Final Project Report Transition Heriot-Watt Climate Challenge Fund

Final Project Report Transition Heriot-Watt

Climate Challenge Fund

Name of project, organisation and CCF number

Transition Heriot-Watt, Heriot-Watt University, Our Low Carbon Community.

CCF – 2138

Starting Point

Transition Heriot-Watt (THW) was initially formed in January 2011 and became fully operational, following CCF funding for one year to promote sustainable travel at Heriot-Watt University (HWU), with the recruitment of a co-ordinator in May 2011. THW represents the HWU community (“the community”) at the University’s Edinburgh Campus, seven miles west of Edinburgh city centre. It consists of academics, professional services, under- and post-graduate students and researchers, numbering around 8,200 people. Transition Heriot-Watt's (THW) aim is to reduce the carbon footprint of the university community at the University. THW's objectives are to reduce the number of car and bus journeys and encourage cycling and car-sharing; reduce the amount of food wasted on campus and at home; reduce energy use on campus and at home; and to help the community re-use their resources more. The project received Climate Challenge Fund support to continue for a three year period from 2012 to 2015. During funding period the project’s target outcomes were:

Climate Challenge Fund Final Project Report Form

January 2014 page 2

Reduce emissions of CO2e by 576 tonnes during the project (2,125 tonnes lifetime) as a result of the project activities. Establish a vibrant and enthusiastic group of Energy Ambassadors to reduce energy usage in homes and within the community

campus. Encourage consumers to change their behaviour in the purchase of local and seasonal food and drink and to make more

efficient use of the ingredients. Create a cycling culture within the HWU community, reducing transport poverty by offering new viable and attractive alternatives

to car ownership, thereby reducing the environmental impact of the car. Encourage a more social community through enabling cycling groups and activities. Encourage the re-use of clothing, household items and bicycles in the campus, offering free items to students and staff, saving

the community money and gaining a greater sense of community through re-use.

Headline achievements

(This will be your executive summary and might be useful for press releases, celebrations with your community or letters to your supporters. It is a good idea to put this section together last! Once you have gathered information for the rest of the report, your headline achievements will probably jump out at you.

What goes here?

The highlights, the things you are most proud of and/or that the funders would be most interested in. For CCF, we would like to see your CO2e reductions included here.

Where do I get this from?

From the rest of the report.


January 2014 page 3

Section to be finalised

Creating a cycling culture on campus Over the course of the project THW has successfully helped to create a cycling culture on campus. By making cycling as easy and convenient as we can and removing the barriers to cycling, THW has moved towards making cycling a mainstream activity. Here is a summary of the services we offer: A central bicycle hub right here on campus, maps, travel planning advice, bicycle maintenance training, bike fix drop in, bike wash, bike breakfasts, bike tool kits in 6 locations throughout campus, cycle 2 work scheme, cycle training, bike hire, guided rides, electric bikes, Dr Bike sessions, cycle books and maps to borrow, anti-theft bike marking, flat fix Friday puncture repair workshops, shower facilities, bicycle parking, pop up info sessions, cycling social media, bicycle user group, fresher’s events and more. All of this is offered for free

Gardening group Transition Heriot-Watt had faced some initial challenges earlier in the project, in 2012, to establishing a raised bed garden on campus. Developing a small space enabled the project and supporting University departments to develop trust and confidence in the benefits of this part of the project. We established over 77m2 of growing space and now are moving to a larger space where we can become a more established and permanent part of the University community

SSN Conference?

Outputs


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Food&GrowingCookery classes

At the start of the project June 2012 there was a focus on cookery workshops. While bookings were high and the overseas students were particularly keen to learn about local foods and using leftovers, participation on the day could be low and so we looked to expand our food related activities to a wider audience. The project focused more on growing food and developing a regular local market.

Gardening

A survey in late summer 2012 (almost 100 respondents) revealed a keen interest from the community for a community garden. This option was explored in great detail and eventually the project was able to secure a strip of ground to locate 6 small raised beds made of recycled plastic. This proved enormously successful, support from the University grew and 7 wooden raised beds were constructed from scratch by student and staff volunteers. We will be using a polytunnel, to be located in the central area of the campus, to help extend the growing season and will have a larger hut to use when we move to our new location where we can hold indoor training sessions and small events for the gardeners and other community members

Here we have a link to interviews with some of our gardeners: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuGD8WINRzccwK6sIkj6NZw


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At the end of the project, in March, we had to find another location due to the construction of the National Performance Centre for Sport at the HWU Edinburgh Campus. The University is keen to retain and develop the gardening project and they have identified a new site. We are in the process of planning the move.

Local Market

This is a small but popular monthly activity. Breadshare, a community run organic supplier have a regular stall and we have a veg bag stall, supplied by Whitmuir Organics. Sheila Galbraith Designs is also a regular feature selling hand-made jewellery and crafts. We have a stall holder from the village adjacent to the campus attending for special markets such as Easter and Christmas – they sell handmade gifts and some cakes. A staff member who designs and makes her own cards and comes along to our activities had a stall at our Christmas market. A local cycle shop owner had a stall selling discounted bike accessories for staff and students.

Foot fall in this area is high, up to 1000 on a busy term time day, but of course not all are there to buy as it is a main thoroughfare to the lecture theatres and eateries. It is an ideal space to raise awareness of many of our activities. Many of the regular customers are on our mailing list and connected to us via Facebook and Twitter.


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Wild food and herbs walks A local herbalist took various groups around campus showing them the wild foods that were available on campus. These sessions engaged with Fresher’s during our 2014 wee party in a field, engaged older adults from the wider community as part of the University’s Active Age promotions, Summer school participants as part of our carbon café engagement and also for staff during lunch times as part of Watt Walks. Some of the products participants made included a popular wild garlic and nettle pesto, a simple herbal hand cream, calming bath remedies, all which could easily be made by hand at home.


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Reuse

Halls clear outs

We diverted a considerable amount of waste from student halls. This was started in 2012, was time and staff intensive project but very productive. It was an efficient move for Transition and Heriot-Watt to work in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation for 2013 and 2014.


