The RGU: Union Sustainable Consumption Initiative

Final Report April 2015 – March 2016

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The RGU Union Sustainable Consumption Initiative Robert Gordon University Student Association

CCF-3939

Project Contact: Michele Colie

General Manager Robert Gordon University Student Association,

University Street Garthdee Campus

Aberdeen AB10 7GE m.collie@rgu.ac.uk

01224 262292

Website: www.rguunion.co.uk

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Table of Contents 1. Starting Point .......................................................... 4

2. Headline Achievements ...................................... 9

3. Activities ................................................................ 10

4. Outcomes .............................................................. 25

5. Learning and Reflection .................................. 39

6. Finance & Administration .............................. 45

7. Legacy ..................................................................... 47

8. Thank You ............................................................. 48

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1. Starting Point

RGU: Union

RGU Student Association is an unincorporated not-for-profit organisation with charitable status, and as an autonomous part of the Robert Gordon University (RGU) has existed even before RGU received full University status in 1992. RGU has a current combined student population of over 17000 students. RGU Student Association, often known as the “RGU: Union”, was founded on the keystone of providing its members, the students, with services that support their experience at University, including welfare, representation, extra-curricular activities, societies, sports clubs, and independent advice.

The Union is run for students by students with the wellbeing of its membership central to its planning. This organisation strongly believes that the welfare and happiness of its members reflects directly on their academic performance, just as their performance and behaviour directly reflects on RGU Student Association and the University Community at large.

The RGU: Union Sustainable Consumption Initiative

In 2014, RGU:Union launched its climate change project known as RGU Go Green. Go Green has been funded through the Climate Challenge Fund by the Scottish Government; the fund administrated by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The Go Green project aims to raise awareness of sustainability and environmental practices among students (including international distance learners), staff and the local community with the aim of encouraging behaviour change and reducing the community’s carbon footprint.

During the first initiative period 2013-2015, The RGU: Union Carbon Footprint Initiative supported students to reduce their electricity demand utilising smart electricity meters, helped the local community improve their

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energy efficiency through working with trained energy ambassadors, increased the availability of sustainable travel with a bike hire scheme and promoted sustainable consumption at a community allotment.

For the current initiative period 2015-2016, The RGU: Union Sustainable Consumption Initiative aimed to help the student community improve their waste and recycling performance, promote sustainable consumption of water and continue the previous projects on campus, in student halls and the local community.

The current project was developed in response to a need for improved recycling provision within the University community, due to an extremely high level of consumption of bottled water on campus. Also, an important component was providing training opportunities for the students. The Union aimed to provide students who participated in this initiative as volunteers with extensive transferable skills in the areas of resource efficiency, student engagement and sustainability. The entire student body targeted would undergo behaviour change which would lead to CO2e reductions throughout the student community. These behaviour changes would be taken forward into their future professional and personal lives.

The outcomes RGU: Union were funded to deliver

Waste and Recycling Waste management is a significant issue facing society, and, as a large community Robert Gordon University has the opportunity to deliver high impact activities in this area. The University recently invested over £2500 in new recycling bins alone, with the sole aim of waste minimisation and increasing recycling rates. The university exceeds its mandated waste management requirements and actively approached RGU:Union to support their work. RGU:Union is in a unique position as a student led organisation and aimed to engage and interface with its members and drive sustainable waste decisions across the campus and halls of residence. These activities would reduce waste and increase recycling, leading to tangible and measureable emission reductions.

Water Resource Use

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Water is a basic physiological need. With a campus-based student body of 11,000 the demand placed on water resources by students is high. RGU:Union aimed to ensure the sustainability of this resource by enhancing the use of mains water drinking systems and engaging with the student body in order to reduce the consumption of non-sustainable bottled water and drinks. These activities would yield significant CO2e savings.

Staff Resource These projects would lead to extensive volunteering opportunities, along with appointment of two members of staff (one full time, one part time). The staff would be responsible for controlling the management, implementation and finances of the project, along with training volunteers to deliver outputs (particularly around engagement). The VP for Environment and Ethics would be instrumental in ensuring student buy-in and the overall success of the project. As an ‘Investors In Volunteering’ accredited organisation, with links to over 25 local charities RGU:Union is well positioned to provide a first class volunteering experience. We have a Volunteering Coordinator and an online system for volunteer management, which would allow the RGU:Union Sustainable Consumption Initiative to deliver excellent results for its volunteers in terms of recognition, awards, monitoring and development opportunities.

CO2e Outcome 1: Waste and Recycling: 154629kg CO2e

In Halls of Residence:

- A target to reduce food waste by approximately 25% - For each individual to compost 50% of their food waste. - To half the weight of recyclables being sent to landfill

On Campus:

- Increased composting target of 75% of food waste - To half the weight of recyclables being sent to landfill

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CO2e Outcome 2: Water Resource Use: 2852 kg CO2e

Aims:

- T remove all unnecessary bottle fed water coolers from campus - To reduce 500ml bottled water consumption by 20% - To reduce 500ml bottled soft drink consumption by 10%.

Community Outcome 1: Social & Volunteering

- To recruit volunteers for waste management and water resource activities as well as general PR activities.

- To support volunteers to create and maintain environmental societies at the University

Community Outcome 2: Economic

- To link up volunteers directly with RGU: Union staff to ensure that they are maximising their benefit from volunteering along with the benefit to the community. Training would be provided on key areas such as waste management, public engagement, environmental issues, and behaviour change.

Community Outcome 3: Environmental The activities described previously relating to waste management and water resource use would lead to the significant impacts as laid out in the needs/ baseline:

Environmental performance will be increased for the whole university through reduced CO2e generation and reduced waste generation. These reductions will lead to secondary reductions such as fewer lorry collections for waste (leading to better air quality and less congestion), and fewer plastic bottles etc.

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Individuals who become engaged with these programs are also likely to contribute in other ways, including keeping the campus tidy and litter free along with lobbying for further improvements.

