TU Dublin officially re-register with the An Taisce Green-Campus Programme
TU Dublin officially re-registered with the An Taisce Green-Campus Programme at an inaugural Green-Campus Committee meeting on October 25th, 2022.
TU Dublin’s VP for Sustainability, Jennifer Boyer, together with An Taisce’s Green-Campus Manager, Deirdre O’Carroll, signed the Green-Campus Renewal Registration Form for the 2022-2023 year. As part of the re-registration, TU Dublin committed to work towards achieving their first Green-Flag under a single application for all three campus locations.
TU Dublin have formally begun their campaign towards achieving the Green-Flag award following the re-establishment of their Green-Campus Committee. Together, along with the support from Green-Campus Committee student and staff members, they will embark on a University-wide effort to significantly improve TU Dublin’s performance on sustainability. Using the Green-Campus 7-step methodology, TU Dublin will work on the programme’s major themes of Litter and Waste and Energy, as well as working on Travel and Biodiversity as minor themes.
Major themes:
Under the theme Litter and Waste, TU Dublin will assess the impact of litter and waste within their campus environments and implement practical measures for preventing and minimising the level of litter and waste being produced by the University.
Under the theme of Energy, TU Dublin will improve energy efficiency, in tandem with developing an ongoing engagement and awareness campaign to help staff and students to conserve energy on and off campus. Through practical measures, TU Dublin will mitigate the impact of the current energy crisis by reducing daily energy use on campus. By doing this, the University will:
- Build awareness around energy, carbon, and environmental impacts
- Ease the pressure on the national electricity grid by reducing indoor temperatures to 19 degrees as per government policy
- Optimise the use of our campus buildings
- Increasingly reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels
- Reduce our overall energy costs by reducing consumption
- Promote sustainable travel to and from campus
Minor themes:
TU Dublin is uniquely positioned to support sustainable travel to each of its campus locations. Under the minor theme of Transport and Travel, TU Dublin will work with staff, students, and the local community to foster a culture of active and sustainable travel to campus. Working together with a wide range of stakeholders, including the National Transport Authority and local authorities, TU Dublin will implement practical solutions to provide opportunities for better, healthier, equitable and more sustainable commutes for all.
With 115 acres of land across Dublin city-centre and sub-urban landscapes, TU Dublin has an opportunity to enhance the local environment under the minor theme of Biodiversity. Through habitat conservation and enrichment TU Dublin will boost the diversity of native plant and animal life.
Through practical innovation, technology, and behaviour change measures, TU Dublin will implement sustainability solutions as part of a wider national effort to decarbonise and restore natural environments. TU Dublin’s VP for Sustainability, Jennifer Boyer said:
“The creation of our University-wide Green-Campus Committee enables TU Dublin to deliver a coherent approach to creating a culture of responsibility for sustainability with central support to deliver on local level requirements. With the appointment of two new Green-Campus Co-Chairs, Ms Sarah Maher who Lectures in Forensic Science, and Mr Giacomo Di Capua who studies Climate & Health here at TU Dublin we are re-establishing TU Dublin’s Green Team which draws from our passionate students and committed staff across all our five campus locations and deliver on carbon neutrality together.’