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Students start the year off green

The event made quite a splash, generating new enthusiasm for sustainability at the School, inspiring new leaders of these student societies and providing a chance for environmentally-oriented students to meet each other.
 

Last year, over 1,800 actions were taken in areas like energy use, procurement and waste, potentially saving over 100 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted (using Carbon Trust calculations). This year, workbooks are due to be completed on 14 March 2014, so it's not too late to gather a team and sign up your office. For more information on how to get started, please contact LSE Sustainability Assistant Vyvyan Evans at v.evans@lse.ac.uk
 

The MAC, formed of 11 representatives from UK universities and businesses, advises the EAUC board on policy matters and represents EAUC member interests. This gives LSE a stronger voice in environmental policy debates in the sector and at national level.
 

Jon Emmett's reflections on the collaboration can be read in the Sustainability at LSE blog here.
 

Interestingly, Pooran pointed out that often these standards are not considerably better than the status quo, indicating that they still permit over-consumption of resources. Instead, he argued that it is more useful to use the framework of 'One Planet Living', whereby resource use is considered in light of living within the means of the resources present on Earth. You can read more about the principles of One Planet Living here.
 

The external auditor, Dr Margaret Rooney, commented in her report, 'The EMS continues to be very well integrated into LSE's overall commitment to sustainability...This is a very positive result." Click here to read the School's Environmental Sustainability Policy.

This year, £20,000 is up for grabs. The competition is open to LSE students and staff and all projects must take place on the LSE campus or halls of residence. To apply, visit www.sustainablefuturessocietylse.com. The deadline for applications is 3 February 2014.
 

There are many successes to report from the last academic year, so make sure you get a copy, which should be available online and in print in February 2014. 
 

LSE is a leader in toilet modernisation, being one of the first London universities to install these low water-consumption loos. The Estates Division needs your feedback in order to expand LSE's toilet revolution. So ladies, please take the time to visit the loo in the Peacock Theatre, and gents, please take the time to visit the one in OLD.B15. You can send your feedback to Estates at estates.follow-up-jobs@lse.ac.uk  

 Recycling round up

The start of term at LSE is a great time to think about correct waste sorting and reduced waste contamination on campus.

To bring attention to waste issues at the School, a three-day waste-sorting challenge was held in the Library Escape area, with prizes on offer including Fairtrade chocolate and water-powered clocks. Students were challenged to see who could sort a selection of waste into correct bins in the quickest time.

This allowed members of the Sustainability Team to talk to students about putting waste in correct streams and to dispel some common myths about where certain types of waste go in our highly-sophisticated bins. In particular, it was highlighted that there is a big difference between polystyrene and paper cups - paper cups can always be recycled if free from food or beverage. Overall, the LSE students proved to be a smart bunch, since waste sorting among students was of a high standard. However, this needs to continue on a daily basis. All it takes is for everyone to take a little time to put waste in the correct bin, so please take care when sorting waste.

Over the last two months, two suppliers have come on board with greening our supply chain. Vegetable supplier Fresh & Fruity are collecting and re-using the large boxes they deliver, and Simple Simon (chilled food) now do the same. In Jacqui's own words, "onwards and upwards!" LSE is now looking for other suppliers to follow the lead of these two companies in working together to cut costs, cut waste and green their supply chains.  

 Green alumni

Rupesh Madlani (BSc Economics, 1999)

Tell us a bit about yourself?
I run a firm that provides advice to governments, corporates and high net worth individuals on sustainability. We are currently supporting the launch of a EUR200m climate smart agriculture fund, one of the first of its kind with dedicated sustainability metrics. The fund manager has on average two decades of operating experience, with a global perspective.

How has your time at LSE led to your current research interests?

My theoretical work at LSE on carbon management demonstrated to me that there were market-based solutions to climate issues, something that I carried with me into my professional career. At the time though it was the internet, not sustainability, that captured the imagination of many students.

LSE was the foundation to my joining PriceWaterhouseCoopers and joining their corporate finance business. Once I had completed my professional training as a chartered accountant that then led me to investment banking at Lehman brothers, where the opportunity to get into sustainability and raising money for corporates first began.

How has this interest in sustainability carried on since leaving LSE?

During my banking career I was involved in raising $4bn for companies in the sector and ranking first in the 2013 institutional investor survey of asset managers. A lot of the intellectual and personal skills that I developed at LSE were significant drivers for the success that my team and I achieved.

If you could offer one piece of advice to LSE staff and students, what would it be?

LSE is one of the world's finest educational establishments and the experiences and friends you make will shape your career and your future. LSE graduates through social entrepreneurship really have the capacity to change the world, so make the most of every second!

Four hundred pounds has been generously donated to sustainability projects in LSE residences by Gailarde Ltd, who supply bedding and crockery to LSE halls. Of this, £160 has been allocated to enhance the garden at Rosebery Hall, where native plants and hanging baskets will be planted to improve the area for students and staff, and contribute to local biodiversity. The work will be led by green-fingered Rosa Gil, Front of House Manager at Rosebery Hall, Angelo Garcia, the hall's gardener (both pictured) and Dr Julie McCandless, hall warden.

The fund still has approximately £240 left to be allocated for sustainability initiatives in halls of residence so if you have a proposal in need of funding please contact Residences Sustainability Officer Dan Reeves at d.reeves@lse.ac.uk    
 

Gailarde supply LSE residences with thousands of pounds of bedding and crockery each year, and therefore have a significant role in halls procurement and waste generation. To investigate how LSE might green its supply chain, Dan Reeves, Residences Sustainability Officer, Davindra Ratra, Northumberland House Manager, and Mark Papworth, Purchasing, visited Gailarde in July.

During negotiations with Gailarde's suppliers, a range of measures were agreed to reduce the waste produced by their student bedding and crockery packs in the future. These include a reduction in the number of 'boxes in boxes' at the manufacturing stage for 2014-15 student packs, new printed wording on the boxes to encourage recycling of all materials in the existing LSE waste streams, and messages on their new website and in emails to student customers reminding them to recycle all packaging in the residences recycling bins.

While this effort makes loads of progress to reducing futures waste at LSE, don't forget there is also space in each hall of residence to collect and reuse gently-used items, as part of the LSE Relove scheme. 

  Advice