Sunderland University is officially one of the greenest universities in the UK and was the first to be named in the North East as Carbon Trust Standard. As a result Sunderland has introduced ways on cutting down on the carbon and bulking up on the green.
The university stocks up on fairtrade products and students are buying it. One Water mineral water donates every 5p to African water wheels, which double up as children’s roundabouts. This clean, fresh water is then pumped into a tank that gives supply to a whole community. Its not just the water that’s helping communities, St Peters and Murray Library are selling reusable jute bags for 50p, which goes to charity. Back in 2009 money was donated to the local environment charity.
Different ways to travel has been introduced for students. Travelling on The Circular or Express minibus can be a pain at times so, a subsidized Metro travel ticket between Brockley Whins and South Hylton means less cars on the road and less carbon been produced. This is an ideal way of doing a little something to help the environment. It may not seem like you’ll be helping much but, its surprising what a little thing can help our environment.
The university also offers bike lockers on the main two campuses, Ashbrooke and at the Halls of Residence, for those who prefer and activate start to the uni day. Sunderland uni are looking into to purchasing more.
A student at the uni Sharon Kaur says, “I think it’s a brilliant idea to open up more options in which to travel. The Metro pass is a great idea and will really benefit me. I would rather use this way of transport rather than drive to uni and get stuck in traffic. I’m cutting down my carbon footprint.”
Hopefully more students will be willing to join in on cutting down your carbon footprint. The university is now looking at waste being useful with their easy to use successful recycling scheme. The more students carry on doing the ‘little things’ to help the environment, the bigger the impact will have. Give it a go, join in and notice a difference.
By Hayley Brown