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Repair with Remade in Edinburgh

We know students have limited incomes but may not have the time or skills to fix things that they could easily repair. We discussed some ideas with Repair in Edinburgh and the computer repair workshops they ran on campus were always overbooked. We find many of our activities are best promoted ‘live’ on the Bridge Link, a main thoroughfare to the lecture theatres and eateries.

Sewing repair

These helped develop some ‘lost’ skills and were surprisingly popular with men on campus. Most bookings were made by those passing by earlier in the sessions but some pre booked with specific problems they wanted to learn how to fix. Bags, buttons, zips and hems were fixed and some of the participants had never sewn anything before.



Used coffee grains

These were surprisingly popular and we frequently received orders over the Summer and Autumn months. One of the catering staff who grew up in Hungary told us coffee grains were one of many homemade products before manufactured goods became more available.

“It is a fantastic scheme that reflects positively on the University’s attitude to its carbon footprint.” Feedback from a staff member collecting used coffee for his dad’s garden.



Other

Fresher’s Event – ‘Wee Party in a Field’ We held a Fresher’s Week event in September 2014 to engage with new students and raise awareness of us and some of our projects. The event was themed on the local community, with local bands playing music, and local food, drink, face-painting and jewellery stalls. We engaged with students through our Transition stall, tandem bike races and ‘make your own wild pesto and herbal bath treats’ sessions with a local herbalist. We also ran a quiz centered around our projects and values, had relevant posters and flyers and encouraged people to sign up to our mailing list and social media with small competitions. We successfully engaged with over 100 new students at the event, gaining 111 new subscribers to our mailing list, 15 new likes on Facebook and 20 new followers on Twitter (note that number of new social media followers was low compared to mailing list, showing that face to face engagement proved much more successful than social media). The event proved to raise awareness of us as a group with students coming up to us at later events having remembered us from the Freshers event. We recruited three student volunteers to help with the event, these have continued to attend and help with our events since.



Mindfulness classes

A regular weekly class of staff and postgraduates. Always well attended and there were a core group of regulars and many regular drop ins. In our busy 24/7 lives it is not possible to be aware of our unconscious habits. These habitual and unconscious responses can lead us to commute, consume, shop, cook, eat in ways that may not be ideal for us, our community or the environment. These sessions helped participants address these responses.

Keep Cups

We supported our hospitality department in promoting keep cups to reduce disposal cup use on campus. The very colourful combinations were most popular. Our hospitality department logged the number of keep cups used and donated 5p to a Wildflower Fund for the University.



Travel/transport Fuel Efficient Driving sessions

For those who have little choice but to drive to campus we offered this training. Participants were all surprised at the immediate and simple changes they could make to their driving that would reduce their fuel costs and subsequent CO2 output.

It’s amazing that something so simple can save you so much money. It’s bad habits that end up using your fuel. I wish I could keep doing it every couple of years to refresh.

Other low carbon driving initiatives have included promotion of the low carbon “Evolution” motor show, including the opportunity for a student to act as “The Sprig” at the event (http://www.transition.hw.ac.uk/the-evolution-motorshow-through-the-eyes-of-the-sprig/) Car-sharing – Liftshare Transition Heriot-Watt helps to promote and co-ordinate the University’s Tripshare Group, for example via stalls at Fresher’s events. At the time of writing this report the HWU Tripshare Group has 159 members, a significant increase from approximately 50 members in 2012. Only one “Budi” team is formally registered via the Tripshare web portal, although many other users are understood to be trip-sharing without having registered as Budi teams on the system. THW will continue to promote Tripshare in 2015-16, for example via the roll-out of the “myPTP” personalised travel planning system, and to promote the formal registration of “Budi” teams among users in order to better track utilisation.

Cycle to Work Working with the University’s Human Resources and Finance teams, Transition Heriot-Watt helped to co-ordinate the implementation of a Cycle to Work scheme for University staff. The scheme, which offers discount access to new bicycles for University Staff, was launched in November 2014. During the initial phase of the scheme promotional activities were relatively modest, until the scheme had bedded-in and any process issues resolved. Despite this, 17 staff had made use of the scheme at the time of writing of this report, with a further 5 live applications. With the scheme now operating efficiently it is intended that Transition Heriot-Watt and the University will work with suppliers to re-promote the benefits of Cycle to Work to staff during late spring 2015.



Refurbished community building – the Bike Bothy The former outhouse adjacent to the old walled garden has been unused for many years, occasionally used by the student sailing society as a store for their unwanted kit. Heriot-Watt agreed to make repairs to the building, including repairs to the slate roof, rewiring, joinery work and disposal of unwanted items. It is in a quiet, easily accessible part of the campus. The old walled garden was used as a car park but now this is becoming incorporated into an expanded sport facility on campus. The subsequent car park/road closure has meant the bothy benefits from a car free area for cycle inductions and training.



Before After (new photo to be included in final version)



Bike Maintenance Workshops These ran sporadically throughout the course of the project with consistently good numbers. Those who participated wanted to learn how to repair rather than replace bicycle parts or bicycles. The topics that were covered in these workshops ranged from wheel truing and brake adjustments to basic puncture repair and gear adjustments. We also covered how to clean and service bicycles in order to extend their lifespan to reduce the need to buy new ones.



Bike Pool Scheme This has been a great success and a venture that is growing in popularity every day. Staff and students can borrow a bike for free for up to 5 days to try their commute, run an errand or go to a meeting for example. Once a bike user is registered they must complete and induction (see above) and then they are given guidance on how to book a bike. Bikes are available to be hired during business hours but can be taken over a weekend as desired. The bike pool scheme offers a convenient alternative to car travel for local journeys and gives people a chance to get back into cycling by borrowing an electric bike too. The bikes have been used for social rides, cycle training, guided rides, staff meetings, staff team building days, security night watch, and other events on campus such as the colour run etc.

Bike Pool Scheme Inductions This is a weekly drop in session where staff or students who are interested in starting to cycle can learn how to use the bike pool scheme. They are taught how to correctly fit a helmet, use the gears and brakes on our pool bikes and are offered cycle training. They also have the chance to pick up free maps, ask questions and see the range of accessories we offer to hire.



