|
|
8 December 2015 |
|
 News
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
 |
|
LSE Divests LSE
has committed to reduce its investments in coal and tar sands, and to avoid
investing in companies engaged in tobacco manufacture and indiscriminate
armaments, as a result of reviewing the School’s Socially Responsible Investment
(SRI) Policy. The School will also seek to collaborate with other universities
to develop new socially responsible financial products, making divestment more
practicable for other institutions too.
This move supports our transition to the low-carbon economy, and reflects
LSE’s outstanding academic contributions on climate change and the environment,
as well as the strong environmental performance of the School campus.
LSE doesn’t invest in companies directly, but invests LSE’s endowment in
funds which select a portfolio of companies that represent a cross-section of
the market - usually including fossil fuels. The new SRI Policy states that LSE
will move investments into funds such as
FTSE4Good UK or
Global Indices, which track indices that match LSE’s ethical objectives - whilst
moving away from funds that invest LSE’s endowment in coal and tar sands.
The four-month SRI review saw extensive consultation with students, staff,
LSESU, the LSE Divest campaign group, governors and alumni, notably during a
lively town hall debate held on Monday 5 October. The new policy was approved by
LSE Council on Tuesday 24 November.
The full SRI Policy is
available here.
|
|
| |
 |
|
Green Week gets creative
Green Week 2015 was held in November, and celebrated all things
environmental, both within LSE and in the wider world.
The Climate Creative Competition invited students and staff to creatively
express what climate change means to them. We had loads of amazing entries, from
poems to paintings, and even a Climate Change Blues song. These were exhibited
at a great launch night with performances from spoken word artists Inua Ellams
and Rachel Long.
Muting Zhu (UG) and Ashley Low (PG) won tickets to Paris for the COY11 youth climate change conference happening alongside COP21, and our staff winner Pawel Opaska won a deliciously fragrant Lush toiletries gift box.
The film screening of the Story of Stuff short films series was also a
success, with interesting discussions about our addiction to consumption; and in
case you missed it, take a look at photos of our
Binside Out event, where LSE’s waste took over the Library Plaza to
demonstrate the importance of reducing our waste. Just remember: Reduce, Reuse,
and Recycle!
|
|
| |
 |
|
Green Impact fosters new projects
Green Impact was launched on Friday 18 September, and so far over 25 teams
are taking part. We also have 20 enthusiastic and talented student Green
Impact Project Assistants helping our teams this year.
Because of the new flexible project-based structure of green impact, lots of
amazing creative projects and events have been popping up around LSE, from the
‘LSE Skip’ unwanted item swap scheme from the Department of Management, to a new
biodiversity garden taking shape in Rosebery Hall. Keep an eye out for
sustainability projects near you.
Got an idea? Why not assemble a team and register at
greenimpact.org.uk/lse.
For more information on how to get involved, please contact Sustainability
Engagement Officer, Madeleine Dwyer, at
m.dwyer2@lse.ac.uk.
|
|
| |
 |
|
Residences round-up
Student Switch-Off campaign 2014-15 saw a great result, with an 8.4 per cent
reduction in energy use during October, November and February (compared to
2010-12), saving £9,087 in energy bills.
Northumberland Hall saved the most, winning a Ben and Jerry’s
ice cream party. Get involved in 2015-16 through the
LSE Student Switch-Off
Facebook Page.
Last year, residences won 11 Green Impact Awards; this year we
are looking forward to seeing new sustainability projects in residences
including a water-saving scheme and biodiversity garden in Rosebery Hall and a
food waste reduction project in Bankside.
|
|
| |
 |
|
Reuse Relove Recap The
annual Relove scheme was held across a record number of halls this year,
collecting donations of good quality unwanted items from students moving out of
halls, and giving them a new life by donating some to charity and selling others
at low cost to new students.
1,074 bags of items (weighing 8.6 tonnes) were collected,
raising £16,808 for the British Heart Foundation, and £1,012 for the
LSE Sustainable Projects Fund. Thank you to all the students who
volunteered, donated, and took part.
|
|
| |
 |
|
New Carbon Management Plan LSE is currently
drafting a 2016-21 Carbon Management Plan. It will set the School’s energy and
carbon strategy for the next five years - a period which will usher in major
change for the LSE campus and community.