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2. Headline Achievements Waste and Recycling:

70,401.92 kgCO2e savings only through reducing bottles

Lifetime savings of 1,056,028.8 kg C02e Sustainable Water Consumption:

31018.68 kg C02e saved through distributing our reusable recycled water bottles and other reusable material

Lifetime savings of 465,280.2 kg C02e

9,000 water bottles saved through promoting our Go Green water fountain in one year

Engagement:

110 persons were actively involved in our projects, though many more helped indirectly and in the background

73 volunteers helped in environmental projects and activities

339 volunteering hours

Online & Social Media:

RGU Go Green online activities targeted and reached students

on campus as well as distance learning students

Increase of 790 people on the RGU Go Green mailing list within

one year

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3. Activities

Activities Grid

How many advice/information centres – regular drop-in centre, advice surgery etc. - is your project running?

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How many training sessions where skills and/or information were passed on – e.g. composting training, cooking workshops, etc. – has your project has held.

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How many events did your project hold, e.g. information fairs, open days, etc.? Do not include events held by other organisations which you have attended.

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How many staff, volunteers or community members have achieved qualifications through the project – e.g. City & Guilds Energy Awareness, Trail Cycle Leader, etc.

73

How many people were directly employed by your project. Tell us the full-time equivalent (FTE) number of employees (e.g. 3 days per week = 0.6 FTE).

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Is the project supporting the development of any long-term jobs which are not dependent of CCF Funding? How many?

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How many people are actively involved in your project – attending groups & workshops, using the project facilities etc.?

110

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How many people volunteer their time and energy to keeping the project going – don’t forget the members of your management committee or board.

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Below is the context for the numbers we have provided on the Activities Grid.

Training Sessions The 17 training sessions where skills and/or information were passed on that we have entered in the Activities Grid consist of the following:

- 27th April – 9th June 2015: 7 Weekly Upcycling Workshops - 22th September 2015: Upcycling Workshop - 6th October 2015: Cookery Workshop - 14th October 2015: Zero Waste Scotland/ Synergie Environ

training day - 4th November 2015: Cookery Workshop - 13th November 2015: S.E.E.D Consultancy training day - 16th December 2015: British Red Cross / European Commission

Community Resilience Project – Community Resilience to Climate Change & Crisis

- 17th – 18th December 2015: GIS (Geographical Information System) talks

- 26th February 2016: British Red Cross / European Commission Community Resilience Project – Personal Resilience to Climate Change & Crisis

- 5th – 6th March 2016: Trip to the Findhorn Foundation More details below:

- 27th April – 9th June 2015: 7 Weekly Upcycling Workshops These workshops aimed to show that damaged clothes can be fixed, and made into something that might even look more “stylish” than before. A fashion expert volunteer offered to be the instructor of this workshop. More students and staff members applied to participate in this free

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workshop than there were spaces, so a waiting list had to be created. This shows the popularity of such a workshop. Workshop participants learned fashion and sewing basics. A Facebook Page for Fashion Upcycling was created. Useful tips and updates about the workshops were uploaded in order to give information to individuals who were unable to come along and have an interest in upcycling. The workshops continued on a weekly basis until 9th June 2015 when most participants had left the campus (many students had finished their exams and staff members were away for their annual leave). In the sessions, the volunteering instructor showed not only sewing basics but also encouraged the participants to use their own creativity to reuse their own clothes and give them a new value (upcycling).

- 22th September 2015: Upcycling Workshop 2 attendees learnt about saving items from going to landfill through reusing old materials to make new things. Attendees repurposed old wooden boxes that were left over from the organic vegetable bag scheme into planters. Community Garden volunteers collected the wooden boxes afterwards. The paint and painting equipment used were all eco-friendly. Additionally, attendees could upcycle fashion from the swap shop cupboard.

Upcycling event: Painting wooden boxes to reuse them

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- 6th October 2015: Cookery Workshop

RGU: Union worked with the Community Food Initiative for the North East (CFINE) to deliver a cookery workshop with a focus on food waste to the community.

- 14th October 2015: Zero Waste Scotland/ Synergie Environ training day

Bespoke training developed with a consultant from Synergie Environ, contracted by Love Food Hate Waste. The training covered the basics on waste and water issues, and skills in public engagement and communication in regards to environmental topics.

- 4th November 2015: Cookery Workshop RGU: Union worked with the Community Food Initiative for the North East (CFINE) to deliver a cookery workshop with a focus on food waste to our community.

- 13th November 2015: S.E.E.D Consultancy training day

Bespoke training developed with a consultant from S.E.E.D Consultants. The training covered the basics on waste and water issues, and skills in public engagement and communication in regards to environmental topics.

- 16th December 2015: British Red Cross / European Commission Community Resilience Project – Community Resilience to Climate Change & Crisis

Whether climate change is a result of human influence or a longer natural

process the effects are becoming more common and are intensifying across

the globe. The result is more and more people are being adversely affected

by climate related crisis so the Red Cross and the FP7 DRIVER project are

working together to support solutions to help improve how this is

addressed. This workshop at RGU looked at community resilience to crisis.

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- 17th – 18th December 2015: GIS (Geographic Information System) talks

- 26th February 2016: British Red Cross / European Commission

Community Resilience Project – Personal Resilience to Climate Change & Crisis

This workshop at RGU, with students, staff and external stakeholders (such

as Aberdeen City council and SSE Networks) attending, looked at personal,

or psychosocial, resilience to crisis and how individuals can play a part in

becoming better able to handle difficult situations.

