights in the workshop room were dimmed to aid the visual display of Geoff) he could hear everyone clearly. 

VC-ing allowed Geoff to present at the workshop without having to miss a full day of work that he may otherwise have. He also saved himself a 370 mile train journey = 101 Kg CO₂ (31.8 Kg by train). As no event is ever truly “carbon-zero”, the energy use of the video conference equipment was included in calculations. The kit consumed 50 watts of energy and had a 200 watt monitor attached. This equated to 0.25Kwh = approx 150 gms CO_2. *

In fact Geoff presented some time, energy and CO₂ saving calculations from a recent VC conference he organised with 4 other welsh institutions. Cardiff University, Pontypridd, Swansea, Bangor, and Lampeter participated in the event and delegates were saved  from travelling a total of 807 miles, £322 in petrol costs and from having to release 238kgs of CO₂.

VC-ing can also:

§       improve family, work/life balance as delegates travel less so can stick to a daily routine

• improve equality and attendance at meetings as people who should (and want to) attended meeting, can do so, adding to overall efficiency and success rates of projects.
• Reduce overall stress.

Video Conferencing has been around for some time but has recently experienced a surge in popularity. This may be in part as a result of improvements in technology allowing us to work from home and remote locations where travelling long distances is not always practical, too expensive or will have a negative impact on our ecological footprint.

For more information on Video Conferencing log onto the JISC greening of ICT website by clicking on the following link : http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/greeningict/technical/greenvideoconference.aspx 

To find out what other innovative project JISC are currently funding and how they may help your institution be greener click on the following link: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/greeningict.aspx

For one hour’s videoconference : (*DEFRA conversion rate 540g / Kwh – can vary according to supplier) Excludes Lifetime Carbon Footprint of equipment.