HUMANE
Heads
of University Management &
Administration Network in Europe
Environmental Issues
Dublin, 5-6 November 1999
Participants were welcomed
by the Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, Dr Mitchell, who briefly noted that
problems which came from being an ancient university on what had now become an
“island” site in the centre of the city.
The problems of energy conservation and transport/parking policy were
important at TCD, but also dominated the presentations at the seminar, which
was open to heads of Estates/Facilities departments.
Tim Cooper, Director of
Buildings, Trinity College, Dublin
Abstract
At the time of the first oil
crisis (1973-74) the College had taken various steps, including the formation of
an in-house team of energy conservation experts, the preparation of a
continually updated list of potential energy conservation projects, and the
accurate measurement of their performance after implementation. A
computer-based energy audit was developed to assist with these appraisals and
to provide a method for accurately measuring performance. When this audit was
extended to include mains water consumption it drew attention to abnormally
high night-time mains water consumption. The cause was eventually found to be a
major leak in a water main located just below ground level in College Park. The
lack of above-ground evidence of this leak indicated that the sub-soil was
highly permeable and (therefore) that it might also allow significant
ground-water extraction. This potential was investigated by theoretical studies
and practical experiments.
The resultant data were used
to re-appraise the possibility of using heat pumps in conjunction with ground
water to provide heating on the campus and to support a successful application
for EU funding in 1985. This project was completed in 1989 and comprehensively
monitored throughout 1989-90. The project highlighted the need for a control
system that can accurately predict the daily heat requirement of individual buildings
to maximise the use of low-cost night-rate electricity. It also prompted the
Government to commission a study of the possibility of replicating the system
elsewhere in Dublin, and persuaded the EU to fund a study of the potential for
using digital weather forecast data to predict daily heating requirements.
This led to the design of a
prototype low-energy building which incorporated services such as solar and
wind sources. Funding was obtained for this project under the EU THERMIE
programme in 1992 and it was eventually built in 1994 and comprehensively
monitored throughout 1994-95. This led to an invitation from Dublin Corporation[1]
and a local property company to investigate low energy systems in a new Civic
Offices complex and residential developments. Studies indicated that a properly
designed CHP (combined heat and power) installation serving the whole
neighbourhood would achieve the greatest energy saving. The project, also
funded by the THERMIE programme, was completed in 1996 and comprehensively
monitored through 1996-97. It demonstrated the technical and commercial
viability of this technology, which can result in savings of 25% in primary
energy consumption and reductions of 40% in associated CO2
emissions.
TCD recently sought and
obtained tenders for a similar installation serving the entire city-centre
campus. A preliminary study indicates that the use of this technology at TCD
will result in savings of the order of 43% in primary energy consumption and
reductions of 54% in associated CO2 emissions.
Discussion
There was some
interest (especially from those in countries with a great interest in water
levels) in the permission for extracting water. Tim Cooper clarified that it was necessary to report on such
work, but that present legislation allowed unlimited access unless there was
damage. There was scope also for using the water as drinking water, but this
had not yet been attempted. Cost
savings at TCD had been of the order of 15%.
It was theoretically possible to sell any spare energy, but in practice
the College re-cycled such spare capacity rather than selling it. He agreed
that meters and other measuring devices were often expensive, but argued that
any such initiatives depended on accurate measurements
He agreed
entirely with the observation that in many cases old or ancient buildings had
proved to be more efficient than modern constructions, and illustrated with
slides several cases where buildings which were 400 years old were perfectly
adapted to weather conditions, whereas new buildings relied on expensive
air-conditioning. In this context, all
the rooms in the new “Green” building had been designed with natural
ventilation, or (in bathrooms) a minimum of secondary ventilation.
Update on the
Eco-campus Project
Luciano Galan, Gerente, Autonomous University of
Madrid (UAM)
This session
derived from the presentation given in September 1998, at UAM. Luciano outlined
the four major components of the project at UAM, and noted that there was now
an increasing interest in the nature of the indicators used to monitor
progress.
There was great
interest in the question of whether the University had used sticks or carrots
(that is, penalties or incentives) to stop people from bringing their cars on
to campus. For Luciano it was very much
a question of “carrots”, in the form of increased and improved public
transport. For example, it had been
possible to create a railway station - but on the grounds that the campus was
to be seen as a community like the other small towns in the area, not as an
isolated special service. There was no
intention of penalties, which he did not think would work. Other members argued
in favour of using increased charges in order to persuade car users to switch
to public transport, but in Luciano’s view the introduction of parking fees
would merely create an extra social problem without solving the parking
problem. The physical location of the campus, 15 km from the city centre, was
crucial in this regard. He did,
however, recognise that it might be possible to use the proceeds from any
charges in order to improve public transport.