- 5th – 6th March 2016: Trip to the Findhorn Foundation

Findhorn Trip – Volunteer Group Photo A trip to the Findhorn Foundation for an immersive two days of activities and workshops on waste, water and interpersonal skills. 11 students and 1 member of RGU Go Green staff attended a weekend away and an overnight

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stay in this community which explores sustainability and cooperation with nature. Of particular interest to RGU Go Green in line with the waste and water themes and outcomes is the on-site waste water treatment facility at the Findhorn Foundation. The trip included a tour of this treatment facility, called the ‘Living Machine’, and a talk by one of the staff of Biomatrix Water. Other activities undertaken by participants on the trip included an eco-tour of the community overall, and a talk on ‘clean, clear communication’ with group building games.

Events The 34 events that we have entered in the Activities Grid consist of the following:

- 1st April – 5th May 2015: Facebook Mug Photo Competition - 22nd April 2015: “Plant a Tree” on Earth Day event - 09th - 23rd May 2015: Exam time water bottle giveaway - 16th September 2015: Welcome Fair information stall - 16th September 2015: Welcome Week cycling event - 21st September – 9th October: “Cartoon Ralph” climate change

cartoon exhibition - 24th September 2015: Freshers’ Fair information stall - 7th October 2015: Go Green Information Session for ‘Give it a Go

Week’ - 21st October – 9th December 2015: 8 Weekly Go Green Sessions - 9th November – 14th December 2015: Halls Waste Challenge

Photo Competition - 1st December 2015: Winter mini-fair - 1st – 20th February 2016: Halls Waste Challenge/ #loveyourcaddy

photo competition - 25th March 2016: Volunteer and Student Achievement Awards

Ball - 12 informational stalls held - 3 Student Halls visits to raise awareness about Halls Waste

Challenge More details below:

- 1st April – 5th May 2015: Facebook Mug Photo Competition

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Student and staff could take photos of themselves using their mugs and post it on the RGU Go Green Facebook page. The photo with the most “Likes” would win a voucher for food outlets on campus. Free reusable coffee mugs were given out from 1st April – 5th May 2015 to students and staff. Mug stalls held had additional information about waste and recycling.

- 22nd April 2015: “Plant a Tree” on Earth Day event This event took place during Earth Day and participants had the opportunity to plant a tree.

- 09th - 23rd May 2015: Exam time water bottle giveaway Free reusable water bottles for students and staff were distributed with the aim of raising awareness about water resources, encouraging the use of sustainable refillable bottles and to reduce the amount of bottled water being purchased. 9th May 2015 marked the start of the exam time. Students gathered outside of the RGU Go Green office, and beside the sustainable water fountain, to wait to start their exams.

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Students posting about water cooler and Go Green sports bottles on

Facebook (Screenshot)

- 16th September 2015: Welcome Fair information stall Welcome Week is the week when a lot of the new students arrive and move in to their student halls, and other students start returning. Welcome Fair takes place within Welcome Week. RGU Go Green held a stall at which items to encourage waste reduction, such as reusable water bottles, were distributed along with leaflets about upcoming events and volunteering opportunities. Volunteers from RGU:RAG (Raising and Giving), a group within our organisation that fundraises for local charities, raised awareness about avoiding food waste through the use of a recently purchased smoothie making bike.

- 16th September 2015: Welcome Week cycling event

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A cycling event using second hand bikes; promoting the message that reusing items can be linked to fun activities. The cycling event took place on campus with the purpose of enhancing the sense of community amongst students and staff at the university. The cycling trip was fully booked: 7 persons cycled and learned about RGU Go Green’s water and recycling emphasis and ongoing activities.

- 21st September – 9th October: “Cartoon Ralph” climate change cartoon exhibition

‘Cartoon Ralph’ exhibition on display in busy areas on campus to raise awareness of climate change issues. Local climate change group, Aberdeen Climate Action, loaned the exhibition to RGU: Union, which features a character called Ralph interacting in a humorous and educational way with climate change issues.

- 24th September 2015: Freshers’ Fair information stall RGU Go Green attended the Freshers’ Fayre with a large info stall, handing out information about environmental topics, promoting upcoming events, ongoing and new projects (including waste and water), volunteering opportunities and free Love Food Hate Waste (Synergie Environ Ltd.) “environmental and public engagement” workshop. Items to encourage waste reduction were distributed, such as the branded reusable water bottles. Two volunteers helped at our stall, enthusing passers-by especially on the parts of the project that they are particularly involved in and passionate about. Preparation for Freshers’ Week also provided several opportunities to brief the Freshers’ Teams and volunteers about environmental topics. This team then acted as multipliers of the sustainability message through their interaction with new students, which was a big part of their role.

- 7th October 2015: Go Green Information Session for ‘Give it a Go Week’

A drop-in session for people to find out more about our projects and how they can get involved. This included a presentation about the projects, a

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workshop session asking attendees to put forward ideas about what they would like to see the projects doing, and time for informal questions and mingling.

- 21st October – 9th December 2015: 8 Weekly Go Green Sessions The intention behind the sessions was to continue the momentum built up around Freshers’ Week, and from the first Go Green Information Session where there was a good turnout and lots of good ideas. These sessions were there for anyone who wanted to drop in and find out more about Go Green, discuss ideas or get involved in volunteering.

- 9th November – 14th December 2015: Halls Waste Challenge Photo Competition

The Halls Waste Challenge, launched in November, encourages students in halls to look at their habits regarding waste. The photo competition asked students to post photos of themselves and flatmates making conscious positive decisions about waste such as reusing or recycling.

Poster for Halls Waste Challenge photo competition

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- 1st December 2015: Winter mini-fair RGU Go Green had a quiz and leaflet about how to be environmentally aware through the winter and festive season and people could make and blend their own smoothies using the bike powered smoothie maker and take it away in a reusable RGU Go Green coffee cup. The Aberdeen City Council Recycling team held a stall with literature on waste reduction over the festive season, and handed out Christmas decorations made out of recycled materials.

Poster for a sustainable festive season

- 1st – 20th February 2016: Halls Waste Challenge/ #loveyourcaddy

photo competition This competition was part of the Halls Waste Challenge, and also tied in with the Aberdeen City Council Recycling Team’s citywide food waste photo competition.

