FEE joins Global Alliance of higher education sustainability networks in Open Letter to Cop 21 Ministers

The collective voice of the world’s universities, colleges and students will be heard at COP21 when the United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Paris, France during the first week of December.

A global alliance of tertiary and higher education sustainability networks today jointly issued an Open Letter urging Ministers and Governments to acknowledge and strengthen the research and education role that universities and colleges play in addressing climate change. With networks on every continent pledging signatures, the global alliance already represents more than 3000 universities and colleges worldwide.

The Open Letter celebrates and confirms the critical role universities and colleges play in finding and implementing solutions towards climate change mitigation and adaptation and places it in the context of addressing wider issues of sustainability, including social and economic policies and practices.

Addressed to COP21 Ministers and Governments the letter also calls for more specific measures to be taken such as showcasing universities and colleges as living laboratories for climate change adaptation and mitigation, increasing support for trans-disciplinary learning, teaching and research approaches, and using university and college campuses and operations as a leverage agent to accelerate the transition to clean energy sources.

The Open Letter from the global alliance will be handed to COP21 General Secretary Pierre Henri Guignard on 14 October at the UNESCO Headquarters during the Higher Education for Climate Change Action Event. The event is hosted by The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative- HESI which was created by a consortium of UN entities UNESCO, UN-DESA, UNEP, Global Compact and UNU.

If you represent a university or college sustainability related network and wish to become a signatory to the Open Letter, please email john.north@grli.org or ipatton@eauc.org.uk before 9 October.

We hope you will join us in the effort and look forward to your response. You can view the letter here.

Eco-Schools in Northern Ireland Celebrate 20 Years at a Special Event

Eco-Schools Northern Ireland hosted a special event to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Eco-Schools programme in March 2015. Over 2000 school pupils, teachers and guests gathered to enjoy speeches, presentations, workshops, exhibits and awards.

The event organised by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, the environmental charity that operates the Eco-Schools Programme in Northern Ireland, was created to thank pupils and teachers for their unwavering dedication and to provide a forum to inspire new ideas. 

Northern Ireland Eco-Schools have a number of reasons to celebrate. They were one of the first countries in the world to join the programme, and the first country to award a Green Flag, to Downpatrick Nursery School in 1994. In recent years the programme has been going from strength to strength and in 2015 Eco-Schools Northern Ireland were proud to announce that 100% of their schools are now part of the Eco-Schools programme and working their way towards Green Flag excellence.

Key speakers opened the event: Mark H Durkan, Minister of the Environment; Ian Humphreys, CEO of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful; and Daniel Schaffer, CEO of the Foundation for Environmental Education, all congratulated Northern Ireland Eco-Schools on reaching this landmark moment and encouraged pupils to look to the future and continue to make Northern Ireland and the World a greener, cleaner place.

Eco-Schools were delighted to be joined at the celebration by Daniel Schaffer, CEO of the Foundation for Environmental Education and Bríd Conneely, International Eco-Schools Director. There were also guest Eco-Schools representatives from Scotland and the Republic of Ireland and pupils from the Republic of Ireland Eco-Schools attending.

Northern Ireland are now looking forward to hosting the Eco-Schools National Operators Meeting in November 2015 which will see representatives from FEE and the 59 Eco-Schools countries worldwide come to Northern Ireland to share good practice and discuss the on-going development of Eco-Schools for the benefit of young people and our environment globally. As the host nation Northern Ireland is eager to provide visitors with a rich and welcoming cultural experience and will showcase some of the great work being implemented in Northern Ireland’s schools.

A World First for Cork University Hospital as it Raises the Green Flag

On 8 April 2015, Cork University Hospital celebrated becoming the first hospital in the world to be awarded the prestigious Green Flag by An Taisce’s Green Campus programme on behalf of the international Foundation for Environmental Education. The flag was raised by Minister for State Kathleen Lynch, Department of Health. The Foundation for Environmental Education was represented by Mr José Archer, President of ABAE-FEE Portugal.

Key achievements in 2013 and 2014 for the CUH Green-Campus team include:

• Reductions in waste of 11% despite an overall 10% increase in hospital activity in that period. This includes a 205 tonne reduction in waste going to landfill, a 21 tonne decrease in clinical waste and a 77 tonne increase in recycling.
• 860 MWhr decrease in gas consumption
• 1,185 MWhr decrease in electricity consumption
• 785 tonne decrease in CO2

Patricia Oliver, Director of the An Taisce Education Unit, commended CUH on their efforts towards achieving the flag, citing the commitment of staff and students to the programme as well as crucial long term support from hospital management. Ms Oliver added: “A Sustainable Healthcare Environment Steering Group within CUH leads the direction of the hospital in reducingenergy, water and waste disposal costs. There is a strong feeling of togetherness and team work as everybody is moving towards making sustainable practices the norm and the way things are done across the CUH campus.

CUH’s CEO Mr. Tony McNamara said, “By creating a healthier environment for patients, staff and visitors, we are taking an important step in achieving the best outcomes for our patients and supporting community health.”

In 2010, University College Cork were pioneers in gaining the world’s first Green Flag for a third level education institute, an award that has been renewed on an annual basis ever since. As an acute teaching hospital and an academic partner with a Green Flag university, CUH were eligible to work towards gaining Green Flag certification and shared many environmental based projects with their UCC colleagues. CUH joins An Taisce’s national network of 21 third level Green-Campus colleges, ten of which have been awarded a Green Flag including:

• UCC
• Trinity College
• DCU
• Dundalk IT
• GMIT Mayo
• GMIT Letterfrack
• Ballsbridge CFE
• Coláiste Dhúlaigh Coolock
• Pearse College