HUMANE
Heads
of University Management & Administration Network in Europe
SEMINAR
Universidade
de Coimbra
Friday
3rd to Saturday 4th May 2002
Environmental Issues
Raimundo Mendes da Silva (University of Coimbra)
For many centuries the University of Coimbra (UC) has had
a great impact on the town of Coimbra, where 20 to 25% of the population is
directly involved in university activities (students, teachers, researchers,
administrative staff, etc.).
The buildings and other facilities of UC totalise more
200.000 m2 of built area; in the next years, it will be very close
to 300.000 m2, as a result of the construction of a new campus for
Engineering and Medical Sciences, and of a major restoration programme for some
of the old buildings that will probably take place within the next ten years.
The co-existence of historic and monumental buildings
– which represent an important part of the historic town centre - with the most
recent constructions, alongside facilities of different ages and performance
levels, represents a major economic, functional and environmental challenge.
This presentation deals with these challenges in so
far as sustainability is concerned. First, we refer to and discuss some of the
basic concepts and different strategies of building maintenance and rehabilitation,
as well as the sustainable principles applicable to construction activity.
Then, we make a quick “tour” around the buildings and
campus of the University of Coimbra, showing how they can be grouped in seven
categories according to their different needs in terms of maintenance and
safety.
Finally, applying those selected concepts to two
groups of buildings in the UC patrimony, we analyse the constraints and the
possible contradictions that emerge, not only between the vertices of the decision-triangle
“cost-quality-environment”, but also within
each “vertex”.
The
uncontrolled storage of chemicals and the resulting stocks of substances are
significant risks which are connected with chemical laboratories. Efficient
tools
are
required to get and to keep these stocks under control as well as to prevent
their inappropriate growth. Due to the lack of satisfying products, the University
of Siegen together with Merck KGaA developed a software tool to meet the
mentioned goals.
The main features of the development are an easy
handling system which enables also users who are untrained in computers to work
with it, the incorporation of practice-relevant aspects and a modular system.
The latter allows the user to handle only those modules he wants but without
loss of the basic functionality. In this presentation the main aspects of the
system will be illustrated.
Session 3
In various HUMANE seminars on Environmental Issues, the situation
in Italian universities in relation to this subject has never yet been
presented. In this presentation we
shall give a brief outline of “Space Management”, “Waste Management” and
“Environmental Management”. In
particular we will use the University of Pisa – of which Paolo Andreotti is the
Administrative Director – as an example of what is happening in Italy.
The University of Pisa can be defined as a “city campus” in
as much as it represents a model of total integration between the university and
the city: it is enough to consider that in a city with a population of about
90,000, the university has 50,000 registered students! As often happens in Italy, many of the
buildings belonging to or being used by the university are old and of
considerable architectural and historical interest. As a result the university has proposed a policy of coordination
with the local government authorities (town, province and regional councils) to
optimize the relationship between urban and social structures and to limit
interference with the eco-system of the area.
This presentation will examine the state of affairs of
environmental management at Dutch universities in general, and the University
of Amsterdam (UvA) in particular, with a special look at the issue of
integration with other management fields (like Health and Safety) as well as
teaching and research activities. The
“red thread” running through the presentation will be the need for co-operation
between universities from all over the world to share knowledge and experiences
together.
Government
Environmental Policies and Universities:
The Helsinki Case
Kari Suokko and Toivo Vainiotalo, University of
Helsinki
1. Government Environmental Policy and Impact on
Finnish Universities
The Council of State has set the objective that the principle of
sustainable development shall be incorporated into the everyday activities of
all Finnish universities, including purchases, waste management, energy
consumption and traffic arrangements. In
1996, the Ministry of Education called on all universities to promote
sustainable development in their work practices.
According to
this survey and other available information, by the end of the 1990s almost all
universities had prepared a program for sustainable development, focusing on
energy and other forms of consumption, waste management, and commuting. Some
universities have already adopted ISO 14001 in their environmental management
procedures, and most universities have implemented a special waste management
plan. Sustainable development programs are also considered an exemplary model
for students and staff, and documents about sustainable development are
available on the homepages of almost all universities.
Every four
years, the Finnish Government approves a Development Plan for Education and
Research, which is prepared by the Ministry of Education. According to the
latest development plan, Education and
Research 1999-2004, “the principles of sustainable development will be
taken into account in the educational provision and other activities of
different school forms.“
2. Environmental Strategy of University of Helsinki
Since 1997, the University of Helsinki has
been committed to following the principle of sustainable development in all its
activities. In December 1997, a working group was appointed to draw up a
strategy of sustainable development. A preliminary environmental audit and the
preparation of the practical aspects of the strategy were assigned to the Department of Limnology and Environmental Protection.
The aim was to translate the principles of sustainable development into concrete
measures of action. A proposal for a strategy of sustainable development was
approved by the University Senate in 1999.
The preliminary audit conducted by
students revealed no major flaws in the observation of environmental norms and
regulations. Active students and members of staff have, in fact, contributed in
many ways to steering the University towards sustainable development. However,
there still is room for improvement in all areas of operation, and the
implementation of the principles of sustainable development requires continuous
commitment and systematic work.
The strategy of sustainable development
focuses mainly on ecological sustainability, but economic, social and cultural
impacts have also been taken into consideration. The aim is to reach the
teaching and research objectives of the University while consuming less
material and energy and reducing waste and emissions.