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- 25th March 2016: Volunteer and Student Achievement Awards Ball

Go Green volunteers were awarded with a ball to celebrate their achievements. They received a certificate and a memory photo.

Go Green volunteers receiving their certificates

- 12 informational stalls held Informational stalls were held regularly so as to provide up to date information to the community.

- 3 Student Halls visits to raise awareness about Halls Waste Challenge

Halls visits at which free cupcakes or granola bars were handed out and students were given a leaflet and told more about the project.

Active Involvement

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The 110 people actively involved in our projects we have entered in the Activities Grid consist e.g. of the following: Attendees to training sessions:

- 27th April – 9th June 2015: 7 Weekly Upcycling Workshops: 7 - 22th September 2015: Upcycling Workshop: 2 - 6th October 2015: Cookery Workshop: 10 - 14th October 2015: Zero Waste Scotland/ Synergie Environ

training day: 2 - 4th November 2015: Cookery Workshop: 5 - 13th November 2015: S.E.E.D Consultancy training day: 8 - 16th December 2015: British Red Cross / European Commission

Community Resilience Project – Community Resilience to Climate Change & Crisis: 10

- 17th – 18th December 2015: GIS (Geographical Information System) talks: 6

- 26th February 2016: British Red Cross / European Commission Community Resilience Project – Personal Resilience to Climate Change & Crisis: 11

- 5th – 6th March 2016: Trip to the Findhorn Foundation: 11 Alongside the above, listed below is the number of attendees to the events at which it was possible to monitor numbers:

- 1st April – 5th May 2015: Facebook Mug Photo Competition: 2 - 22nd April 2015: “Plant a Tree” on Earth Day event: 0 - 16th September 2015: Welcome Week cycling event: 7 - 7th October 2015: Go Green Information Session for ‘Give it a Go

Week’: 16 - 21st October – 9th December 2015: 8 Weekly Go Green Sessions:

8 - 9th November – 14th December 2015: Halls Waste Challenge

Photo Competition: 0 - 1st – 20th February 2016: Halls Waste Challenge/ #loveyourcaddy

photo competition: 1 Number of surveys taken throughout project: 66

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Number of free reusable water bottles distributed: 3,000 Number of free reusable mugs distributed: 3,000 Number of free reusable lunch boxes distributed: 500 Smoothie Bike hires: 9 Meanwhile, several people were actively involved in our environmental schemes and activities. Online & Social Media

RGU Go Green online activities targeted and reached students

on campus as well as distance learning students

Twitter: Increase of 84 followers from 31/03/2015 - 08/03/2016.

Facebook: Increase of 186 followers on the RGU Go Green fan

page, and 38 Facebook friends on the Go Green profile, from

31/03/2015 - 08/03/2016.

Increase of 790 people on the RGU Go Green mailing list from

23/04/2015 - 08/03/2016

Volunteers The 73 people who volunteer their time and energy to keeping the project going we have entered in the Activities Grid consist e.g. of the following: 2 volunteers helping at the Freshers’ Fair Stall 1 volunteer created promotional videos for the project 1 volunteer created a case study on food waste and lobbied the university for energy saving in lecture theatres 1 volunteer worked on raising awareness about waste issues and water at her student halls. 22 volunteers took a stand against Climate Change through attending the Edinburgh Climate March

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11 volunteers took part in an inspirational weekend at the Findhorn Foundation 1 volunteer coordinates the waste reduction and food scheme and regularly helps out by running promotional activities for Go Green. 34 volunteers help to keep the waste reduction and food scheme running

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4. Outcomes

CO2e Outcome 1: Waste and Recycling: 154629kg CO2e

Unexpected outcome – changes that happened which we did not anticipate when we submitted our application.

We did not receive the waste data although we tried to research it, through contacting various stakeholders. Meanwhile, we carried out many awareness workshops and activities in halls and on campus, even the wider community. Eventually, we realised that we already exceeded our CO2e lifetime savings outcome by far only through saving bottles.

In Halls of Residence:

Reduce food waste was to be achieved through an education and engagement program, including cookery classes, marketing materials and peer to peer engagement activities

To raise awareness of food waste amongst students in halls we distributed marketing materials such as email newsletters to students in halls. We were fortunate that the University Reslife supported us with this project.

The Halls Energy & Waste Challenge was developed to raise awareness of energy saving and waste amongst students in halls. The Energy element reflected a previous challenge which was in place, supported by RGU staff members. The waste element was developed during the current initiative.

As part of the Halls Energy & Waste Challenge, emails were sent to students in halls informing them of the challenge and included a list of hints of tips as to how they could address the amount of waste they produced, how to dispose of waste correctly, and save energy. To complement this,

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halls visits were carried out during which members of the ‘ResLife’ team promoted the challenge verbally to each flat, whilst also distributing leaflets and locally baked goods. The ResLife team also put up posters about the challenge around the halls of residence. The halls visits tied into the RGU Go Green initiative’s aim to have peer to peer engagement activities, as the visits involved students in halls visiting other students in halls to engage them in food waste issues.

Two cookery classes were held at the ‘community flat’ at one of the halls of residence. These were popular and added much value to the project. All participants and the facilitator agreed that the workshops provide a valuable social experience where discussion about food and where it comes from is encouraged. 06/10/15 - The first cookery workshop is delivered, in student halls, with a focus on food waste reduction – 10 attendees 04/11/15 – The second cookery workshop is delivered, in student halls, with a focus on food waste reduction – 5 attendees

Activities in halls were also promoted through leaflets, info stalls and use of our social media pages – both ‘RGU Go Green’ and the halls specific, ‘RGU Go Green Halls Energy and Waste Challenge’.

Compost food waste was made possible because of new food waste bins in every halls of residence. New food waste bins are available in all halls, which make it a lot easier than previously for residents to compost their food waste. The existence of these bins has been highlighted throughout the year during activities like cookery classes, interactive halls visits, and Halls Waste Challenge photo competitions. Through awareness stickers, leaflets and activities we aimed to reduce the weight of recyclables being sent to landfill.