Bike Breakfasts Despite running these in the quiet months of the university calendar, our bike breakfasts proved very popular. Drinks, fruit and Croissants from a local baker in Gorgie were offered to anyone who had cycled in to HWU between the hours of 7.45 and 9.45am. Maps and flyers about our other services and events were available and the cycling officer was present to check bikes over, answer questions and offer advice. At one of these breakfasts, local bicycle retailers were on hand with bikes and products to reflect what is available on the cycle 2 work scheme.

Cycle Friendly Employer award Transition Heriot-Watt has been instrumental in the process of HWU gaining their Cycle Friendly Employer award. By auditing the cycling facilities on campus and promoting them to aspiring cyclists, THW has helped to create a cycling culture that is recognised by Cycling Scotland. The implementation of the cycle 2 work scheme with the cooperation of THW and the HR department has helped hugely in HWU gaining this award. See http://www.transition.hw.ac.uk/heriot-watt-university-is-a-cycle-friendly-employer/ and http://www.cyclingscotland.org/news/cycle-friendly-campus-award-partner-universities-announced



Energy

Energy Ambassadors There was a very enthusiastic group of students volunteering for training to be energy ambassadors, however there was very limited uptake of people wanting to have a visit and an energy audit done of their home, and the scheme was ultimately not progressed further due to these issues.



Energy advice/drop-in Two staff members of Transition Heriot-Watt trained to become energy advisors but despite promotion there was no uptake for the service and due to the limited potential for impact this element of the project was not further progressed.

Student Switch Off Campaign (With NUS) Transition Heriot-Watt co-ordinated a Student Switch-Off inter-halls energy reduction competition in the winter of 2012-13. Student engagement with the project was very good, with highlights including: 284 students signed up as Eco-Power Rangers (18% of 1600 students living in residences) 58 photos submitted in picture competitions 16 attendees at the Student Switch Off Ambassador training session 249 students took part in the climate change quiz



Despite the success of the project with respect to engagement, the overall measurable impact was limited to a 0.3% reduction in electricity consumption. This is understood to have resulted from the colder than average spring of 2013, which resulted in some use of electric heaters to supplement heating in some of the buildings – please see the attached “Student Switch Off Campaign Summary 2012-13” for details.



Sustainable Procurement Improving the sustainability of procurement process outcomes has the potential to significantly impact CO2 emissions associated with goods and services procured by the University community. A significant project for Transition Heriot-Watt involved the appointment of a temporary Sustainable Procurement Officer for 12 weeks in the spring and summer of 2014. The post was based in Procurement Services working with the Head of Operational Procurement, but was paid for by THW and centred on the further development of the sustainable procurement practices employed by the University. The main purpose of the position was to help existing staff in Procurement Services to embed sustainable procurement principles into their procurement activities. The specific objectives of the position were to develop a sustainable procurement training programme for all staff involved in the procurement of goods and services and to improve the University’s performance in the Flexible Framework, a self-assessment mechanism which allows organisations to measure and monitor their progress on sustainable procurement over time. Significant outputs from the work included: Development of a draft Sustainable Procurement Strategy: the strategy describes how Heriot-Watt University, will conduct its purchasing activity to support the achievement of sustainable development and meet the objectives of the (existing) HWU Sustainable Procurement Policy. The implementation of the strategy will ensure the University meets and maintains Level 3 of the Flexible Framework.

Sustainable Procurement Training Strategy: a four tiered training strategy was developed to improve all staff’s knowledge of the principles of sustainable procurement and to comply with the requirements of the Flexible Framework. The main outputs from this work were two training packages which were tailored for Procurement Services staff and devolved buyers respectively. Each training package consists of a PowerPoint presentation, with supporting exercises and relevant case studies. Both training courses were fully trialled before being rolled out to all Procurement Services staff and approximately 8 staff with devolved buyer status. The University is planning to continue the roll-out of the training across devolved buyers within all schools and sections during the next 12 months.

Flexible Framework Implementation: the requirements of the Flexible Framework were used to guide all of the work completed. All of the requirements needed to achieve and maintain Level 3 of the Flexible Framework are now included in the Sustainable Procurement Strategy. As well as using the Framework as a guide, the tool was run in its entirety during July 2014 to document the University’s current level of achievement with regard to sustainable procurement.



DEFRA's Sustainable Procurement Prioritisation Tool: the tool was run on the entire University's non pay spend. This exercise was completed collaboratively between Procurement Services staff and the University's Energy & Environment Manager. Proc-HE Level 1 data was used for this exercise and some of the spend areas highlighted were: Catering Supplies and Services, Estates and Buildings, Travel and Transport, Janitorial Services and Supplies, and Vehicles. The output from this tool will be used to identify high risk contracts and suppliers and to inform how the University conducts its procurement activities, ensuring staff resources are used efficiently.

Communications Materials: a range of material has been generated to support the promotion of sustainable procurement throughout the University and with suppliers. In addition to training material and case studies being available on the Heriot-Watt University’s SharePoint site, draft documents have been created for communication with both staff and suppliers. These documents promote our sustainable procurement policy and strategy and answer a range of questions that people may have relating to new procedures and practices.

Greenhouse gas emissions associated with procured goods and services can constitute a significant proportion (this may be as much as 60% or above) of total emissions. The improvement of sustainable procurement practices within the HWU community therefore offers the potential for significant long-term emissions reductions.



Sample slides from Sustainable Procurement training



Outcomes

Energy Conservation - We will establish a vibrant and enthusiastic group of Energy Ambassadors to reduce energy usage in homes and within the community campus. Community Outcomes: N/A

CO2e Outcomes: The project’s original target was for energy ambassadors to target 50 student and staff households per year seeking to save them 25% on their energy usage. This was to save 123,750 kWh electricity (73,467 kgCO2e) and 768,750 kWh gas (212,351 kgCO2e), giving a saving of 285.8 tCO2e.

