Submitted by Shaun Ballisat on Tue, 26/01/2021 - 18:04
What is Green Impact?
Green Impact is the University's environmental accreditation scheme. It supports and encourages departments and colleges across the University in reducing their environmental impacts.
The Centres Coordinators at the Postdoc Academy, Ceren Kaser and Shaun Ballisat, recently started working towards the bronze accreditation and have launched their efforts with an introductory video:
Green Initiatives
Our flagship Postdoc Centre at Eddington was built, like the rest of the Eddington site, with sustainability in mind and the large number of postdocs living at Eddington may already be aware of the innovative systems in place across the site, such as rainwater harvesting, solar panels, 'intelligent' waste disposal systems and its own centralised energy centre.
When we are able to reopen our centres, you will notice a few changes, including clearer recycling provisions and explanatory signage for our light switches, which often baffle centre users due to the mix of sensor operated and switch operated lights!
In the meantime, we are encouraging our team to think about what green initiatives can be actioned while working from home (WFH). For example, a review of how we use home appliances and IT equipment, or considering relocating our WFH home space to a window, so there is less need to light the space throughout the day.
We have also been thinking about our outdoor spaces, perhaps collecting rainwater to re-use, or creating a 'messy' area in the garden to encourage biodiversity.
How to Get Involved
We welcome any further feedback or suggestions on how the Postdoc Academy can be more green within its centres or its work, so please get in touch with the Green Impact team with any suggestions.
If you are interested in starting a Green Impact team for your department you can sign up here, or contact greenimpact@admin.cam.ac.uk for more information.