On Campus:

Investment by the University in new recycling and food waste bins made it possible to promote food waste composting. We encouraged students to separate food waste on campus through awareness campaigns.

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Students were encouraged to separate food waste through a number of measures. Several poster and leaflet campaigns took place around campus which aimed to make the existence of food waste bins more visible. Info stalls were also held regularly throughout the year to engage people in the issue.

The university, the university external catering company and student volunteers contributed to the development improved signage and stickers for food waste and other recycling bins.

The student community was both the target of the initiative and the delivery partner as student-volunteers were responsible for delivering the engagement and improvement activities (supported by the appointed staff members and elected officers). An important component in this was providing adequate training for both staff and volunteers to ensure that all 11,000 members of the on-campus student body were reached, engaged with and fully informed. A variety of training was held throughout the course of the project.

Two full day training sessions:

14/10/15 – Delivery of waste and water engagement workshop developed

with consultant and Zero Waste Scotland – 2 attendees

13/11/15 – Delivery of waste and water engagement workshop developed

with a consultant – 8 attendees

These training sessions relate directly to the CO2e Outcomes for both waste and water. The training days consisted of a portion of learning about environmental basics with a focus on waste and water, and a portion of learning about public engagement. This gave attendees the knowledge and the skills to engage others in waste and water issues, e.g. encouraging others to separate food waste. Through awareness stickers, leaflets and activities we aimed to reduce the weight of recyclables being sent to landfill.

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From 07/04/15 to 31/03/2016, we saved 8,993 water bottles through promoting one single water fountain, our Go Green water fountain. This number is mentioned in our water section but used for the waste and recycling CO2e kg calculations as water and waste are deeply interlinked, and saving bottles relates to reducing waste. On campus, there are 53 water fountains including the bottled water units that are exchanged through tap water units. If we use this data, we saved 70,401.92 kgCO2e.

Lifetime savings: We reached people in a learning environment (= university) who are open to learning in general. Therefore, we assume 15 years as lifetime savings. 70,401.92 kg C02e x 15 years = 1,056,028.8 kg C02e saved

CO2e Outcome 2: Water Resource Use: 2852 kg CO2e

Outcome Met or Exceeded

Aims:

- To remove all unnecessary bottle fed water coolers from campus

- To reduce 500ml bottled water consumption by 20% - To reduce 500ml bottled soft drink consumption by 10%.

Ways to achieve the above include:

1. Encouraging the use of the University provided mains-plumbed water coolers.

New visually attractive fountain was installed in an area with a high footfall. The fountain is surrounded by a colourful display and posters boards.

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RGU Go Green’ Water fountain

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The water fountain monitors the number of bottles filled. Below is a table of the findings:

Date Amount of Disposable Bottles

saved Increase

(number of bottles)

07/04/15 301

14/04/15 394 93

21/04/15 500 106

28/04/15 635 135

04/05/15 Water station broken due to

flooding Water station broken due to

flooding

04/05/15 Water station repaired Water station repaired

05/05/15 766 131

09/05/15

Start of exam time (Students gather around water station; Go Green hands out reusable

bottles)

Start of exam time (Students gather around water station; Go Green

hands out reusable bottles)

12/05/15 951 185

19/05/15 1177 226

23/05/15

Last day of exams (Afterwards, most students leave campus and staff on

annual leave)

Last day of exams (Afterwards, most students leave campus and staff on

annual leave)

26/05/15 1292 115

02/06/15 1368 76

09/06/15 1438 70

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16/06/15 1477 39

23/06/15 1514 37

30/06/15 1556 42

07/07/15 1626 70

14/07/15 1689 63

21/07/15 1766 77

28/07/15 1816 50

04/08/15 1863 47

11/08/15 1911 48

18/08/15 1980 69

25/08/15 2021 41

01/09/15 2065 44

08/09/15 2114 49

15/09/15 2178 64

22/09/15 2285 107

29/09/15 2433 148

06/10/15 2689 256

13/10/15 3086 397

20/10/15 3421 335

27/10/15 3820 399

03/11/15 4168 348

10/11/15 4455 287

17/11/15 4705 250

24/11/15 5027 322

01/12/15 5354 327

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08/12/15 5647 293

15/12/15 5941 294

22/12/2015 No data collected due to staff

annual leave

29/12/2015 No data collected due to staff

annual leave

05/01/2016 No data collected due to staff

annual leave

12/01/16 6250 309

19/01/16 6472 222

26/01/16 6561 89

02/02/16 6662 101

09/02/16 6904 242

16/02/16 7200 296

23/02/16 7528 328

31/03/2016 9294 1766

There is a significant increase in the amount of bottles filled after our engagement campaign begins and we start handing out refillable bottles (15-22 September 2015 was when we began to distribute the water bottles).

From 07/04/15 to 31/03/2016, we saved 8,993 water bottles through promoting one single water fountain. This number is used for the waste and recycling section as water and waste are deeply interlinked, and saving bottles relates to reducing waste.

2. Student volunteer engagement and training

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As mentioned above, the training we provided for students covered waste and water topics. More detail above.

3. Campus-wide engagement program centering on a. water distribution

i. This was carried out through posters, leaflets, info stalls and training for students

b. carrying refillable bottles i. 3,000 refillable water bottles made

using recycled materials were bought and distributed throughout the duration of the project

c. the health benefits of water when compared with fizzy drinks

i. Informing students while they collected their water bottles during our information stalls or in our office. Posters showed health benefits too

We promoted the use of water cooler units that use tap water instead of bottled water, the University recognised this, removing bottled water cooler units.

