Galway-Mayo is first IT to be awarded Green-Campus Flag

Staff and students in GMIT Castlebar are celebrating becoming the first Institute of Technology in Ireland to be awarded the prestigious international Green-Campus Award. An Taoiseach Enda Kenny formally raised the Green Flag at a special ceremony in GMIT Castlebar recently.

The Green-Campus Award has been approved by environmental body An Taisce on behalf of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) which operates the Eco-Schools Programme in over 50 countries throughout the world. It is co-ordinated in Ireland by An Taisce and is better known as the Green Campus Programme at Third Level.

The awarding of the Green-Campus Flag and Certificate follows three years of diligent work undertaken by students and staff in GMIT Castlebar since the campus signed up for the Green-Campus programme in 2008.

The campus has made huge strides in energy and water conservation, with a 7% reduction in energy usage over a 12 month period and a 16% reduction during the first three months of this year (2011) as the energy initiative gathers pace. In terms of CO2, savings are estimated at six tonnes a month.

One of the first initiatives was setting up recycling banks on campus to minimize waste going to landfill.  From June to December 2010, twelve tonnes of waste were diverted from landfill through recycling of plastics, paper and cardboard with food waste being sent to a special facility for converting to compost.

Annual paper consumption dropped from 2.5 million sheets in 2006 to 971,000 in 2010 while 60kg of printer cartridges were recycled through the Recycling Appeal to raise money for Concern the same year. 

Flushing systems were installed on urinals saving 956 litres of water per day. Students and staff carried out several litter collections on the campus grounds each academic year and members of the campus Kayak Club carried out a clean-up on the Castlebar river.

Other initiatives implemented throughout the campus during the past two and a half years are:

• PC Remote Shutdown in all computer labs
• energy shutdowns during holiday periods
• changeover to renewable energy supplier ESB.IE
• thermostatic radiator valves installed throughout campus
• new metering resulting in water savings 
• collection of old mobile phones for Jack & Jill Foundation and
• the GMIT Student Scholarship scheme
• sponsored competitions to promote and market Green-Campus initiatives

Progress was assessed every year as steps of the Green-Campus programme were implemented in areas such as Energy, Litter & Waste and Water. The Green-Campus Committee is currently working towards completing initiatives in the areas of Biodiversity and Transport.

All of the changes were driven by a dedicated Green-Campus Committee and Students Union Green-Campus Officer. Lynda Huxley, Chairperson of the Committee, says the students and staff are delighted their hard work has resulted in the campus becoming the first IT in Ireland to receive the FEE Green Flag Award.

"When we first registered as a Green-Campus with An Taisce we signed up to a long term commitment to continuous environmental improvements. This is underscored by curriculum links to all programmes. For example students have carried out a survey of transport patterns and attitudes of students and staff regarding green initiatives, prepared a five-year management plan for Green-Campus as part of an Environmental Management module and conducted a preliminary Building Energy Rating (BER) survey of the campus. These curriculum links not only create awareness among the student community but also provide valuable data that the committee uses to identify action plans and targets," says Ms Huxley.

"The committee also established strong links with community groups such as Castlebar Tidy Towns and Smarter Travel Castlebar. In February this year, we hosted an event organised by the latter which brought members of the public and the committees of local green schools into the college for a debate on sustainable travel."

"Receiving this award is a fantastic milestone but it's also a springboard to future development of green initiatives in GMIT Castlebar.  Student and staff excitement and pride is palpable."

Director of An Taisce's Environmental Education Unit, Patricia Oliver, paid tribute to GMIT Castlebar: "The successful implementation of the seven steps of the programme and the partnership which has been formed by the GMIT Castlebar Green Campus Committee is unique in many respects and will, I am sure, be an example and inspiration to many more third-level institutions not only in Ireland but throughout the entire network of countries."

Dr Barbara Burns, Head of GMIT Castlebar, says: "The Green-Campus programme has significantly contributed to the learning environment, the overall spirit and the effective operation of the campus. Thanks to both students and staff, the Green Campus principles have become part of our ethos. A special thank you to An Taisce and the excellent work of our campus committee, under the leadership of Lynda Huxley. We are very proud of this award and look forward to continued achievements as a Green Campus."

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