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
Notices
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
 |
|
New bike pump Flat tyre on
campus? We’ve installed a new bike pump outside the Library so you can cycle
happy.
More pumps and bike racks will be installed in 2016.
|
|
| |
 |
|
Campus waste reduced
Well done to everybody who helped reduce LSE waste on campus and in halls in
2014-15. Waste has dropped by 14 per cent from 2013-14: 250 tonnes, or 20 kg per
person.
This was down to people sorting their waste better, reusing items from the
Centre Buildings move, and more accurate measurement of our waste.
|
|
| |
 |
|
Books This term LSE sent over 5,000
unwanted books to charity Better World Books.
|
|
| |
 |
|
Green Flash
Sign up for our fortnightly newsletter for all the latest sustainability
news, events, and opportunities in LSE and beyond.
|
|
| |
 |
|
Cooking oil into biodiesel
LSE Catering send all waste cooking oil to be made into biodiesel.
1,877 litres was processed this term, saving over 4.3 tonnes CO2e in avoided
petrol.
|
|
| |
 |
|
Printing LSE saved 665,206 sheets of paper
in 2014-15 (that’s about 67 trees), by introducing a ‘login-to-print’ system in
the Library and elsewhere.
That’s a saving of over 8.5 tonnes of CO2e.
|
|
| |
 |
|
LSE Green Week cycle safety
Dr Bike and the police came to LSE during Green Week, fixing
people’s bikes and raising awareness of cycle safety courtesy of Cantillon, the
Centre Buildings demolition contractors.
They serviced 26 bikes, security-marked 33 bikes, and gave 27
people the chance to see what it’s like inside a lorry cab.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
60
Second Interview
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
with....
Madeleine Dwyer I am the
Sustainability Engagement Officer at
LSE. I recently started working here
in August after having completed my
undergraduate degree in Experimental
Psychology at the University of
Bristol.
What does your job involve?
My role here encompasses many
things but I mainly work on managing
Green Impact, which is an
environmental accreditation scheme
that LSE takes part in every year to
encourage and reward staff for
taking environmentally friendly
actions.
This year, because of the changes
we’ve made to Green Impact at LSE, I
will be overseeing lots of
interesting projects on campus that
will impact on students too - so
keep an eye out!
Another aspect of my role is to
engage and work with students.
During LSE Green Week I worked with
the Student's Union to organise the
LSE Climate Creative competition and
exhibition event, joined with LSE
Residences to deliver ‘Cycle
Confident’ training sessions on
campus, liaised with Cantillon
(Centre Buildings demolition
contractors) to host a cycle safety
event, and organised a film
screening of The Story of Stuff
series on resource consumption.
What do you enjoy most about
your role?
I really enjoy engaging with
staff and students and giving them
the tools and guidance they need to
get involved with sustainability.
One of my favourite things to do,
when I have time, is to post
interesting articles on our Twitter
feed about sustainability issues and
what we can do about it, so make
sure you follow us
@SustainableLSE.
The projects and actions taken as
part of Green Impact have a massive
cumulative effect on the
environmental impact of the School,
both reducing the negative and
increasing the positive. My
favourite thing to see is the
creative projects that staff and
students come up with to deal with
different issues; from clothes
swapping events for sustainable
fashion, to LSE reuse schemes to
reduce waste.
If you could offer one piece
of advice to LSE staff and students,
what would it be?
If there is an issue you care
about, get volunteering! It’s a
great opportunity to learn new
skills and meet like-minded people.
Not only that, but it is great for
your CV and will undoubtedly help
you stand out when applying to jobs
- especially if you’re planning on
working in the third sector.
If you could live anywhere in
the world where would you go and
why?
If I could live anywhere it would
be the highlands of Scotland. It is
my dream to be a countryside ranger
in Scotland, and maybe have my own
small holding/homestead there one
day. I just think it is the most
amazing landscape with awesome
wildlife, people, and gloriously
unpredictable weather. I have
recently returned from a trip to
Orkney, and plan to explore the
North East highlands next - I can’t
wait to go back! |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
Advice
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
 |
|
Want
to know more?
If you have any questions about the sustainability work going on around
campus or would like to become involved, please contact
Madeleine Dwyer, Sustainability Engagement Officer, at
m.dwyer2@lse.ac.uk or 020 7106 1177.
Alternatively visit
Facebook or Twitter.
|
|
| |
|
|