Overall, we saved 31018.68 kg C02e through distributing our reusable recycled water bottles and other reusable material (this data is deeply interlinked with saving kg C02e through reducing waste). This is even excluding additional data from the:

On-campus catering company: The company informed us that their system failed to give the correct data for water and fizzy drink bottles

Kg C02e estimation of impact regarding behaviour change: This was hard for us to estimate

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Lifetime savings: We reached people in a learning environment (= university) who are open to learning in general. Therefore, we assume 15 years as lifetime savings. 31018.68 kg C02e x 15 years = 465,280.2 kg C02e saved

Community Outcomes

Community Outcome 1: Social & Volunteering

Outcome Met or Exceeded

Two aims were outlined for how to achieve this outcome:

- To recruit volunteers for waste management and water resource activities as well as general PR activities.

Recruiting volunteers:

Volunteer recruitment was identified as an important factor in the delivery of the CO2e outcomes. Measures undertaken to recruit volunteers include info stalls, leaflets, posters, events and trainings.

Throughout the project, student staff members were hired to help carry out 12 promotional and informational stalls. These stalls provided a good opportunity to promote volunteer roles.

The training that was offered on waste and water, public engagement, climate change and GIS software provided opportunities for those interested to find our more and help shape their own volunteer activity.

The RGU: Union Student Development & Volunteering Co-ordinator was able to offer our volunteers incentives such as rewards and nationally accredited certificates for a certain amount of volunteer hours. Student

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Development & Volunteering Co-ordinator and Graphic Designer worked to create attractive volunteer web pages that included the RGU Go Green project roles.

Up to date information on volunteering opportunities were displayed on the ‘Go Green’ social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

- To support volunteers to create and maintain environmental societies at the University

Go Green weekly sessions were held. This was not a society but had the aim and intention of empowering a student group to go on further. Some individuals who attended these sessions went on to take individual action to raise awareness amongst their fellow students and tackle waste issues on campus. At the beginning of 2016, students were also encouraged to get involved with the national ‘People & Planet’ network. People & Planet are an organization for students interested in taking action on environmental issues and world poverty. We created a Facebook ‘RGU People and Planet’ group to provide a platform for RGU students to come together and share thoughts and news stories on issues such as world poverty, human rights, and environmental justice. They could also use this group to plan campaigns and actions that would address these issues, and also to communicate with people from the wider national People and Planet network. By affiliating with People & Planet British network for students, RGU students gain contacts and support to result in stronger campaigns. RGU Go Green encouraged students to actively get in touch with the People and Planet organisation themselves and become key members of an RGU group affiliated with People and Planet with the option of ultimately becoming a student society independent of RGU Go Green. There are a number of existing societies that are not explicitly environmental in nature, but who had reason to link in with RGU Go Green activities. Supporting existing societies and groups to integrate sustainability into their activities proved to be a beneficial way of raising awareness and increasing engagement. By working with well-established

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societies that have a number of members, and whose activities generate interest, RGU Go Green was able to reach a wider audience. Examples of this include the following:

- Lending of the ‘Smoothie Bike’ to RGU: Union’s Raising and Giving team – Smoothie bike with RGU Go Green branding is being used and is visible, benefits of healthy, conscious food sourcing is highlighted, benefits of cycling and of reducing energy usage is implied.

- Lending of the ‘Smoothie Bike’ to various student societies, including the Physiotherapy Society and the Diagnostic Radiography Society, as well as to the ResLife team and to students holding a healthy eating or sustainability themed event in relation to their course work. Smoothie bike with RGU Go Green branding is being used and is visible, benefits of healthy, conscious food sourcing is highlighted, benefits of cycling and of reducing energy usage is implied – all this to new audiences that might not have been reached through existing RGU Go Green activities but who have been attracted to the event through e.g. the ties they already have with the student society, or a shared interest with the society.

- Meeting and discussion with two communications design students who came to us for advice and support on ‘green’ campaigns for their coursework

- International Tourism and Hospitality Management student came to us for advice on sustainable tourism for his coursework

- Fashion Management student with a particular interest in sustainable fashion approaching us to discuss a sustainable fashion app she would like to create as part of her coursework.

- Media students with an interest in increasing their portfolio working with RGU Go Green to develop promotional films.

- Supporting the continued existence of the Organic Vegetable Bag Scheme, the Cycle Hire Scheme and the Allotment Group – all RGU student and staff led initiatives, previously supported heavily by RGU Go Green with previous funded projects, with an environmental aspect.

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Community Outcome 2: Economic

Outcome Met or Exceeded

To link up volunteers directly with RGU: Union staff to ensure that they are maximising their benefit from volunteering along with the benefit to the community. Training would be provided on key areas such as waste management, public engagement, environmental issues, and behaviour change.

To deliver this outcome RGU Go Green worked with two consultants who developed bespoke training for our volunteers: Synergie Environ Ltd., representing Zero Waste Scotland, and S.E.E.D consultancy (websites www.synergie-environ.co.uk and laurabonaura.wix.com/permaculture respectively).

Both of these trainings provided participants with an understanding of key issues surrounding waste issues and water use. Individuals were able to move forward better equipped with tools to engage the rest of the community in waste and water issues. Other training was developed for community members as the project progressed, in response to interest from students and offers from local groups: 16/12/15 - British Red Cross / European Commission Community Resilience Project training delivered to members of the community

17-18/12/15 – GIS (Geographic Information System) talks delivered to

members of the community as part of the ongoing initiative for volunteers

to get involved in creating an interactive environmental map for the

campus. 26/02/16 - British Red Cross / European Commission Psychosocial Resilience Project training delivered to members of the community.

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This is the second training from Red Cross, and this one had a focus on psychosocial resilience, whereas the last one focused on community resilience.