Achievements

Energy Ambassadors

In practice, the energy ambassador project was retired due to poor demand for the service, although 22 energy ambassadors were trained and behavioural changes among this cohort are likely to have resulted in significant (but unquantified) reductions in CO2 emissions. The Ambassadors may have been reluctant to visit homes to deliver the energy saving advice. But also none wished to have an audit done of their own home. There was little response from the wider university community to have the Ambassadors visit their homes to deliver energy saving advice.

Two of our team trained to offer energy advice on campus so we could offer this as a service as part of the Transition Heriot-Watt project however we had no uptake on this.

Student Switch Off

A Student Switch Off campaign was run in conjunction with NUS during the 2012-13 session. Although successful in terms of engagement (please refer to the Output section above for more information), the project report indicated that a relatively modest reduction in energy use of 1809 kWh (1,066 kgCO2e) resulted. The limited measurable impact of the campaign was likely to have



been caused by the unusually cold spring of 2013, which resulted in use of supplementary electric heaters in the student residences. The broad engagement with the project will have resulted in behavioural changes in the resident student population to produce further emissions reductions but these are unfortunately difficult to estimate.

General Energy Awareness

Throughout the duration of the project, THW staff have promoted energy efficiency via channels including the THW website, Fresher’s events and the Lean & Green newsletter.

Total Energy Conservation CO2e Outcome

Quantified energy emissions reductions are limited to 1 tCO2e resulting from the Student Switch Off project, but behavioural changes resulting from the training of Energy Ambassadors, awareness raising during the Student Switch Off campaign and the ongoing promotion of energy efficiency by THW will have resulted in further significant reductions in emissions.

Energy Conservation Status: Unexpected outcome / Outcome not delivered

Cycling & Transport - Building on the outcomes from the original CCF project, we will create a cycling culture within the HWU community, reducing transport poverty by offering new viable and attractive alternatives to car ownership, thereby reducing the environmental impact of the car. Encouraging a more social community through building cycling groups and activities. Community Outcomes: The Bike Pool scheme has been in use since late May 2014 and has 230 people registered and 125 people having completed an induction, therefore able to borrow bikes. The 5 electric bikes that we have are now part of a wider project where 6 FEHE from across Edinburgh lend bikes to staff and students to travel between campuses. The bike storage space has been expanded and a university bike hub has been created called The Bike Bothy. The bike bothy offers many services including bike maintenance workshops, travel planning advice, free maps, free anti-theft bike marking, a meeting point for social rides and more.

Regular workshops and rides take place and increasingly more people are dropping in to the bike bothy to ask advice or borrow bike kit.



The bothy is slowly becoming a place that is recognised for all things cycling and there is a sense of community when the social rides start and finish there.

By having a central hub for the cycling activities, a cycling culture and community is naturally born.

The cycle training has given individuals the confidence to make the journey to campus, which might include at times busy city roads. One woman who was delighted with the support given was interviewed for an article in the 2013 Lean and Green.

Frequently students or staff members arrive at the Transition office requesting a puncture or other repair needs fixed. They can be helped to get it fixed but will be instructed so the next time they have the confidence to do this themselves.

Students who borrow a bike from the bike pool scheme might have cycled in their home country or some time ago. They can borrow a bike, gain support and advice on dealing with traffic and use the relative safety of the campus to practice.

CO2e Outcomes: The project’s initial cycling target was to convert 100 people per year to cycle rather than take the bus, and 100 to cycle rather than drive their own car. Based on an average commute to Heriot-Watt of 10km per day, and an average attendance on site of 120 days for students per annum and 200 days for staff, estimating 75% of participants will be students, 25% staff, this resulted in an emissions reduction target of 184.8 tCO2e.

Achievements

Quantification of the impact of THW’s activities in relation to improved uptake of sustainable travel options is complicated by differences between the travel survey methodologies employed within the University community in recent years. Transition Heriot-Watt commissioned an independent travel survey of the University community which was completed in late February 2014. The survey utilised an effective methodology and gained in excess of 1,500 responses. Repeat surveys utilising the same methodology should assist the quantification of modal shifts in commuting behaviour and hence assist the quantification of reductions in commuting related greenhouse gas emissions.

In the absence of comparable repeat travel survey data, estimated figures are included below in relation to the savings achieved by individual sustainable transport initiatives which have been managed or heavily co-ordinated / promoted by THW:



Tripshare.

The HWU Tripshare group currently has increased in membership from approximately 50 to 159 members during the period of the project. The group only has one registered “Budi” team - registering a Budi team facilitates the tracking of emissions reductions but is not required to engage in a car-share. Assuming that the increase in membership has occurred linearly during the period of the project, approximately 36 members have joined per year.

2012-13: 36 new members



Average during three year period of project: 72 new members. Assuming that 20% of members have found matches (equally split between staff and students) = 14 members; 7 staff and 7 students.

Staff commute approx. 217 days per year. Assume car-share of two individuals, therefore when car-sharing, driving 109 days per year.

Average single occupant car commute (from 2014 survey) is 14.2 miles, 28.4 miles return journey.

Saved miles therefore = 7 staff x 108 days x 28.4 miles = 21,470 miles.

Using Average Medium Car factor (0.37604 kgCO2e/mile) = 8,074 kgCO2e/yr

Over 3 years = 24.2 tCO2e.

Students commute approx. 134 days per year. Assume car-share of two individuals, therefore when car-sharing, driving 67 days per year.

Average single occupant car commute (from 2014 survey) is 14.2 miles, 28.4 miles return journey.

Saved miles therefore = 7 students x 67 days x 28.4 miles = 13,320 miles.

Using Average Small Car factor (0.30811 kgCO2e/mile) = 4,104 kgCO2e.

Over 3 years = 12.3 tCO2e.



Bike Pool Scheme

The THW Bike Pool scheme was only launched in summer 2014 and continues to attract new users. The scheme is currently being heavily promoted in regular staff and student newsletters.

Car journeys substituted: 10 journeys of approx. 10 miles. 100 miles. Assume Average Medium Car factor (0.37604 kgCO2e/mile) = 38 kgCO2e.

