A shift to sustainability
Photography by Daria Mosolova
Daria Mosolova reports on the adoption of new sustainability standards at UCL.
In 2015, 179 states signed the Paris Agreement, pledging to cut down carbon emissions in an attempt to limit the rise of global temperatures to 1.5C. Three years later, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a special report, estimating that in order to reach the goal, there is an urgent need to cut down the global human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide. The measure takes place relative to the levels recorded in 2010, aiming to cut emissions by 45% by 2030, striving to reach “net zero” by 2050.
Although the agreement apparently signals an increasing willingness of governments to act on global warming, the world is currently not on track to meet the objectives decided upon in the Agreement. Russia, the world’s fourth biggest greenhouse polluter, only ratified the Agreement in 2019, while the US formally started the process to withdraw its commitments to the international community earlier in November.
The growing anxiety over the impact of climate change has prompted the emergence of environmental activist groups, such as Extinction Rebellion and School Strike for the Climate movement led by the 16-year-old Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg. 2018 saw a series of global demonstrations, where activists put pressure on politicians to prioritise objectives to cut down carbon emissions. With the upcoming elections in both the UK and USA, this rhetoric continues, with activists demanding their voices be heard.
The May 2019 environmental strikes in the UK saw over a million citizens protest political inaction. The protestors won this battle as the UK Government sided with the demonstrators, proclaiming a state of climate emergency. The declaration was voted on following a motion tabled by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who claimed it to be “huge step forward”. Despite Corbyn’s positivity, this status does not legally compel the government to act.
In response to the declaration, UCL (among other UK institutions) is adopting new sustainability standards. 2019 was the fourth consecutive year that UCL was awarded a First Class honours status in the People & Planet rankings, this time reaching 18th place out of 154 universities in the University ‘Green’ League. Moreover, a reduction of carbon emissions by 14% (relative to 2005) has been achieved through the construction of energy efficient buildings and engagement programmes like the Easter Switch Off, encouraging students to switch off non-essential electrical items before the Easter weekend.
UCL Provost Professor Michael Arthur stated in 2017 that “the student momentum has inspired the Board to collectively consider the repercussions of the climate crisis, and how we urgently need to tackle its various technicalities.” Furthermore, UCL’s Climate Action Society (CAS) reports increasing student involvement with environmental societies, reflected in CAS’s membership purchases increasing from 600 in 2018 to over 800 in 2019. The society’s mailing list has now reached over 7000 subscribers from across the UK!
Student opinion appears to be changing as efforts are made by various student bodies to raise awareness about the climate emergency. After attending CAS’ flagship event, the Sustainability Symposium, in October, Felipe Riquelme, an Energy Systems and Data Analytics MSc student, told Pi: “I do not yet consider myself an environmentalist; I think I need to learn more.” Following the Symposium, Riquelme also said he would look into new ways of learning about sustainability and changing some of his habits. Switching to a vegetarian diet was one of the changes he hoped to make.
Aliza Ayaz, founder of CAS, believes these shifting student views on environmentalism can go a long way in changing university policy: “we made it clear that from now on, policies would have to engage student opinion. It should have consultation sessions so we can translate the principles of climate science into powerful campaigns. As a result, we were able to develop the Positive Climate, Wild Bloomsbury and The Loop,” Ayaz said referring to the three signature campaigns of the newly released Strategy for a Sustainable UCL 2019-2024. In accordance with the Strategy, the university pledged a campus free from single-use plastic, a 20% reduction of waste per person and net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
The implementation of new environmental schemes on campus comes as a result of a collaborative process between the UCL Board and the students. “Students have been a key part of developing the strategy and many of the ideas have been drawn from this student engagement,” said Richard Jackson, Sustainability Director at UCL, adding that the programme is now moving into an implementation phase with a number of projects already being taken forward. “It is our intention that full implementation plans for all of the Strategy commitments will be drawn up and approval sought from the UCL Sustainability Steering Group, [which is] chaired by Prof Geraint Rees with staff and student representation,” explained Jackson.
UCL hopes to achieve the target of further reducing energy consumption by 40% by 2024 by focusing on energy efficient building construction, which includes investment in insulation as well as energy efficient equipment on campus. The University’s accent on ‘green architecture’ was exemplified in the recently completed Student Centre, which has been awarded the BREEAM Outstanding rating, making it one of 320 buildings in the world to achieve this status. Alongside this, UCL’s Sustainability Team is looking for ways to source renewable energy, which might include investment in renewable energy schemes such as wind turbines.
According to Jackson, “much of the investment in sustainability initiatives has been integrated into existing budgets and expenditure. For example, the investment in new renewable energy was included in project costs rather than part of a separate ‘sustainability’ budget. The costs of the ‘Ditch the Disposable’ campaign have been included in catering costs.” Finally, Jackson adds that “UCL has also established a sustainability capital budget for investment in energy efficiency improvements and greening projects.”
The strategy also includes the goal for UCL to become a ‘climate-positive investor’ by reviewing their portfolio investments and prioritising investment in the funds which have a positive environmental impact. Until 2019, UCL held around £16 million in fossil fuel shares, notably in Royal Dutch Shell. The decision to divest entirely from fossil companies was made in October following a seven-year protest campaign by the group Fossil Free UCL.
Unfortunately, UCL’s unwillingness to divest for the past seven years has led to skepticism among the student population of the university’s approach to sustainability. “I think sustainability tends to be used as a bit of a buzzword by UCL to green-wash itself, and is fuelled by an ulterior motive of expanding the university's capital. Whilst branding themselves as sustainable, UCL have also held corporate events supporting fossil fuel companies, who are largely the culprits of climate breakdown,” said Ruby Harrop, a Fossil Free UCL campaigner.
Nevertheless, signs of reconciliation have begun to appear as UCL has started to push sustainability up on its list of priorities. Jackson confirmed: “We have had a lot of support for the new Strategy. We have been bolder and more ambitious with the commitments which we have set as we [as a society] face some major challenges. We have not encountered any clashes and hope that we can use the Strategy and our commitments as a way to bring together our whole community to find effective solutions.”
Alongside some of the changes made on campus, some UCL societies have extended their reach to the level of national politics. “We meet MPs [and] regularly attend parliamentary sessions to debate momentum on renewables, clean energy and outsourcing vegan supplies. We offer consultation [and] help them organise events in their boroughs,” stated Ayaz. Moreover, CAS is planning to lead a workshop on integrating climate resilience in urban development as student graduates at the World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi in 2020.
Overall, there is a growing trend of involvement in environmental action both on a national level and among university students and staff. With more scientific findings corroborating the current climate crisis and increasing collaboration between UCL’s Board and students, the university is seizing the opportunity to enable positive change, helping tackle the global climate emergency and making environmental and social sustainability an everyday norm. The shift from an uneducated, unsustainable past is gradually bringing UCL’s community into a new phase, defined by environmental responsibility.
This article was originally published in Issue 724 of Pi Magazine.