Volunteers were able to maximise the benefit from volunteering through linking up with the Union’s Development & Volunteering Co-ordinator. The Development & Volunteering Co-ordinator manages a system for logging volunteer hours, so that individuals have a record of how many hours they volunteered, and are able to work towards goals and receive rewards for their hard work. The Development & Volunteering Co-ordinator also keeps volunteering web pages up to date with RGU Go Green opportunities, so they are clearly visible for those looking for volunteering opportunities, and also is able to link those interested with other environmental groups throughout the region who are looking for volunteers. 110 persons were actively involved in our projects, though many more helped indirectly and in the background. 73 volunteers helped in environmental projects and activities, leading to 339 volunteer hours.

Community Outcome 3: Environmental

Outcome Met or Exceeded The activities described previously relating to waste management and water resource use would lead to the significant impacts as laid out in the needs/ baseline:

Environmental performance will be increased for the whole university through reduced CO2e generation and reduced waste generation. These reductions will lead to secondary reductions such as fewer lorry collections for waste (leading to better air quality and less congestion), and fewer plastic bottles etc. Individuals who become engaged with these programs are also likely to contribute in other ways, including keeping the campus tidy and litter free along with lobbying for further improvements.

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Our successful CO2e and community outcomes indicate that there was a behavioural shift within our community. Each of our outcomes implies a greater environmental cause which our community was exposed to.

5. Learning and Reflection Attendees to events, engaging with people and promoting activities: Sometimes it can seem like a mystery why one event attracts many attendees, and another no one shows up. This was consistently evaluated throughout the duration of the project, to shed some light on these mysteries. A success of note are the cookery workshops delivered in collaboration with the Community Food Initiative for the North East (CFINE) – at both of which there was an optimal number of 5-10 attendees. Both the CFINE representative and RGU Go Green noted that one of the most powerful parts of the workshops comes from the conversations that stem discussions and encouraging feedback amongst the attendees; personal stories of food from home countries, food waste saving tips, thoughts on topics like animal agriculture and climate change. It is good to see that these workshops have provided a platform for this kind of communication. Positive engagement came from a practical task carried out together, as opposed to attendees simply being talked at. This kind of event encourages a sense of community amongst attendees. Engagement is low when no sense of community around the brand has been built. Only 2 persons attended the upcycling workshop on 22th September 2015, an event designed for an optimal number of at least 10 people, even though it had been promoted through various online and offline communication channels. It is possible that the low numbers are due to the event not being presented in such a way as to appear accessible to the community. However, it is important to note that despite the low attendance, there was quality engagement with those who did attend.

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‘Go Green Sessions’ were held regularly for a while. There was generally a low attendance to these sessions but it was positive to see that amongst those who did attend there were people from a range of interests and backgrounds with an interest in environmental topics. When attendance dropped to zero we stopped running them. Communication Channels: Social Media There was a Facebook event created for the Plant a Tree event on 22 April 2015 (Earth Day). Though 15 people clicked that they would definitely join the event, nobody confirmed their attendance through email as requested. It can be concluded that a popular Facebook event does not necessarily reflect actual attendance numbers, but at least a popular Facebook event will raise awareness about the initiative and environmental activities. 19 people reacting to the event online indicated an increase in awareness and popularity of RGU Go Green. As the project progressed and the information available was evaluated, it was concluded that community engagement on social media was low, despite the implementation of a basic social media plan. The number of social media posts was reduced (down to 1 or 2 a week rather than 1 or 2 every day) to prioritise other tasks and other engagement techniques. It was after this evaluation that a Facebook ‘group’ page was created, separately to the Facebook fan page. It was hoped that a ‘group page’ would be more interactive and see more input from the community. The group aimed to provide a platform for the community to discuss issues and plan activities together. It was part of a series of efforts to hand over ownership of the projects to the community. On the fan page it is unlikely to see a community post unless it is in response to a competition that is running or something similar, so it was positive to see community members posting independently on this group page, not in response to something else but approaching the group with fresh ideas. Communication Channels: Face to face communication/ posters and leaflets

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RGU Go Green held two full day training sessions for students, the first of which attracted two attendees and the second of which attracted eight. The difference in numbers could be attributed to various factors, including time of year, day of the week, amount of time available to promote to students (who are away over summer). The promotion channels and methods remained similar for both events, except that PR staff were available from around mid-November, so were able to hold one info stall with a focus on attracting attendees to the second workshop. Attendees’ to both workshops have continued to be involved in the project and this can be attributed to the quality of the trainers and to the fact that one of the Go Green team would attend the training and be a point of contact for local initiatives whilst getting to know the attendees. It appears that this personal contact increases the possibility of continued involvement. PR staff was valuable because having people out and about and directly talking to people increases engagement. These stalls also provided the chance to try promoting things without the use of many leaflets, and instead just a poster on display and a conversation. This proved to be just as successful as distributing many leaflets, and saved a lot of paper. Leaflets have a decreased chance of being an effective communication tool unless an individual is already aware and engaged with the project. It was also found with the stalls that it’s good to choose two key things to promote each time (rather than overloading people with information).

Working with two different consultants to develop each training was a positive experience. Both trainings were comprehensive and engaging. Staff members and community members now have a more thorough understanding of key issues surrounding waste issues and water use, and are better equipped to use information in an effective way when engaging with the rest of the community. Choosing the right thing to promote at the right time – knowing your audience: During the students’ exam time, a large table with reusable water bottles was set up right beside the RGU Go Green water fountain, which also