Bus journeys substituted: 62 journeys of approx. 10 miles. 620 miles, or 998 km. Using Local Bus factor (0.14986 kgCO2e/passenger km) = 150 kgCO2e.

Fuel Efficient Driving Training

Fuel efficient driver training included assessment of drivers’ techniques before and after the training, allowing the training provider to produce a report of the annual emissions saved for each driver. 2013 – total 2391 kgCO2e. Savings during 2013-14 and 2014-15 therefore 4,782 kgCO2e. 2014 – 4761 kgCO2e.

Cycle to Work

The Cycle to Work scheme was launched in November 2014. Although relatively recent and as yet not heavily promoted, the scheme has resulted in 17 members of staff receiving new cycles, with 5 further staff currently in-process. Owing to the early stage of the scheme an emissions reduction figure has not yet been calculated.

Cycle Friendly Employer / Campus and Promotion of Sustainable Travel Options

THW’s activities in promoting cycling and sustainable transport options are broad-ranging and include engagement with the community via a number of channels. The measures implemented have resulted in the award of Cycle Friendly Employer and Cycle Friendly Campus to the University and the Edinburgh Campus, as described more fully in the “Outputs” section of the report. These initiatives will have impacted behaviour and resulted in CO2 emission reductions, but until further travel surveys and cycle count surveys are completed these improvements are difficult to quantify.

Total Energy Cycling & Transport CO2e Outcome



The total quantified emissions reduction from the categories above is 46.3 tCO2e. This figure will not capture the full range of travel-related emission reductions achieved by the activities of THW, and travel related reductions are in general difficult to quantify. Repeat travel surveys using a standardised methodology (as employed in Jan 2014)and repeat cycle counts will allow modal changes in travel to be tracked more accurately, providing improved data for the future calculation of reductions in travel related emissions.

Cycling & Transport Status: Outcome met or exceeded (Community) / Outcome not fully quantified (CO2e)

Item re-use - Re-use clothing, household items and cycles in the campus, offering free items to students and staff, reducing CO2e emissions, saving the community money and gaining a greater sense of community through re-use. Community Outcomes: A free shop was set up during Freshers week and through word of mouth, student visits to the shop were much higher than expected. It was not possible to measure visitor numbers though this was initially attempted using clickers to count entry at the door but we needed the staff resource to manage the event.

We could probably run a computer repair clinic every week; the sessions were always oversubscribed, mainly from students seeing the stall as they passed by. One staff member was about to purchase a new computer as the hinge cost was almost the cost of a new laptop. This hinge was easily repaired by her in session.

The amount of materials left in collection bags and collection bins by students is evidence of their wish to participate in re-use. There were a number of male students at the sewing repair events and this is encouraging of a willingness to learn new skills. One person wanted to pay the tutors to do it for him, but then he did return to do it himself.

CO2e Outcomes: The 2012 application to CCF included a target of achieving a reduction in CO2e emissions of 94,057 kg as a result of initiatives to re-use electrical items, clothing and textiles. In addition, a target was included to reduce food waste by 3,000 tonnes resulting in a reduction in emissions of 12,120 kgCO2e. This resulted in a total waste and re-use target of 106.2 tCO2e.



Achievements

Halls Reuse Project

The Halls re-use project in 2012 and the THW-supported British Heart Foundation (BHF) campaigns in 2013 and 2014 resulted in significant re-use of materials and the avoidance of land-fill.

The 2012 re-use project resulted in the re-use and recycling of:

Small WEEE (Irons, toasters, rice cookers etc) 76 kg

Large WEEE (Microwaves, TVs etc) 338 kg

Textiles and footwear 493 kg

Steel 201 kg

Plastic bottles (Average rigid plastics used - HDPE and PET) 55 kg

Wood 13 kg

Paper 2 kg

Card 6 kg

Books 45 kg

Aggregates 228 kg

Glass (colour separated) 52 kg

This resulted in a net emissions reduction of 13,679 kgCO2e – please refer to the attached file “Halls Re-Use 2012 Calculations” for details.

Data from the 2013 and 2014 campaigns was provided direct from British Heart Foundation using data from their donation tracking systems. Reports received following the campaigns from BHF indicated that the following total weights of donations were received (presented together with CO2e figures calculated by BHF):



2013: 2,390 kg of mixed donations / 24,318 kgCO2e reduction compared with landfill

2014: 3,088 kg of mixed donations / 31,427 kgCO2e reduction compared with landfill

Repair and Remade in Edinburgh

Within the last 3 months of the project, three electronic equipment repair workshops were undertaken with Repair and Remade in Edinburgh. During these workshops 24 laptops and 11 mobile phones were repaired. Assuming an average laptop weight of 2.5kg and an average mobile phone weight of 120g = 61.3 kg WEEE, equating to 109 kgCO2e reduction compared with landfill. Skills disseminated during the workshops have the potential to produce significant long term emissions savings.

Sewing Repair

Workshop in January 2015. 6 items repaired, assumed total weight of 10kg, equating to 223 kgCO2e reduction compared with landfill.

KeepCups

THW supported the KeepCup scheme in 2014, with more than 260 cups in circulation within the HWU community. Assuming that each KeepCup has been used to avoid 10 disposable cup sales, the scheme has avoided at least 2,600 disposable cups weighing 47kg, equating to approximately 72 kgCO2e reduction compared with landfill. Lifetime savings from this scheme have the potential to be much more significant.

Coffee Grinds

Coffee grinds from the University’s Hospitality Services were made available for community members to take for use as garden compost. 120kg of grinds were taken, saving approx. 68 kgCO2e reduction compared with landfill.

Total Item Re-Use and Food Waste CO2e Outcome

The total emissions reduction from the initiatives described above was 69.9 tCO2e, however the waste reduction and recycling awareness raising activities of Transition Heriot-Watt will have contributed to recent significant increases in Heriot-Watt University’s general recycling rate and therefore reduced emissions further than the quantified emissions reductions described above. In addition to the specific schemes listed above, THW has promoted resource efficiency via the group’s website, promotion of the University’s “Recycle & Reward” reverse vending system, via Fresher’s events and via the “Lean & Green” newsletter. The increase in recycling



rates at the University is due to a number of factors including improved processes operated by the University’s contractors and it is difficult to produce an estimate of the specific impact of THW’s promotional activities within the improved recycling rates, but given the size of the University community and the quantities of waste produced, it is certain that THW’s activities will have yielded further significant (but unquantified) waste-related reductions in CO2e emissions.

