Green Cleaning Up at the Sustainable Food Awards

Guess what? It’s been very busy with the Sustainability Team again recently with a whole load of different goings on.

Firstly we are going to do a little self congratulating. Last week Kat was at the Good Food on the Public Plate Awards and picked up not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE awards for our efforts on sustainable food! Through ABM (the main caterers at the University) we have been awarded for ensuring:

- Only Marine Stewardship Council fish is purchased
- Only free range eggs are used
- Only organic milk is used
- Red tractor meat is purchased as a minimum
- Fairtrade and organic coffee is offered at all sites

The Good Food on the Public Plate Awards celebrate best practice of the public sector organisations who recognise their responsibility to spend money on food produced in a way that achieves environmental, social and economic benefits for London and further afield. Through the achievements we have been awarded for the University is ‘helping to sustain a market for farm assured products and birds kept in humane conditions, guarantee a fair price for farmers overseas and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.’ The University has a strong Sustainable food policy in the pipeline and continues to promote sustainable and Fairtrade delicacies across campus.

Kat enjoying the glamour and glitz of being in the Sustainability Team at Greenwich

Last week has also seen the introduction of 100% recycled toilet roll in the University. Recently we retendered our cleaning contract and wrote sustainability credentials into the process for tendering and into the contract itself. Along with the toilet roll we have seen ‘Green Planet Solutions’ cleaning products introduced, new energy efficient cleaning machinery and we are also about to start experimenting with the Eco-cube waterless urinal system.

A monumental effort on Kat’s behalf this week led to the draft version of the Carbon Management Plan being submitted to Anna and Mark from the Carbon Trust and we now start the process of getting the plan ready to go to the University Court in the new year. The plan aims to set out a succinct and detailed strategy for the University to cut its carbon emissions over the next five years and set out targets for the next ten years, once this whole process is complete we will post up a link so that you can have a peruse of it.

This week we also see the launch of Walking Works at the University with John from the Sustainability Team and Alison from Greenwich Campus FM offering a scenic walk through Greenwich Park on Wednesday for all those interested (meet 12:30 outside Dreadnought Library). Iain Metters is organising two walks at Avery Hill Campus on Tuesday and Thursday (from David Fussey at 12:15) and all of this is thanks to a great initiative by Living Streets to get more people to consider walking as a viable means of transport and as a good, accessible and very cheap way of exercising. You can also sign up to the Mice Pie Challenge and work out how many mince pies you are burning off with your walking efforts.

In other news we are still interviewing for the Fairtrade internship, looking forward to the LUEG Christmas lunch tomorrow and getting ourselves prepared for the Fairtrade and biodiversity meetings coming up later on in the week.