Environmental management will be
adopted as part of University administration step by step. The responsibility
for the implementation of the strategy programme is divided between
administrative departments, and an environmental team has been created in the
Administration Office to coordinate cooperation between the departments. The
aim is to design an environmental management system during the next 5-10 years
that could, if necessary, be certified on the basis of the ISO 14001 or EMAS
standards.
Environmentally adverse operations at
the University have been classified into ten categories. The most significant
environmental aspects are purchases, traffic, building, waste management and
consumption of paper, energy and water. Systematic efforts are being made to
reduce the environmental impacts of all categories, and the University has the
ambitious goal of putting into practice 28 concrete environmental measures by
the year 2005. A set of indicators will be used to monitor the achievement of
environmental objectives.
The University has carried out the
following measures: instructions for purchases have been revised in accordance
with environmentally responsible practices, environmental training has been
arranged for persons responsible for purchases, the University has participated
in a national energy-saving week, parking fees have been introduced,
environmental instructions for staff coffee rooms have been issued and the
recycling of construction wastes and computer junk has been improved.
3.
Examples of environmentally good practices in the University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki uses some 400 buildings
(floor area 390,000 m2), with very . significant energy consumption. The Technical department has committed
itself to environmental friendliness, especially energy saving. Energy
consumption can be influenced through technical decisions taken at the
investment stage and through maintenance and use procedures. The finding of new
solutions that are economical and environmentally friendly from the life
cycle point of view has required the evolution of procedures related to
property development, maintenance and use.
The life cycle tendering procedure was
developed in the Viikki Info centre project, where it was first applied. The
life cycle tender involves a competitive tendering procedure for a contract
that includes both design and responsibility for maintenance. In the case of
the Viikki Info centre, the life cycle tender applied to the mechanical
services installations; the tenderer undertook maintenance responsibility for a
period of five years, including liability for energy consumption in excess of
the goals set, plus care, maintenance and repair costs.
We
shall look at some of the technical design features which contributed to
excellent results in terms of energy conservation, with heat consumption about
a quarter of the normal figure for a comparable building, and generally low
electricity consumption.
Environmental
management systems (EMS) in Swedish central government authorities
Staffan
Sarback, University of Luleå
The aim of Swedish environmental policy is to protect
human health, to safeguard long-term good management of natural resources and
to protect natural and cultural environments. Environmental management systems
are useful tools in implementing this policy.
In Sweden, we have a system of relatively small
ministries and many, sometimes large, government authorities. The ministries
lay down the overall tasks and spending of these authorities. Since 1997, 243
authorities have been assigned by the government to introduce an environmental
management system..
All authorities have some impact on the environment,
for example through energy use, travel, waste handling and procurement. Many
also have a more indirect effect on the environment through their
operations. In practice, the path to
implementation of environmental management systems in an authority is as
follows:
First of all, an environmental impact assessment is carried out to identify current environmental
aspects and impacts associated with the organisation’s processes. On the basis
of this, an environmental policy
statement is developed, with environmental objectives and targets that describe the aim of the organisation’s
environmental work. This is followed by an action
plan. Responsibility and authorisation for environmental measures is
distributed within the organisation. Staff training and routines for both the
internal environmental work and external contacts are developed. After a
period, there will be a follow-up of
the environmental performance, often by way of an internal audit. The results
are summarised in an environmental progress
report, which is then used as the basis for improved environmental work. The follow-up procedure serves as a
reminder and ensures that environmental work is effective. Too often,
activities are planned and carried out without any form of follow-up.
An effective environmental management system requires
an active management of the authority or organisation. This also includes the
requirement for an annual progress report.
This presentation will look at some of the motives and
obstacles presented by authorities, and also the indirect effects, defined broadly as exercise of public authority, i.e. general guidelines, and dissemination of knowledge and collaboration i.e. international work, collaboration with
authorities, the public and the private sector.
The presentation will include some examples of measures
carried out by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, both with indirect
effects (e.g., establishing a quality control system for the operations), and direct effects such as developing routines for the
agency’s transport with bicycle messengers and ethanol fuelled car (eco-car),
reducing 80-gram copying paper with 75-gram, or changing screen-settings on all
PCs. These apparently small measures have been shown to have large cumulative
effects.
Session 5
The
Contribution of Universities to Sustainable Development – the example of
Karlsruhe
Mr. Ulrich Becksmann, Karlsruhe University (Environmental
Research Centre)
With its
various buildings, the University of Karlsruhe forms a district all of its own.
About 4,000 employees and more than 15,000 students live, study and work on
campus. Such an organization causes considerable movements of materials and
traffic.
Due to a strong emphasis on engineering and natural
sciences, the consumption of energy is high and causes considerable costs.
Building services engineering and efficient and conscious use of electrical
energy offer possibilities of saving energy and money. Connecting the
university to the district heating network contributed considerably to the
protection of the environment. Energy-saving techniques and installations are
applied in new buildings. The state as a builder and financier could and should
set an even better example with energy-saving and environmentally sound
constructions. The Environmental Research Center for example has taken steps in
order to develop an energy management which will later have an impact on the
whole university.
Being important multipliers through research, training and
transfer of knowledge, universities play an important role in encouraging
sustainable development. The Europe-wide charter “COPERNICUS” wants to persuade
universities to fulfil this task and to oblige them. The EU offers assistance
with the new eco-audit guidelines EMAS II. A number of German universities have
already been certified or are currently being certified. The Environmental
Research Centre is starting with small steps applying a bottom-up strategy.