Item Re-use Status: Outcome partially delivered.

Food Projects - Food waste reduction, food supply & awareness to enable people to waste less food and look at how they purchase and consume their food and drink, creating a social movement for sustainable food and packaging, reducing the spend on food by not wasting it, and raising knowledge of how and what to eat and drink, making a healthier community. Community Outcomes: Monitoring the impact of food waste / food sustainability projects poses a significant issue due to the number of students living off campus and the lack of data systems that can easily be referred to with respect to food waste arisings etc.

However the consumption of locally produced organic food has been popular with the regular organic bread and veg bag stalls are very popular and often sell out during term time. Veg bag sales were quite high immediately and have increased from 30 to 40 bags, 420kg total over veg bag 6 stalls. Our Christmas market had 7 stalls and was very popular.

The cookery class bookings were always fully booked. However on the day of the event, many did not turn up. Many participants were from overseas and enjoyed meeting new people and learning about Scottish food.

The development of a community growing space was very popular. The group of 24 students and staff developed a confidence in working with their hands they would unlikely have accessed. They all took part in sawing, painting and using a drill and other hand tools. The learning from the organised growing training and their own experience continues as the links they might have learnt in a formal environment in school and university suddenly have a practical relevance.

Several staff and student growers joined the mindfulness group. Several of the growers are part of the cycling group. Some of the gardener’s went to the growing area for lunch and were looking forward to the group expanding and organising social events such



as demonstrations and veg and seed swaps.

One market stall holder is from the village immediately adjacent to the University. One is run by a University employee who sometimes sells cards and we have a staff member from the marketing team who volunteers to make up recipes that use the vegetables in the veg bags and also produces soups etc to taste at the stall.

We have had people coming to the market saying this is the highlight of their week!

The direct contact with students has enabled us to explain the issue of seasonality, e.g. why organic eggs are not on sale over winter, why we only have root veg in the bags in winter(this is probably one of the most frequently piece of passed on information – why there are so few vegetables available in the late winter months

Food Projects Status: Outcome partially delivered.

Sustainable Procurement CO2e Outcomes: The Sustainable Procurement development work undertaken with THW support by the temporary Sustainable Procurement Officer in 2014 has the potential to substantially reduce the “Scope 3” emissions associated with goods and services used by the HWU community. A mechanism to capture information relating to the improved sustainability of outcomes under the improved sustainable procurement processes is under consideration.

Learning & Reflection



Organisational structure

The project changed considerably when funding moved from one part-time post to a four person project. The relationship between the project staff and the steering group evolved and it was useful to have an external review to highlight areas for development.

Funding bid

The initial funding bid was written in a very short time scale which did not enable full consultation with those departments in the University where partnership working was crucial to ensure project delivery. This meant when the funds were awarded the project delivery was initially quite slow until relationships were established.

The initial project outcomes were in some areas perhaps optimistic – for example the energy target hinged on successful completion of the Energy Ambassadors project, but in practice uptake of the energy audit and advice service was very limited. This is realised with hindsight as the challenges of delivering in a relatively new environment become known, but stresses the importance of researching successes in similar communities.

Project delivery

Our social media activity has been ideal to raise awareness, gather support and encourage participation but we have found face to face activity generates a lot more sign-ups and interest as we are able to describe and explain what we are doing.

When promoting our activities our name ‘Transition’ doesn’t always provide the direct link that would be useful in making the connection to our areas of activity, but the project’s profile has increased significantly within the University.

Participation in our activities does however have limits; parts of our project; the cycling project for example, have exceeded our expectations in terms of raising awareness of cycling activity, participation and use of facilities. Habits take some time to change and might require wider changes, for example more/safer cycle lanes that Transition Heriot-Watt has limited influence over.

We find that our projects can take a much longer time to deliver than expected. This may be partly due to working within a relatively large, process driven institution. It could also be because university terms are relatively short and it is a transient population and so we have a new market to reach each year and sometimes each term as short-term overseas students arrive. It could be beneficial to



focus on a narrow area of project delivery that has wider support to bring about change at a deeper level.

It can sometime be a challenge to generate a continuous group of volunteers. It is not entirely clear why this is but unusually for a University there are no environment-related student societies on campus that other Universities have found helpful to work with.

Language and cultural barriers do also exist when working within a multicultural / multilingual community. Many students have a very good grasp of English but common Scottish housing issues such as dampness or draughts are not known about and fact sheets have not always been helpful.

The development of positive relationships between Transition Heriot-Watt and University departments and management has been invaluable towards the effective delivery of our project.



Finance & Administration

The 2012-15 Transition Heriot-Watt budget awarded by the Climate Challenge Fund was £388,500, which remained essentially unaltered for the duration of the project.

One of the project’s largest challenges was in establishing a project within the complexities of a large process driven institution. The appointment of a dedicated part-time resource for finance and administration was invaluable in helping to release staff time for project delivery, and has assisted the collation of accurate financial records. The group has received further administrative support from University staff, assisting administrative workflows within the University’s formalised procedures.

A review of the project held in early 2013 was very useful in helping to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the steering group and the project group as the project itself made the transition from a much smaller initial project which was active in 2011-12.

The project began in 2012 with 1 project coordinator and 2 full time development officers (cycling and food) with 3 paid student interns. In 2013 this developed to include 1 part-time communications support officer, using the funds previously allocated to the interns. Dedicated communications support has been invaluable in maintaining effective communications with the HWU community, via a number of channels including social media (e.g. Twitter and Facebook), items within regular HWU newsletters, THW’s own “Lean & Green” newsletter and the maintenance of an interesting and engaging THW website.

