Actions Guide for
Green Impact Bronze
This guide has been created to help you achieve the Bronze Award in Green Impact for the
project cycle 2015/2016.
Make sure you also follow the guidance provided in the online workbook and look at the
York Green Impact Webpage extra resources such as posters and stickers.
Any further queries should be sent to greenimpact@york.ac.uk.
Reducing Waste
B001 - There is clear guidance on how staff, and students where appropriate, can doubleside photocopy and print posted within readable distance of each photocopier, MFD and
printer.
Posters to help advise on double sided photocopying are available from YPP or the IT
Support Office in the Harry Fairhurst Building – itsupport@york.ac.uk
All YPP multi-functional devices automatically duplex copy and print.
B002 - The majority of staff organising and/or attending meetings within the
department/team have taken proactive measures to reduce the number of hand-outs
they take to meetings. (e.g. by informing attendees that the agenda and minutes of last
meeting etc. will be shown on screen in the meeting room)
Paper use can be reduced by simply emailing hand-outs, agendas, previous minutes and
papers to meeting attendees rather than printing everyone copies. Many teams use
projector facilities within meeting rooms to ensure everyone has access to relevant
information throughout the meeting, and in terms of cost if you're printing 3 or more sheets
it is cheaper to power a pc and projector for an hour than to print meeting hand-outs!
Similarly, many staff and students now use tablets and other portable devices making paper
copies redundant.
Reusing Waste
B003 - Either no domestic batteries have been purchased within the last 12 months or, if
they have, the majority of them have been rechargeable rather than single-use.
Rechargeable batteries are available on YEP
http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/supplies/eprocurement/
Domestic batteries that are single use can be recycled across campus, look out for the pink
desk top bins.
B004 - The department/team has a scheme in place to collect waste A4 paper printed on
one side only and, rather than sending it for recycling, the department either reuses it
itself or donates it to another organisation for reuse.
A4 paper printed on one side only can be reused internally or given to children's charities or
play groups. You can find a suitable play group at www.childrensscrapstore.co.uk.
NB: Confidential items should be shredded rather than reused.
B005 -Either the Department is in YPP (York Print Plus) or it sends all of its used printer
and/or toner cartridges to a charity reuse scheme and keeps a log of the numbers and
dates sent.
Many charities, such as Action Aid, raise money by collecting used printer and toner
cartridges for reuse schemes. It is good practice to keep a log of how many are sent so the
number coming in can be reconciled with the number sent out to ensure none are being
thrown away http://www.rethinkeurope.co.uk/Recycling-Appeal-UK/actionaid/
Recycling Waste
B006 - The team has a mixed waste recycling system in place across the department which
has been communicated to all staff along with the link to the waste video
on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2aQtq1u5Mkwaste video and a recycling bin audit
has been carried out within the last 12 months to identify where facilities are within the
department and if extra recycling bins are required (minimum of 50% of bins should be for
recycling).
The University implements a co-mingled waste system. For more information
visit http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/estates/operations/waste_management/recycling/ and
to request more recycling bins or find out more contact Mark Clough.
Energy - Lighting
B007 - All banks of three or more light switches within the department/team have been
labelled to identify which lights each switch operates AND any unusual light switches (for
example with complex dimmer switches) have been labelled to show how to operate the
lights.
Good practise so staff and visitors know which switches to turn on, rather than turning them
all on as well as how to use more complex light switches to avoid waste.
B007 - ***Amended*** All desk or table top lamps are fitted with compact fluorescent
(energy efficient) bulbs or LED bulbs.
Remember CFL’s save enough money in electricity costs to cover their higher initial price
within 500 hours of use.
Energy – Switching Off
B008 - The department has energy-awareness stickers and posters in place in the majority
of offices and communal facilities encouraging staff and students to switch off lights
and/or equipment when not needed. Posters should be dated to show when they were
put up and ideally refreshed every 12-months to keep them noticeable. If your
department is located in a listed building, only put up posters and stickers where
permissible.
Don't be fooled by myths about fluorescent lighting! It is good practice to switch off office
lights if the room is going to be empty for five minutes or more.
Free switch-off sticker and posters designs can be found on the Carbon Trust website
For corridors and stairwells, consider health and safety before putting up switch off stickers
and posters.
B009 - The department has an up-to-date written Lighting and Equipment Responsibility
Plan covering all the main areas for the day to day management of key equipment within
the area as well as a comprehensive Shut-Down Checklist for vacations. All relevant staff
have been made aware of these plans.