The emphasis
throughout his talk was on gaining the trust and confidence of the users of the
campus space, so that they would act responsibly in all areas from car parking
to waste management, without undue compulsion or checking. This was different from the need for formal
measurements or audits - there hasd been two audits of emissions. Those who had undertaken similar exercises
advised that it was better to obtain an outside view, in order to prevent the
creation of “green” pressure groups within the organisation. Finally, Luciano explained such features as
the counting of different species of birds or plants as being important in the
overall awareness and consciousness of the environment.
Integrating the Management of Health and Safety with Environmental Management
Betty de Keizer,
Environmental manager, Universiteit van Amsterdam
The Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA), with 22.000 students and a budget of 360 million euros, is one of the major comprehensive universities in Europe. There are nine major faculties, covering humanities, social science, medicine, dentistry and sciences. UvA is decentralised, which means that the heads of faculties have mandates on most management affairs, such as accommodation, work facilities, occupational health and safety, and the management of environmental protection.
The first level of environmental management was introduced at UvA in the 1970s. The three main reasons why universities should bother about environmental issues are:
1. Community
responsibility
2.
Education of the new generation
3. Sustainable
management
Over the years, Dutch legislation, combined
university consultation, and the Copernicus charter triggered the development
of environmental management at Dutch universities. UvA drafted an environmental
policy plan in 1993, which was signed by the Board in January 1994. The plan
forms the basic framework; heads of Faculties have to work out the detail,
adapting it to their own situation.
Occupational health and safety became an important
issue at Dutch universities in the 1990s. Again the main trigger was
legislation. The basis of the new legislation is that every company has to seek
advice to ensure quality control. This
needs the support of a so-called “Arbodienst”, a certified organisation with
professionals in the fields of medicine, safety and organisation structure.
With the help of these professionals a risk inventory and evaluation must be
produced to give the information needed for a policy plan on how to improve the
occupational health and safety within the company. A continuous process is
started of planning, implementing, evaluating and adjusting.
UvA, like most Dutch universities, has its own,
internal “Arbodienst”, the Department of Occupational Health and Safety (AMD).
The professionals of the AMD carry out the risk inventory and evaluation. They
also give advice to heads of Faculties and to individuals on how to eliminate
health and safety risks. The AMD also has a section concerned with
Environmental Management, and both sectors work very closely together - in fact
they form one department. Environmental professionals do environmental audits
at the faculties.
To improve occupational health and safety, and to
realise environmental protection as well, the measures which are taken can be
either curative or preventative. The latter approach gives the best chance of
integrating both areas of management. Two examples of the importance of
integrating both of these management structures are the use of dangerous materials (included dangerous
waste), and sustainable accommodation.
The presentation will include an illustration of daily practice at UvA.
Discussion
There were immediate offers of exchanges of information to see how such work could be compared in different countries. Betty explained how students were involved. Comparing the situation of TCD she explained the position concerning older buildings, and the ways in which governmental funds might be available for sustainable energy programmes. In response to a question about how to ensure a proper purchasing policy she noted that the Government was particularly interested in the question of purchasing policy, especially after the introduction of deveolved budgets.
Several members quoted examples of difficulties experienced with architects, who had put design features (and perhaps reputation) before practicality or the constraints of public service. Betty was less bothered by this, and saw advantages in creativity. But she also saw that the more one devolves financial responsibility the less control there might be - and also (of course) that the more that one divides up money, the less one can do with capital sums. Finally, she noted that investments in environmentally-friendly measures could well cost money - in the case of UvA this had been calculated as an additional 2% of costs. This might lead to longer term savings, as was brought out by Ignaz Bender in the next presentation, the next morning….
Campus Energy Saving Management
Ignaz Bender, Kanzler, University
of Trier
The main thrust of Ignaz’s
presentation was that universities (often huge organisations) are
energy-intensive institutions with high consumption of natural resources.
Consequently they must try to improve their energy efficiency and reduce the
consumption of oil, gas, electricity, etc. The construction and use of
buildings will be central to any proposals to save energy. The presentation stressed that universities
must organise a specific Environmental Management System, the effects of which
would be seen in two main ways:
· after a period of
initial investment, energy saving produces financial savings for the
institution
· the energy saving
behaviour influences the generation of
tomorrow.
