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| The new Solent university building, due to be completed later this year |
Southampton Solent university have recently announced plans to reduce their carbon emissions by 33% before 2020, whilst also cutting energy costs by £6.9m.
Despite this, the university is now undergoing a massive development which will see a brand new building open in coming months. The development has inspired thoughts that the uni could be trying to make an actual impact on their carbon footprint -- but I think they have gotten it very wrong.
If the university is to take no action at all, then they will encounter a 39% increase in emissions. This is known as a business as usual (BAU) model. With that being said, the announcement therefore seems like a positive one? Solent are saving money as well as the world, high-fives all round -- Wrong.
They are building it to show off and distract you from how environmentally ignorant they really are.
The whole site is old and looks like the exterior of a 1960s block of offices. Could it be more repulsive to the eye? Much like most other things from the sixties that are still around in the modern day, it's decrepit, boring and environmentally outdated. If you compare a '66 mustang to a modern day hybrid, it's easy to see which is more kind to the world. That being said, it would be unfair to judge the uni on their environmental aspirations based on what it looks like. Instead, let's look at their tired attitude.
The uni, is constantly reminding all their students to be innovative and creative, and with that, they have pissed on their own shoes by refusing to practise their preach - and that piss stinks.
A newly developed building should, in this day and age, be eco-friendly. The new build at Solent will be made largely of glass. The ceiling will be glass as well as the front and rear walls. Glass surfaces lose almost 10 times more heat than an insulated solid wall, so why make a modern building so likely to lose heat?
The new building will also house a massive gantry. Nothing says eco-friendly more than having to pointlessly heat up a large open space that nobody is occupying.
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| Bournemouth university |
Personally, this new building, although needed to avoid future capacity issues, is not the first development the uni should focus on. The current buildings need to be looked at first. Some windows across the uni are as old as time itself (well almost). If they were replaced, would that not help towards the goals the uni has?
Taking a leaf out of their own book might also be an approach to take, obviously. Be innovative.
New ways of being more eco-friendly could be having "green roofs". This is where the roof of a building is turned into a garden. Full of grass and flowers. It stops heat escaping and produces oxygen. Compared to the roof of the uni which is full of nothing. A wasted space.
The roof could also be home to another option -- Solar panels. Of course they are notorious for being expensive, but they are increasingly important to the eco-friendly world. The university could easily cover a large part of their energy bill with the use of solar panels. Any uni could.
Although, talking to the students, there is one thing the uni could do, and that is to turn the bloody heating down. It's scorching hot in there some days. Seriously, turn it down.
Everybody loves to hear of any institution being environmentally conscious, it's got to be great news. But Solent are going to long way round. The new building will be great for the uni, I'm sure if it. But it won't be great for the planet.
An emphasis on environmental responsibility needs to be enforced upon universities. They are institutions who are supposed to lead by example, they should be taking all possible steps to improve their impact on the environment. We should enforce this.
Taking a leaf out of their own book might also be an approach to take, obviously. Be innovative.
New ways of being more eco-friendly could be having "green roofs". This is where the roof of a building is turned into a garden. Full of grass and flowers. It stops heat escaping and produces oxygen. Compared to the roof of the uni which is full of nothing. A wasted space.
The roof could also be home to another option -- Solar panels. Of course they are notorious for being expensive, but they are increasingly important to the eco-friendly world. The university could easily cover a large part of their energy bill with the use of solar panels. Any uni could.
Although, talking to the students, there is one thing the uni could do, and that is to turn the bloody heating down. It's scorching hot in there some days. Seriously, turn it down.
Everybody loves to hear of any institution being environmentally conscious, it's got to be great news. But Solent are going to long way round. The new building will be great for the uni, I'm sure if it. But it won't be great for the planet.
An emphasis on environmental responsibility needs to be enforced upon universities. They are institutions who are supposed to lead by example, they should be taking all possible steps to improve their impact on the environment. We should enforce this.
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