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happened to be in the area where many students stood to wait to be called for exams. It was discussed whether an activity or an info stall should be running while students were waiting for their exams to start. However it was decided that it would not be effective to overload students with environmental information when they have to concentrate on their exams. Instead, students were offered free recycled and reusable water bottles they could easily refill at the water filling station, which was a subtle and friendly way of also increasing popularity and awareness of RGU Go Green. Students expressed their thanks for this because they did not feel “bombarded” with information and still learned that bottles could be reused. They also welcomed the water filling station which started working next to the RGU Go Green office in March 2015. In contrast to the above is an info stall that took place at one of the busiest student engagement times of the year – at Freshers’ Fair when all the students, old and new, are arriving and haven’t started classes yet – at which the team attempted to gather responses to a survey regarding waste and water behaviours. The team was not so astute in gauging audience behaviour this time, and it was soon discovered that so many students passed the info stall in such a short time that it was impossible to carry out the survey. The Freshers’ Fair is better for handing out engagement materials and for short, engaging, chats. It was concluded that is it better to do the survey with people during calmer periods, instead of during Freshers’ Week when it is very busy with stalls and people won’t stop long enough to take the survey. Survey results were gathered through info stalls during less intense periods, but still in areas with a high footfall. Existing Schemes: This Organic Vegetable Bag Scheme existed as part of previous funded projects and continued to run as a volunteer led cooperative with support from RGU: Union. It has been useful to promote current projects through other existing schemes such as this one. Staff Changes: In the finance and project plan allowance was not made for the time and financial resources required for re-recruitment. The possibility of this

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should be factored in in future. The project did have a staff change which meant that the project was without a Climate Change Project Officer for 1 month. As well as this loss, handover time must also be considered. Connection between our 2 project themes: Waste and water topics are in many ways interlinked with each other. Reusable water bottles, for example, act as a marketing tool to raise awareness about free available water resources in Scotland but also will encourage people to refill their bottles with tap water instead of purchasing plastic bottles. Avoiding plastic bottles means reducing waste too. The connection between water and waste is very strong here. Thus, much of the project activity addressed both themes at the same time. Leaving time for flexibility/ responding to community demand: Once the RGU Go Green name started getting more well-known people were approaching the team for services/ advice/ collaboration. It is good to factor time for this into your plans, as if you are able to respond to demand the community will become more engaged. Support from University: There were important lessons to be learnt in regards to correct use of the various communication channels. Different individuals responded better to emails or to phone calls or direct contact. There were some problems in collecting the necessary data to help us monitor the success of the project outcomes. The primary source of data was accessible only through university staff with time constraints that were sometimes hard to get hold of. Thus, sometimes monitoring relied on the more limited data available. Dedicated staff: RGU Go Green could have benefitted from a dedicated environmental or sustainability officer in place at the University to support our aims. As we worked closely with university staff in the development of some aspects of the projects, and depended on staff for some elements such as data that would help us calculate the CO2e savings associated to the project

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outcomes, a dedicated environmental officer on the university staff could have been beneficial. We were lucky to have university staff support, and to be able to discuss shared aims at Sustainable Advisory Group, but we also came across limitations in terms of the amount of time university staff with many other responsibilities were able to dedicate. [A bit about what a university environmental officer would do and why that would be beneficial. And how it would be beneficial for RGU Union and RGU to have such a staff member in place.] We put forward the idea of such a member of staff to the University Principal but there has been no confirmation of a commitment to this.

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6. Finance & Administration

The Go Green project was granted £73464.32 by the Scottish Government Climate Challenge Fund in April 2015 to cover a 1 year funded initiative focussed on two key projects: sustainable water consumption and waste. This allowed RGU: Union to fund:

2 fixed term staff positions dedicated to coordinating the project (1 full-time Climate Change Manager and 1 part-time Climate Change Project Officer)

Employment of ad hoc and fixed term part-time graphic designer staff (ad hoc during summer 2015 and part-timer generally 3 hours per week Sept 2015 – March 2016)

Employment of ad hoc PR staff (generally 6 hours per week from October 2015 – February 2016)

Environmental awareness material, e.g. recycling and water awareness stickers

Sustainability and behaviour change workshops, climate resilience sessions and environmental trips

Recycled and reusable material, e.g. mugs and lunch boxes made out of recycled chewing gum, and sport bottles to refill at the Go Green and University water fountains

Awards for our volunteers, e.g. student and volunteer awards ball

And much more!

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The Climate Challenge Fund was the only source of funding for the project over this time.

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7. Legacy After the 1 year funded projects with a focus on sustainable water consumption and waste, 'Go Green' leaves behind:

Sanitised and heavily promoted water fountain with display showing how many water bottles filled with it, and related signage to encourage use.

3,000 reusable water bottles and 3,000 reusable coffee mugs distributed amongst the community to encourage continued use over disposable alternatives.

A community of skilled volunteers who can act as multipliers

Interactive Student Halls Waste Challenge – manual for future volunteers and the University

Promotional material for volunteers to raise awareness about sustainable water consumption, and waste and recycling

Facebook page and group – potential platform for continued discussion between community members

Strong local, regional national and international links: City Wide environmental group, People & Planet, NUS, Indonesian research and higher education institutions

Student case study – published in NEXUS magazine

2 stunning short films created by a volunteer media student that are available through the RGU: TV Youtube channel, and continue to be played on plasma screens around the university

Interview with media student in NEXUS magazine

A 'Smoothie Bike' used to make smoothies through cycling that will be left with the Union and available for community groups to use.

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8. Thank You

We would like to say a big thank you to all the groups and individuals who contributed to the initiative:

Robert Gordon University

Aberdeen City Council (particularly the Aberdeen City Council Recycling Team) Gillian Forshaw, North East Scotland College and Karena Wetherall, NESCOL Students’ Union Aberdeen Centre for Voluntary Organisations (ACVO) The Community Food Initiative for the North East (CFINE) The Robert Gordon University 'Bulletin', particularly Daniel Diack The Robert Gordon University Communications team, particularly Anna Duthie and Jonathan Shackleton Donny McCormick, the Robert Gordon University ResLife Coordinator Love Food Hate Waste Marina Fraser, Synergie Environ Ltd. Laura Copley, S.E.E.D Consultancy The Findhorn Foundation The Community Food Initiative of the North East, particularly Sarah Robertson

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Dimo Peev, Veg Bag Scheme coordinator Corina Andrian, Director and producer of the Go Green promotional films Aberdeen Climate Action Stuart Oram, Garthdee Field Allotments Association RGU Cycling Club

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[back cover]