Staff recruitment does unfortunately takes up valuable time during a relatively short term funded project, but is managed effectively via THW staff using the University’s HR processes. Where appropriate members of the THW Steering Group assist with or are directly involved in the recruitment process. Retaining project staff for the full duration of a fixed term project can be an obstacle to project continuity; THW has had to undertake recruitment processes for the Project Coordinator role twice during the period of the 2012-15 project.

Throughout the project, THW staff have received significant support from CCF personnel including direct support from Development Officers and the Climate Challenge Fund Manager. Attendance at gatherings and support courses has also provided useful information to assist the management of the project and has helped good-practice sharing with other CCF funded projects.

Supporting information



PromotionandCommunications

Social Media Facebook and Twitter have proven useful in engaging with both staff and students and we have used it for advertising events and maintaining a dialogue with our followers. The number of people engaged on social media has increased through the project. Facebook likes have increased steadily with over 100 new likes each year, from 125 in April 2012 to 449 by the end of March 2015. Twitter followers have also increased in number since the account was created in August 2012 with 342 followers by the end of March 2012. Social media seems to be the best way to communicate with other groups (particularly student groups on campus) with the groups such as the Student Union, Sports Union, Student Advice Hub, Postgraduate Society and Cycling Societies regularly sharing our posts. A lot of staff also respond well to our Twitter posts and use twitter to tweet questions to us regularly. Social media has also been a good platform for sharing our experiences and photos with our most popular posts being photos of events (932 people engaged with the photos of the Christmas local market).

Newsletters

Regular mail chimp newsletter We currently have 656 subscribers to our mailing list and we send out regular e-newsletters with updates on the project, achievements, links to blogs about events and details of upcoming events. The number of people subscribed to the mailing list has increased significantly over the past year with almost 300 new subscribers since April 2014. This is most likely due to both the placement of a newsletter sign up form on our website and social media (from February 2014) and the high number of events we have run in this year, with sign-up sheets at our Fresher’s Event, Fresher’s Fair, the monthly markets and the reuse and cycling events.



Most of our mailing list signups have been from face-to-face engagement at events (530 out of 656), showing the importance of face-to-face engagement. Regular e-newsletters (almost monthly) have been sent round since February 2014. As well as sending the newsletter round the mailing list we also try to post a link to the newsletter on social media and on the University main news feed, and there is evidence that the newsletter has a higher open rate when this occurs (July 2014 there were 405 views from links on social media and University news compared to only 134 opens from the mailing list). Examples of newsletters - http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/home/?u=822063f6b92f17ea91703e0bf&id=1b1e14347f

Annual Lean & Green newsletter As well as regular e-newsletters, the Lean & Green Newsletter was also started in Summer 2013. The idea of this newsletter is to show low carbon sustainable behaviour of individual staff, students and departments at Heriot-Watt’s Edinburgh campus, as generally people don’t know what low carbon things are happening on campus, and people are usually motivated by what others do. Each year it features a number of articles, gathered from interviews, highlighting some of the sustainability related activities that people who work or study on campus are involved in – cycling to work, recycling, using second hand furniture etc.

Links to annual Lean & Green newsletter

2013 - http://www1.hw.ac.uk/mediaservices/pageflip/transitionhw/lean&green_summer13/

2014 - http://www1.hw.ac.uk/mediaservices/pageflip/transitionhw/lean%26green_summer14/

This has given us an opportunity to address some of the misgivings that people have about certain activities such as cycling to work or car sharing. Interviewing case studies has also helped us increase our community and we have gathered a network of like-minded people with connections in different departments/areas of the University. Hard copies of the newsletters were distributed around departments and public spaces on campus. Online versions were also posted on the website, University main news feed and social media.



It has been difficult to monitor the engagement rate as there are no online analytics as there are for the Mailchimp newsletter, but feedback from others has shown us that the newsletter has been popular and we will continue with another issue this year.

Transition Heriot‐Watt website (http://www.transition.hw.ac.uk/) The website has had high traffic levels, with the highest views in May 2012 when the website was first launched and between July 2013 and present, with page views numbering over 2000 a month. The highest number of pages views were in September 2014 (over 3000), coinciding with the distribution of the Lean & Green Newsletter and the high levels of Fresher’s engagement. There is also evidence that the number of page views increases after a Mailchimp newsletter or University news article goes out, suggesting that people do link to our website to discover more about us. We use the Transition Heriot-Watt website to give information about our projects and over the past year we have had a push on making the website a tool in itself, with information and advice on cycling, recipes, local food shopping and energy saving. We now also have all information related to cycling at Heriot-Watt University, with this information being removed from the University’s website and users directed to our pages.

Blog

We also maintain a regular blog as part of the website with blogs about events, giving advice and some written by staff and students that have participated in some of our projects. Here is an example from one of our gardeners http://www.transition.hw.ac.uk/grow-your-own-heriot-watt-alexs-experience/

Videos Gardening: videos of interviews with raised beds gardeners – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuGD8WINRzccwK6sIkj6NZw eCycle project videos: We took the lead on creating induction training videos for eCycle Project This is a joint partnership between Edinburgh College, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland’s Rural



College, Transition Heriot-Watt and The University of Edinburgh. Funded by South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran) and Sustrans. Videos will be located soon on the Edinburgh Napier website.

Transition display boards We have three display boards in main public areas of the University which we use to promote events and share information. We have what’s on posters for each month and also have a theme for each month, focusing on different areas of the project. We have found that we get a high level of response from this. For example we received a lot of email enquiries about the raised beds when the theme of the board was growing your own and when the board theme was cycling we had a surge in people registering for the bike pool scheme.

Quotes

Computer Repair



“This was great - thanks for setting it up! Just need to spend £20 on a new keyboard and my laptop will be good as new! Will definitely be recommending Remade in Edinburgh.” "I attended one of the computer repair events on the bridge link and it was fantastic. My laptops back light wasn't working and I knew I should take it to a repair shop soon but never had the time due to work commitments at university. Once I found out about the free repair service at the university I booked my time slot straight away. I just couldn't believe my luck. It was so easy quick and convenient and would definitely recommend this service to anyone with any computer questions or problems."

