DCU receives Green-Campus Award
Dublin City University has been awarded a Green-Campus Flag by An Taisce as part of its international environmental education programme and award scheme that promotes long-term, whole college action for the environment. DCU becomes the third University campus in Ireland to attain this prestigious international award.
The Green-Campus Programme, operated in Ireland by An Taisce, on behalf of the Foundation for Environmental Education has seen DCU:
- maintain its target of reducing annual energy consumption by 3% per annum;
- improve its overall rate of recycling and waste prevention
- significantly enhance and protect biodiversity on campus through the DCU Community Garden;
- and implement a long term campus-wide engagement campaign on sustainability.
The DCU Green Committee established to implement the seven step programme was composed of members from right across the University including the Estates office, all four DCU faculties as well as a large number of undergraduate and postgraduate students. An Taisce particularly commended DCU on taking the unique step of creating the position of Sustainability Manager to co-ordinate initiatives across the campus.
President of DCU, Professor Brian MacCraith said, “In our Strategic Plan 2012 – 2017, Transforming Lives and Societies, DCU has committed to the development and implementation of a comprehensive sustainability strategy. We are delighted to accept our first green campus flag in recognition of the achievements of our Green Committee while recognising that this is only the first step along the path to a fully sustainable campus.”
Director of An Taisce’s Environmental Education Unit, Mrs Patricia Oliver, paid tribute to DCU, “The successful implementation of the seven steps of the Programme and the enthusiasm and dedication of the students and staff involved with the Green-Campus Committee is unique in many respects and will, I am sure, be an example and inspiration to many more third-level institutions not only in Ireland but throughout the world.”
“This is about more than making a campus green”, continued Mrs Oliver. “Over the past 17 years, hundreds of thousands of students in Ireland have been brought up with Green-Schools, sometimes starting at pre-school, through primary schools and then second level. It is critical that the chain not be broken once they complete the Leaving Cert. It needs to continue into 3rd level, and from there into their professional as well as their personal lives so that they become life-long educators and ambassadors of sustainable living.”
In 2012 DCU established the Sustainability@DCU Initiative to develop and build an understanding of sustainability that demonstrates the need to balance economic, environmental and social factors in campus activities to create a sustainable future for all. The objective was to develop, demonstrate and embed an ethos of sustainable development via cross-campus projects focusing on the primary activities of Teaching and Learning, Research, Development and Innovation as well as demonstrating these in the operation and management of the DCU Campus.