Please edit the areas highlighted in red to make the
document specific to your institution.
Green Impact Project
Business Case
Introduction
Green Impact is a proven way of successfully engaging with staff and students throughout
an organisation in pro-environmental issues. The project is an environmental accreditation
and awards scheme, bringing staff and students together with the wider community to
enable and showcase positive changes in environmental practice. The Green Impact project
encourages pro-environmental behaviours amongst staff within a university or college and
is currently lead by the National Union of Students (NUS) who delivered the project across
45 institutions during 2011/2012. It empowers sustainability champions within their
workplace, helping them gain recognition for their environmental efforts, whilst playing on
the competitive spirit of staff working in teams. It provides people and their departments
with a tangible framework for improving their environmental performance
The aim of this programme is to encourage pro-environmental behaviours of staff and
students throughout the College and to achieve the following:
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Empower sustainability champions, by providing them with the framework of
practical actions and helping them to gain recognition for their environmental efforts,
whilst playing on the competitive spirit of staff working in teams.
Raise awareness for sustainable development
Increase staff and student involvement
Save money and reduce carbon emissions
The behaviour change programme has been completed at 20 universities and results have
showed a 15% change in attitudes and behaviour towards sustainability.
The diagram illustrates a stage cycle for the programme, although exact timings are
flexible to each institution:
Please edit the areas highlighted in red to make the
document specific to your institution.
How it works
Keen individuals within university/college departments sign up to participate in Green
Impact. They are given a workbook with practical, easy to implement and no or low cost
actions to complete. Each workbook is specially designed for each organisation taking part.
Staff are encouraged to complete as many actions as they can and encouraged to complete
as many criteria as they can and at the end of the year are awarded either bronze, silver or
gold accreditation.
The project empowers sustainability champions within their workplace, helping them gain
recognition for their environmental efforts, whilst playing on the competitive spirit of staff
working in teams. It provides people and their departments with a tangible framework for
improving their environmental performance
Green Impact is open to all staff and students at each organisation and staff are
encouraged to invite students to help support the scheme. The aim is to get as
many departments as possible to take part in the project with an average of 20 teams per
university.
Green Impact is a bottom-up project where individuals organise themselves, focusing on
the actions which most interest them and finding their own ways of implementing the
actions.
Once the workbooks have been completed and submitted, volunteer staff and auditors will
visit all the departments to check that the workbooks accurately reflect the actions
completed during the project. The results will be announced and each organisation is
encouraged to celebrate and promote the achievements of those departments taking part
through an awards ceremony.
Departments who miss a Bronze award will be rewarded with a working towards
accreditation, celebrating their achievements within Green Impact.
Costs
The initial cost for the programme is £3,500 excluding VAT and if the College were to
continue with the programme this cost would reduce to £2,500 per annum in consecutive
years.
2012/13 (if participating for the first
time)
Up to 1,000
1,001 to
1,501 or
FTE staff
1,500 FTE
more FTE
staff
staff
£3,500
£5,000
£6,500
(+VAT)
(+VAT)
(+VAT)
2012/13 (if 2nd / 3rd / 4th consecutive
year)
Up to 1,000
1,001 to
1,501 or
FTE staff
1,500 FTE
more FTE
staff
staff
£2,500
£4,500
£5,500
(+VAT)
(+VAT)
(+VAT)
Please edit the areas highlighted in red to make the
document specific to your institution.
Included in the above costs:
• Development / updating of your bespoke online workbook;
• Remote support for teams / departments;
• NEW: Recruitment, training and management of a small team of volunteer student Green
Impact Project Assistants, who will support and mentor teams and departments2;
• Recruitment, training and management of auditors (NEW: IEMA accreditation for our
auditor training);
• Personalised feedback reports for all teams / departments;
• Certificate templates, silver and gold engraved recycled awards, and national special
awards;
• National publicity through good practice booklet and Green Impact website;
• NEW: Online voluntary baseline and follow-up behaviours survey so we can show we
have changed behaviours in new teams and departments;
• NEW: Green Impact online shop for GI branded green products for teams and
departments (e.g. refillable drinking water bottles, reusable mugs, hot water bottles, etc.);
• NEW: List of Green Impact project proposals for masters students, and support as
required;
• Support and guidance through every stage from a dedicated Green Impact Project
Officer.
Value for Money
We recently received a quote from a company called Envido, who estimated that this type
of package would cost around £12,500 compared to the cost of NUS package of £3,500,
which is a saving of £9,000. The behaviour change programme would be beneficial to the
College as promotion and awareness raising of sustainable development at our
organisation, is an ongoing challenge. Not only would the project help address this issue,
but would also help create collaborations between staff and students within our
organisation. These new projects will also encourage valuable community spirit while
inspiring and developing sustainability, a benefit that could reach all areas of our
organisation.
Conclusion
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The project has already been used by a number of Colleges and Universities
including top universities such as the London School of Economics.
The project would be beneficial as it would help senior staff members to articulate
the strategic importance of sustainability by looking at the core purpose of the
organisation. Developing sustainability this way offers us an opportunity to embed
sustainability throughout the organisation.
The programme will also identify and develop opportunities to promote and link work
on Green Impact with the overall institutional programme.
There are also a number of other packages that could be bolted on to the project.
The projects main benefits are:
Please edit the areas highlighted in red to make the
document specific to your institution.
College benefits
Behaviour change
Raises awareness
Saves money
Reduces the College’s carbon footprint
Develop citizenship amongst staff and
students
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Personal benefits
Awards scheme for achievements
Develops transferable skills
Promotes Project management
Enhance CV
Promotes employability
Anglia Ruskin University invested in the project and are extremely happy with the
results. The staff involved commented that “students acquired very practical skills,
self-confidence and the knowledge of how their institution is trying to become more
sustainable”.
Action
Date
Enter text
Action
Appendix
Further Education and Higher Education participating in the programme
Anglia Ruskin University; Canterbury Christ Church University; City University London; De Montfort
University; Goldsmiths University of London; Jewel and Esk College; Kingston University; London
School of Economics and Political Science; Loughborough University; Manchester Metropolitan
University; Middlesex University; Newcastle University; Nottingham Trent University; Queen Mary,
University of London; Queen’s University Belfast; Reid Kerr College; Roehampton University; Royal
Holloway University; University of London; Southampton Solent University; Staffordshire University;
Swansea University; The University of Edinburgh; The University of Manchester; The University of
Reading; The University of Sheffield; University College London; University of Bath; University of
Birmingham; University of Bradford; University of Bristol; University of East Anglia; University of
East London’ University of Exeter; University of Greenwich; University of Hertfordshire; University of
Kent; University of Leeds; University of Leicester; University of Liverpool; University of
Northumbria; University of the West Scotland; University of Westminster; University of Winchester;
University of Worcester; University of York.