Bike Maintenance

“I just wanted to say thank you for the session yesterday. It was really useful and easy to understand, even for a clueless beginner like myself!”

“Thanks very much for last night’s class – it’s good to finally know my cassette from my chainsets!”

“It's amazing how quickly a bike chain can wear out unless its cared for; the bike chain maintenance session was a real eye-opener and Abi's practical instruction on how to maintain the chain was nicely demonstrated along with the use of essential tools and maintenance products”



Name of report authors and date it was finalised:

Lorraine Corbett (Development Officer), Lauren Parry (Communications Support Officer), Abi Wingate (Cycling Development Officer), Chris Larkins (Interim Project Coordinator, Chair of Steering Group)

Output Grid – Please fill in only those outputs which relate to your project. More information about all of these outputs can be provided in other sections of the report – these figures will enable us to collate some overall impacts of the CCF.

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

Advice/information centres

Bike pool scheme inductions (Wednesday afternoon drop-in)

Flat –Fix Friday Puncture repair drop-in fortnightly

47

4

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

Training sessions for skills & information sharing

Bike maintenance workshops

Cycle training

Bike Pool Scheme inductions

Cookery workshops

23

3

47

6



Upcycling using old packaging

Computer repair

Clothes sew/repair

Wooded raised bed construction

Raised bed growing

Composting

Mindfulness weekly sessions

Fuel efficient driving sessions 15

Herbal/wild food workshops/walks, medicinal and culinary use

Bat talk and walk

Keep cups, reuse, face to face promotion

Envelopes ( reusable)

Used coffee for composting stall

Upcycling, paper/card bag making

How bad are bananas presentation/activity with MSc students

Summer school carbon café (various topics, local foods, consumer waste, food growing)

Energy Ambassadors training session

2

3

2

8

4

1

65

15

6

1

10

1

3

2

1

13

How many events did your project hold, e.g., etc.? Do not include events held by



other organisations which you have attended.

Events, information fairs, open days etc

Travel planning

Bike Breakfasts

General stall, Bridge Link

Litter pick up and BBQ

Halls re-use bbq event

Student switch-off

Information stall at every local market.

Information stall at every keep cup promotions event

Freshers open day events

Meet the team open day

Energy advice for new 2nd yr students moving out of halls

Local suppliers market days

4

3

12

2

1

2

15

4

3

1

1

15

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

Qualifications

City and Guilds Energy Awareness

2



Velotech Cycle Maintenance

First Aid

2

3

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).

Direct employed

2012/13:

2013/14:

Including 8 students paid on a casual basis to clear the halls for the re-use project

3 x FTE

3 x 0.34 FTE

3 x FTE

1 x 0.51 FTE

1 x 0.31 FTE



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

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

Active people

Litter pick

Carbon Diet

Gardening group

Mindfulness

Herbal walks

Summer school events over two summers

Fuel Efficient driving

Energy Ambassadors

Bike Pool Scheme registered

Bike Pool Scheme registered who have completed an induction

Bicycle hires with Bike Pool Scheme

Bike maintenance

Cycle training

Bike Breakfasts

60

30

24

43

48

100

15

22

227

124

153

69

24

99



Bike Bothy Drop-in bike fix 19

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

Volunteers

Steering group members

Photographer

Cooks and recipe developers

Active travel champions

Cycling event volunteers

Car parking survey volunteers

Fresher’s event volunteers

Gardeners

Veg stall poster designer

8

1

2

11

4

5

3

24

1

How many schools are involved in your project?

How many community-owned buildings have been refurbished?

One – A former walled garden outhouse has been refurbished by Heriot-Watt and Transition Heriot-Watt to become a community bike hub called the Bike Bothy. The outhouse has been unused for many years, occasionally used by student societies and the sports union for



storage.

How many Home Energy Checks or similar energy efficiency reports have been carried out by your project?

How many households have been referred on to other agencies or providers (e.g. HES, Green Deal assessor) for further action?

How many households installed energy efficiency measures – loft, wall or floor insulation, draft-proofing, double glazing etc. – as a result of your project?

How many households installed green energy generation measures – photovoltaic panels, solar thermal panels, air or ground source heat pumps, wood fuelled heating systems etc – as a result of your project?

How many miles of car journeys have been reduced through the activities of your project?

Bike Pool Scheme

The scheme bike loans have replaced 10 local car journeys (less than 10 miles each) and 62 bus journeys

How many square metres (m2) of community growing space (allotments, poly-tunnels, raised beds, community gardens) has your project brought into use?

Growing space

Large beds at 13ft x 4ft = 4.8m2 7 x 4.80 = 33.6m2

Small beds 1.5m x1.5m = 2.25 6 x 2.25 = 13.5m2 Small planters 1m x 1m = 1m2 6 x 1m2 =



6m2 Polytunnel 3m x 8m = 24m2 Total 77.1m2

How many tonnes of waste have been diverted from landfill because of the activities of your project?

Used coffee grains

Halls reuse project 2012 Item KGSmall WEEE (Irons, toasters, rice cookers etc) 76 Large WEEE (Microwaves, TVs etc) 338 Textiles and footwear 493 Aluminium 0 Steel 201 Mixed cans 0 Scrap metal 0 plastic bottles (Average rigid plastics used ‐ HDPE and PET) 55 total plastic bags (average plastic film used ‐ LLDPE) 0

120kg



Wood 13 Paper 2 Card 6 Books 45 Aggregates 228 Glass (colour separated) 52 Glass (Mixed) 0 Food 0

Halls reuse working with British Heart Foundation 2013:



Halls reuse working with British Heart Foundation 2014:

How many kWh of energy has been reduced because of the activities of your project?

Student Switch Off Campaign

1,809 kWh reduction in electricity use in halls.

Fuel efficient driving 2013 – 2391kg CO2 emissions saved 2014 – 4761kg CO2 emissions saved

Final Project Report Transition Heriot-Watt Climate Challenge Fund

Documents

Transcript of Final Project Report Transition Heriot-Watt Climate Challenge Fund