Green Week 2009 kicks off to encourage College community to think green

Staff and students encouraged to take responsibility for their own environmental impact - News

Monday 9 March 2009
By Naomi Weston

Green Week 2009 is underway and students are out in force to promote awareness of how the Imperial community can be greener and to encourage people to think of innovative green ideas for the College.

Hannah Theodorou, Deputy President for Education and Welfare, has been involved in Green Week since she first set it up in 2006. She has been involved every year and co-organised this year’s activities.

We chat to her to find out more:

What is happening this week?

This week we have five student societies hosting a stall in the Sherfield Building foyer, on the South Kensington Campus, every lunchtime. The Islamic Society will be selling homemade eco-friendly bags, VegSoc will be giving out information on the meat industry and how cutting back on meat and eating more vegetables can be healthy and help the environment, KnitSoc will be knitting plastic bags together to make durable shopping bags, the Environmental Society will be giving tours of the Prince’s Gate Gardens, known as the Secret Garden, on the South Kensington Campus, and the Community Action Group will be talking about its Foodworks programme, which gives food that is still usable but beyond its best before date to the homeless and also to generate less food waste.

How can people get involved?

This year we have launched our first ever green competition. Students are being asked to submit an idea for a new initiative to make the College greener- such as helping departments, the Student Union or halls of residence to be more eco-friendly. The winning idea will be judged for its originality and cost-effectiveness and the top prize is £1,000.

We want to engage students and encourage them to think about green issues and take responsibility for their own environmental impact.

What initiative would you introduce to make the College greener?

I would have stickers above light switches in small teaching rooms to remind people to switch the lights off when they leave. It’s surprising how it still doesn’t occur to some people. However, we have seen a noticeable move towards motion sensors in a lot of refurbished buildings.

What do you think are some of the biggest environmental issues in the UK?

KnitSoc students

I think the future of energy is a big concern. It is important to consider how we incorporate green renewable technologies into future energy plans and I think there’s still a lot left that can be debated.

Secondly the food debate is going to become more heated. With an increasing population and rising food prices, people need to be aware of how food habits are changing, thinking about where they get their food from, how much they throw away and even how much they can be growing themselves.

Also, I think the growth of the ethical fashion industry is an important one. London Fashion Week has been featuring ethical fashion lines for the past few years, with a focus on ethical procurement of materials such as cotton and recycled fashion. This is a great way of engaging the public on environmental issues.

What has the College and the Imperial College Union achieved in terms of green initiatives and what work needs to be done?

The College set up the Environmental Task Group in 2008 to evaluate the College’s current environmental impact and research the current sustainability initiatives in place across the College, whose work I hope continues into the future. There have been huge improvements in recycling at the College and it is great that we signed up to the WRAP agreement to halve our construction waste sent to landfill.

I think there could be more emphasis on educating new students about reducing their energy usage. Students would also like to know more about research being conducted into energy and climate change at the College.

The Union has made a number of changes to be greener, for example in the catering outlets we now use hard reusable plastic cups and we have started using crockery rather than throw away plates and cutlery.

It would be great if the Union could focus more on educating its clubs and societies about their environmental impact, for example, encouraging students to fly less when going on trips and disposing of waste responsibly.

What are your future plans for Green Week at the College?

I want to move Green Week to the Autumn term as it is a better time to set the agenda for the year ahead. We are already planning for the next one which will be held this coming Autumn. We want to have themed days throughout the week focusing on for example, transport, energy and food with involvement from some of the College’s academic departments.

Imperial College Union have launched a new website highlighting the work of the College and the Union on green initiatives. Please visit: www.union.ic.ac.uk/green/