Some of the most efficient departments are those that have formally assigned a clear
responsibility to specific individuals to ensure that lighting and equipment is not left on
unnecessarily. This is especially useful for communal areas and big energy users such as air
conditioning units and fume cupboards. Agreeing a shutdown checklist will help to clarify
and assign responsibility for items such as photocopiers, hot-drink vending machines,
ventilation equipment and heating etc. to ensure it is not left on / set too high over
vacations. Wherever possible 'last person out' should be avoided.
B010 - ***NEW*** Before any holidays or shut-down periods of three or more days, the
team reminds staff of their switch-off responsibilities.
A template basic lighting and equipment responsibility plan and shut down checklist can be
requested from the York Green Impact team greenimpact@york.ac.uk, or found on the
Green Impact Resource Bank.
Energy – Heating
B011 - During the winter months the department/team has carried out a basic walkaround to identify areas that are being heated unnecessarily and taken action to save
energy as required. If the department/team has portable electric heaters regularly in use
during normal working hours, the department has both ensured that any central heating
radiators are not blocked by furniture and has reported that there is a heating problem to
the University.
All departments/teams are responsible for conserving energy in their own buildings and
processes. It is recommended that each department carries out its own energy audit at least
every year to identify energy-saving opportunities.
Energy is easily wasted by heating predominantly unused areas such as stock rooms, store
room or corridors.
Note that, if turning down radiators, thermostatic radiator valves should be put onto the
frost settings rather than fully switched off to provide some frost protection.
Any problems with heating that cannot be turned down should be reported on PLANON.
Portable electric heaters typically use around 3,000 Watts of energy making them one of the
most energy consuming pieces of equipment within an office environment. They are a very
inefficient method of heating and can make things worse by influencing existing thermostats
and heating systems and should therefore only be used with the Estates' Department
permission. Portable electric heaters can be a sign that there is a heating problem that
needs fixing. Any problems with heating should be reported to PLANON.
Travel
B013 -Within the last 12-months the department/team has proactively promoted at least
three of the following bike/cycling initiatives to the majority of its staff:
• The availability of pool bikes;
• The cycle mileage allowance for travelling by bicycle on university business;
• The nearest cycle storage to the department/team;
• The nearest shower & changing facilities to the department/team;
• The schedule for Bike Doctor days and Isle of Bike sale days;
• The tax benefit scheme for buying a new bike;
• The pool bike scheme;
• The folding bike and bus pass offer.
As well as at least three of the following sustainable travel initiatives:
• The University's car-sharing scheme;
• The University's electric shuttle bus service;
• The University’s Discounted Bus Tickets;
• Interest free loan on train tickets;
• City Car Club
The University has a number of incentives to encourage staff to cycle to work.
Information on:
 Business cycle mileage allowance or contact the Finance Department
 Cycle storage locations
 Shower and changing facilities
 Bike Doctor
 Cycle scheme (the tax benefit scheme for buying a bike)
 Pool Bike Scheme
 Folding bike and buss pass offer
Visit the University of York Travel and Transport Web Pages for information or contact Fiona
Macey Travel Plan Co-ordinator for more information or advice on sustainable travel.
There are standard communication emails on the resources page of the Green Impact
website, which cover this action.
B014 - The department proactively advises the majority of external visitors and if
applicable students, how they can get to meetings, lectures, seminars or conferences via
public transport, walking, cycling or car sharing.
Departments are encouraged to promote sustainable transport and accessibility advice to
visitors. The University's sustainable travel webpage for visitors can be found
at http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/estates/transport/
B015 - ***AMENDED*** Within the last 12 months the department has proactively
promoted the use of teleconferencing facilities and/or video-conference facilities and/or
Skype to all relevant staff as an alternative to travelling to external meetings.
The university has teleconference and video-conference facilities that can be used as an
alternative to travelling to meetings. For more information
visit http://www.york.ac.uk/campusservices/telephony/services.yrk/audioconf.html (audioconferencing)http://www.york.ac.uk/campusservices/avcentre/vc/ (video conferencing).
The IT network also allows Skype to be used
Procurement
B016 - When arranging food and drink for meetings the department ensures that it meets
at least two of the following:
• Tap water is supplied instead of bottle water
• Attendees are encouraged to bring their own cup/mug to internal meetings
• Reusable cups/mugs are provided for external visitors
• The majority of food provided is vegetarian
Bottled spring water has a substantially greater carbon footprint than tap water, eliminating
single use cups will save money in procurement and disposal, and seasonal vegetarian food
also has a lower carbon footprint than a meat equivalent option, any meal without meat
saves 8 kg of CO2.
B017 - All tea and coffee for general staff use is fair-trade (NB: This only refers to tea or
coffee bought with departmental money or a tea/coffee fund, not products bought by
individual members of staff), and staff within the team use a reusable mug or insulated
coffee cup rather than a disposable paper cup when attending department meetings or
visiting a departmental coffee shop.
