Nottingham Trent University (NTU) operates across three main sites and provides award winning facilities to over 26,000 students. It has attained an outstanding reputation for its approach to environmental management and ranks in the top 10 of the People and Planet University League. In order to achieve their stretching carbon reduction targets, NTU wanted to pinpoint high priority opportunities for carbon savings and develop a programme for their delivery. Seven major carbon reduction projects were identified, delivering cost savings of circa £360k per year and a carbon saving of 1,863 tonnes CO2 p.a.
Nottingham Trent University accelerating carbon savings
Summary
Situations
NTU is committed to minimising its impact on the environment and in order to address its target of achieving a 29% reduction in CO2e per FTE staff and student by 2020/21, the University needed to identify high impact, near term carbon savings and develop a programme for their delivery. LCMB provided a roadmap for future carbon savings and set out how best to engage university stakeholders in the carbon challenge.
Actions
LCMB used a 4 stage process to identify, develop and scope the projects which would deliver the required carbon savings.
Listen
- A broad range of views and experiences of building users were sought out, from students and teaching staff, security guards and receptionists to office staff and kitchen staff.
- A project prioritisation framework was developed in discussion with NTU senior management and key stakeholders to ensure that proposed projects were practical and achievable.
Project Development
- Site surveys and data reviews were undertaken to develop a list of 13 project areas.
- These were ranked according to project prioritisation criteria and those that were replicable across the estate, with the greatest potential for delivering cost effective carbon savings.
Project Detail
- The project ‘long-list’ was reduced to seven which had the greatest potential for savings and replication.
- Key projects were identified in HVAC efficiency, fume cupboard control and on-site generation of heat. However, the single greatest area for savings related to BMS optimisation.
Feedback
- The Estates team was provided with scoping documents for each of the major project areas, detailing the optimisation, investment and continuous commissioning necessary to realise target cost and carbon savings.
- Plans and templates completed the framework needed to secure not just cost and carbon savings, but also improved occupant comfort and reduced maintenance callouts.
Benefits
- A decision making framework for selecting carbon saving measures.
- A clear understanding of priority buildings and areas within the estate for targeting effort to achieve success.
- Detailed plans for seven major carbon reduction projects that can be implemented within two years, delivering cost savings of circa £360k per year and a carbon saving of 1,863 tonnes CO2 p.a.
- A roadmap for achieving carbon reductions to the period 2020 including a further five major projects developed in outline that offer significant potential for savings.
- Recommendations on how the University could improve awareness, dialogue and engagement in order to continue the momentum in saving carbon.
- Active and positive engagement with the University’s carbon reduction plan.
Challenges and Achievements
Maximising the ‘bang for your buck’!
Carbon reduction targets establish the direction for an organisation to take, but can only be attained through practical, cost effective carbon reduction initiatives. Of all the possible opportunities to cut carbon, those that offer the greatest return on investment must be actioned. The structured approach adopted by LCMB generated a prioritised, achievable and cost viable set of projects to deliver against the University’s carbon reduction commitments.
Getting people on board
For project-based efforts to reduce carbon for the long term, they need to be supported by human efforts to reduce carbon. This was achieved through engaging with on-site staff and estate users from the start, listening and acting on their ideas and setting in train a process for maintaining dialogue and motivation.
LCMB undertook the task of assessing carbon emissions at Nottingham Trent University in order to identify areas of possible reduction. The task was approached with a clear understanding of the HE sector, creative technical knowledge and a considered approach which helped us to work out how we’ll reduce our carbon emissions”
Ged O’Donoghue, Director of Estates and Resources, Nottingham Trent University
Find out more
LCMB improves the financial and environmental sustainability of buildings and estates, and the productivity and well-being of the people using them. We do this by reducing building operating costs, energy used and improving building space and its’ utilisation. We offer Workplace Performance, Facilities Management, Project Management and Resource optimisation support.
Amongst others our clients include King’s College London, Birmingham Airport, Tata Technologies, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Bouygues Energies & Services.
