Sustainability at Library Services

Lighting

We have motion sensitive lighting in most library spaces

Recycling and reducing waste

We have recycling points for batteries and pens at the Abdus Salam Library.

We have recycling points for batteries, toners, soft plastic and pens at Chelsea and Westminster Campus Library.

Our pens, pads, and chargers are all made from either recycled or sustainable materials.

We are reducing printed guides and we design print materials so that less paper is used when they are produced.

All printed library guides are printed by the CarbonNeutral® certified company Pureprint, using vegetable-based, solvent free ink, printed on 99% recycled paper, with water-based coatings.

We use recycled paper in all of our photocopiers and printers.

Reusing resources

We offer office supplies and equipment to other areas of the university or within our libraries using Warp It.

We provide glasses and tap water instead of single-use items and bottled water for staff events and meetings.

Library books

Suppliers have to meet sustainability targets for the percentage of packaging material which is recyclable, and how much packaging material is wasted.

We ask our suppliers to bundle orders together, so we do not receive multiple small packages.

We repair damaged books to avoid buying replacements.

We have a digital first policy for acquisitions and for document delivery.

When withdrawing material, we offer unwanted books to students and send the remainder to Anybook for reuse or recycling.

We recycle the label cartridges that are used for printing shelfmark labels for our books.

Power saving

Enable power saving settings on your laptop.

Switch off laptops and mobile devices when not in use.

Unplug chargers from the mains socket when devices are fully charged or disconnected.

Power down PCs when finished.

Printing and copying

Think before you print

Ask staff for scrap paper

Recycling and reusing

Recycle at the waste bins throughout our libraries.

Put waste in the right bin to avoid contamination.

Bring your own reusable cup with a lid and water bottle to use at Imperial’s catering venues, and at water fountains around all the campuses

Borrow don’t buy - try our Library of Things at St Mary's Campus Library.