School of Dentistry Sustainability Project
As part of the School of Dentistry’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, ‘Project Decarbonise’ was launched early last year to develop an understanding of the School’s environmental impact.
As part of the School of Dentistry efforts to reduce carbon emissions, ‘Project Decarbonise’ was launched early last year to develop an understanding of the School’s environmental impact.
Chiefly, the project uses data supplied by the Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences (ILCaMS) to monitor and assess employees methods of commuting, helping to understand the carbon footprint of the School. Staff travelling to overseas conferences was also included in the data to ensure the figures produced are as accurate as possible. This information can then be used to demonstrate the need for more sustainable forms of transport to work and reducing the amount of staff air miles where possible.
Using the universities recent travel survey, ILCaMS staff were open to considering different travel methods to the University’s campuses: 48% of ILCaMS staff were interested in an electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme, 21% were interested in a car sharing scheme and 45% were interested in active travel incentives. Data such as this is integral, as it helps the School, Faculty, and University in deciding what types of travel-related incentives would be beneficial for staff members.
Along with employees travel distance, it is important for us to understand our energy usage as well. As part of the university’s wider efforts to track energy usage, an energy audit has been undertaken for the William Henry Duncan Building in the main office and the lab areas. The audit will help to identify equipment that is particularly energy-hungry, providing valuable data to inform future decisions made by the School.
The main goal of the project is to provide actionable outcomes so we can take greater steps toward becoming a carbon-neutral institution. Small changes such as utilising pre-existing schemes, like the university’s own cycle-to-work scheme, can make a big difference over time.
If you study at the School of Dentistry and have any ideas as to how the school can help to reduce its carbon footprint or waste, please get in touch with the project lead christina.birch@liverpool.ac.uk. Alternatively, you can leave some general feedback here.