Fair-trade products guarantee a fixed price for some of the lowest paid farmers in the
developing world. There is also a fixed community premium that goes towards community
development projects.
Disposable cups have a greater environmental impact than reusable cups or glasses as they
require more regular resource use and transportation as well as often being difficult to
recycle.
B018 - Either all plain A4 white copier paper bought by the department meets at least one
of the following options:
• Made from at least 70% recycled paper;
• Made from NAPM accredited recycled paper;
• Made from pulp from certified sustainable sources,
Or if the department does not buy its own paper, within the last 12-months it has lobbied
the department that procuress it to meet at least one of the above options.
Please note that paper provided for YPP Multi-functional devices meets the required
criteria for this action point.
During the audits carried out at the 22 participating universities, departments in six of the
universities were buying paper that originated in eucalyptus plantations in Brazil. From an
environmental perspective it is much better to buy recycled paper or paper from certified
sustainable sources.
If you are not currently part of YPP and would like to be contact IT Services, in the Harry
Fairhurst Building.
B019 - ***NEW*** The team has communicated benefits of purchasing locally source
and/or biodiversity friendly products for people to use in work and at home. This could
include: FSC certified wood products; Rainforest Alliance products; responsible clothing
choices e.g. People Tree; alternative cleaning products e.g. Method, Ecover etc.
Encouraging individuals to consider sustainability in their consumption methods is an
important activity if we are to tackle our global carbon emissions. For information about
sustainable products please visit: Ethical Consumer.
B020 - ***AMENDED*** The department/team preferentially buys any three of the
following on a regular basis:
• Refillable writing pens and refills in preference to one-use disposable pens;
• Refillable highlighters and refills in preference to one-use disposables;
• Pencils made from FSC certified sustainable wood in preference to wood from
unaccredited sources;
• Stationary ranges made from a majority recycled content;
• Biodegradable cellulose sticky tapes in preference to acetate or polypropylene sticky
tapes;
• Water-based correction fluid in preference to solvent-based.
More sustainable versions of most stationary products are now widely available.
Greening teams, action plans and communications
B021 - The department/team has identified, ranked and documented what it believes are
its five most significant sustainability impacts.
Every department has sustainable impacts. The most significant negative impacts will
depend on what the department does but may include energy use in its offices, production
of chemical wastes, air travel by staff, car travel by visitors visiting the department, the
printing of publications and the associated use of energy, paper and oil for inks, etc. Positive
impacts could include the results of research undertaken and its effect on sustainability and
social responsibility issues, the charitable fundraising undertaken by the department/team,
or the positive impacts of the department/team on local wildlife.
B022 - All new staff are formally inducted on relevant environmental issues within their
role and informed about Green Impact. If the team is directly involved with students it has
also actively encouraged students to be involved in Green Impact.
Encouraging new staff to do their bit right from the start will help to ensure that
environmental initiatives are successful. This could include recycling policy and procedures,
individual responsibility for conserving energy, how to duplex print, environmental-friendly
travel schemes and policies, switching off appliances, etc.
Students can bring enthusiasm and energy to greening initiatives, which can be utilised
through staff / student collaboration. Students can be involved by asking them for their
ideas, inviting them to join you Green Impact team, or promoting the Green Impact Project
Assistant and Green Impact Auditor roles to them. This can not only further the reach of the
programme but also provide excellent employability opportunities.
B023 - The department has a well-labelled notice board, or significant section of a notice
board, dedicated to communicating sustainability issues.
Having a departmental sustainability notice board is a great way of starting to communicate
to staff and visitors on your greening initiatives. This can be either a physical noticeboard or
an online noticeboard in a prominent location. Many communication items are available on
the Green Impact webpage.
Water
B024 - Any dual-flushing toilets have been labelled so that users know which button is for
the half flush.
Dual-flushing toilets are increasingly common but often do not make it obvious which
button creates a shorter, water-saving flush. Using half flush can save 17,250 litres of water
per person, each year!
B025 - ***NEW*** The team has informed all departmental staff/students of where
drinking water is available.
Staff/students should be aware of where drinking water can be obtained.
B026 - ***AMENDED*** Within the last 12-months the department/team has taken one
or more proactive initiative to sustain or encourage biodiversity.
There are many ways departments can support biodiversity, from buying rainforest-grown
wildlife-friendly coffee, organic or wildlife-friendly milk; buying Christmas cards produced by
a wildlife conservation charity; collecting printer cartridges for elephant research; buying a
locally sourced Christmas tree or decorating a tree outside rather than inside, putting up bat
or bird boxes on or around buildings; the regular feeding of birds in the winter, etc.
**Please try to avoid printing this guide**