Ignaz
opened his presentation by recalling the way in which the University Library at
Trier had been created as a single entity rather than the multiplicity of
smaller libraries which had earlier been the norm. The design (with walkways between otherwise separate buildings,
and on the first floor) had brought together environmental, economic and
security aspects - for example, the fact that single-entry points helped
security and emergency planning, while heating and other communal services were
easier to install and maintain when in one integrated space with a central
control point.
This
was developed to examine the ways in which universities might benefit from
innovations in the commercial world - in things like movement sensors in
communal hallways or stairs, or on paths across green space, thus providing
lighting as and when necessary rather than all night long. He advised consultations with staff and
students to encourage solutions to particular probelms, and recommended that
there should be one person with an overall checklist and responsibilities for
bringing in changes.
The
example of Trier raised several issues concerning the scope for such
experiments elsewhere. For some countries,
there was still not the autonomy to decide on design structures in this way.
Elsewhere geography represented an even more rigid constraint - in the case of
northern countries the idea of using glass to allow for extra heating was
impractical because of the huge heat loss in winter. This matched the title of an eco-campus meeting in Helsinki with
the theme “Values and Cultures”.
Discussion
moved on to the question of space usage and space costs, and the widespread
problem of rooms which were due to be used according to the timetable but which
in fact lay empty. One university had found that by charging for such non-use
it had been able to identify extra rooms which were converted to create
postgraduate study areas. Other
participants warned that space charging (and especially decentralised energy
costs) brought other problems, and that such savings made sense only if there
was a real choice on the part of users.
Energy management
at the Technical University of Denmark
Anne-Grete
Holmsgaard, University Director
Abstract
The
Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is located in the northern part of
Copenhagen, on a campus built during the 1960s, when the university moved out
from the city centre. Most of the 7,000 students are graduate students within
all fields of engineering. The university is research heavy and has a good
international reputation among scientific universities. Approximately two
thirds of the total spending (or turnover) goes into basic and applied research
..
The
physical construction is typical of the 1960s, prior to the first oil crises:
scattered buildings (covering almost 400,000 square metres), mainly 2 to 3
storey buildings, rather big rooms, space-consuming entrance areas and a rather
outdated heating system. However, during the 1990s DTU has gone through a
difficult economical period with decreasing income - mainly caused by students
moving away from engineering and science - as has also been seen in other
European countries.
The
programme on energy saving that DTU runs is partly caused by this economic
situation, which has motivated DTU to look deeper into its expenditure on
heating and power. The other motivating factor has been a wish to be known as a
“green” university taking environmental questions seriously.
The
energy saving project is a long-term project, where the first phase is
concentrated on bringing down the amount of electricity used. The second phase,
which has not started yet, will be concentrated on bringing down the heating
bill.
The
presentation in Dublin will be concentrated on questions such as:
· why
engage in a project like this?
· what
are the potential gains of running an energy saving project?
· what
are the obstacles?
· what
are the means or methods chosen ?
· can
university scientists be motivated to become engaged in energy saving?
· are
there any positive results?
Discussion
Anne-Grete noted in
particular that the DTU had 90 separate builings, one of which was so highly
energy-intensive that it consumed 10% of the whole energy cost. Faced with the reality that total energy
costs represented about 6% of the State funds for the DTU, the Senate had
decided to reduce costs (not only for financial reasons, but also to promote a
“green” image). However, deciding on how
to make the cuts was predictably more difficult
As in other presentations,
there was considerable stress on the need to take measurements, and to ensure
that the situtation prior to any changes was fully understood. A particularly good example was that of
electricity consumption: initial graphs had revealed higher than expected
consumption, and there were various theories about daily variations until
analyses were carried out on Christmas Day and on Good Friday - the two days
when the building was completely unused.
This showed that the “base” level of consumption was high, irrespective
of any variable human activity.
Students had been employed to measure cosnumption in various areas, and
meters had been installed. Each
department had a person responsible for energy saving, and discussion groups
were encouraged.
There was also discussion of
the benefits and dangers of “benchmarking” statistics, well illusrated by the
way in which the performance of the DTU could be seen as very poor (when
compared - as in official figures - to all education establishments,
including primary schools) or as very good (when compared to the very small
number of institutions with a similar subject spread). However, in the discussion there were a
number of participants - especially from the UK - who felt that the apparently
harsh norms in Denmark were by their standards really rather generous. This produced discussion of the value of
international benchmarking.
Establishing
a University Transport Policy - a case study at the
University of Southampton
John Lauwerys: Secretary and
Registrar, University of Southampton
The University of
Southampton has its origin in a small college founded in 1862 and received its
University Charter in 1952. Its
academic spread is broad, with faculties of Arts, Education, Engineering and
Applied Science, Law, Mathematics, Medicine and Health Sciences, Science, and
Social Sciences. It has grown very
rapidly in recent years and now has some 14,500 full-time students and about
4,000 part-time students. The main
campus is located about 5 km from the centre of the City of Southampton
(population 230,000). Recent expansion
has led to a spread of academic activity on to 5 subsidiary campuses in
Southampton and one at Winchester, some 20 km north-east of the main campus. The University has over 5,000 student
residential places on several sites which are 2-3 km from the main campus.
The transport ‘setting’ is important. The
area immediately around the main campus is largely residential housing, and car
parking in local streets has until recently been unrestricted. This part of the city is not well served by
public transport. The increase in
student and staff numbers in the late 1980s and early 1990s brought significant
increase in car usage and led to growing conflict through the parking of cars
in the immediate area. The University
was faced with a choice of either building multi-storey car parks or placing
limits on car usage. At the same time
there was a growing desire to shift towards a more environmentally-friendly
policy on transport. In 1993 it decided
that a new transport policy should be developed. Shortly thereafter (March 1994) the UK Government issued new
planning guidelines which marked a change away from building more roads towards
controlling the motor car and encouraging other forms of transport.
Following wide discussion, a
draft transport strategy for the
University was issued late in 1996. The
following are the main provisions of the policy:
1.
Restrictions in the use of the car
· With the help of
the City Council, the introduction of parking controls in a zone surrounding
the main campus.
· No increase in
car parking places on the main campus above the current number of places.
· An increase in
car parking charges in a phased way towards 125 euros per annum, the increased
income to be used to subsidise other forms of transport.
1.
Alternative transport
· To encourage the
use of bicycles, to build new cycle tracks, secure bicycle storage and
shower/changing facilities.
· To improve
parking for motorcycles.
· To improve
pedestrian routes
1.
Development of bus services
· In collaboration
with the main City bus service the development of new services to link
University campuses and residences. Two
new routes were introduced served by University sponsored buses (the “Unilink”
network).
· The requirement
that first-year undergraduates buy a bus pass (150 euros per year) which makes
travel between University residences, academic campuses and main City
destinations very easy.
Future Developments
· To plan for the
introduction of park and ride facilities with the City Council
· To plan actively
for a reduction in journeys, including examining the options for teleworking.
· To continue to
learn from good experience in Europe and other parts of the world.
Discussion
Questions included
discussion of why it had been necessary to create a “Transport Office” with
extra staff. John pointed out that the
office did other related things, such as issue bus passes, control bike use and
actually monitor the service provided by the bus company. He described in more detail the way in which
the 12 dedicated buses operated, and clarified that although they carried the
livery of the Unilink scheme they were available also to members of the
public.There was some discussion of “Park and Ride” schemes, and John noted
that the University was exploring this possibility in conjuntion with the local
authority, but that such schems needed to be well done, with proper security
etc, if they were to be done at all.
He explained the subsidies provided by the University.
There was some interest in
the ownership of the scheme, with members from other countries interested in
the degree of student involvement. John
stressed that the student body had a different time perspective in terms of
strategic development, with a typical horizon of three years. The “class” distinction between staff and
students was also explored, especially the decision to prevent first-year
students from bringing cars to the campus.
John explained that this decision had been taken only after a lot of
debate, but he was sure it was the right practical decision. He pointed out
that there was also a scheme for (paid) priority parking spaces, which were
available to those with strong cases (for example, certain mature
students). It was noted that at
Maastricht, staff had been given the opportunity to give up their car parking
permits in exchange for a sum of money to purchase a bicycle.
On the Friday evening
participants had been offered the exceptional opportunity of a private viewing
of the Book of Kells in the University Library, which, with its immense stacks
of books on two floors, brought home the contrast between the (physical)
pursuit of learning and modern Health and Safety regulations. During this
memorable visit both the vaulted grandeur of the library and the illuminated
medieval text transported the group far from the present day - so that there is
a certain irony in the fact that a month after the seminar a representative of
Irish coach drivers proposed that the Book of Kells should be moved from Dublin
since - as the biggest tourist attraction in the city - it was responsible for
major traffic congestion.)
Following the seminar, the
participants proceeded (rather symbolically, on foot) to the nearby Mansion
House for afternoon tea with the Lord Mayor of Dublin. Dinner was later held in the University
Club, an eighteenth-century townhouse redolent of an age when ceilings did not
have to be lowered in order to save energy.
The host’s injunction that there should be no long speeches was
exploited in the best administrative manner in order to allow a considerable
number of brief ones!
Summary
prepared by Trevor Field