Across the road from the south entrance to campus, on a bend in the River Kelvin, sits the University of Glasgow’s climate change secret weapon: the Partick pumping station.
This at times noisome Edwardian edifice remains a critical part of the city’s wastewater infrastructure, but it also has the potential to provide low-carbon heat for at least some of our 350 buildings. If possible, we will identify a partner, put together a joint venture and start work on a green power initiative in a year or two’s time.
Carbon reduction solutions like this are manna from heaven for university managers seeking to make good on long-term carbon reduction commitments. Universities are complex institutions with many moving parts – globally connected communities which have grown over time with, for the most part, little thought to environmental sustainability. Consequently, for most UK HEIs, the drive to shrink their carbon footprint represents a significant challenge.
Backsliding
There will be those who feel that now is the time to resile from targets set in the halcyon days before Covid, runaway inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, disruption to international recruitment markets and heightened geo-political uncertainty. The Overton window has shifted, goes the argument; we may not agree with President Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” mantra, but with the US ditching green energy and re-embracing fossil fuels, hasn’t the zeitgeist shifted?
And in any case, can we actually afford net zero? A growing chorus in the mainstream press would say we can’t and shouldn’t go there – at least not while other, less principled countries are backsliding.
Within the higher education sector, colleagues worry that cutting back carbon will limit mobility, adversely affect our international collaborations and thereby impact on our global reputation. Alongside this, some contend that the financial headwinds are simply too strong, and that preserving jobs should be prioritised ahead of saving the planet. Couldn’t we retain an in-principle commitment to tackling climate change – while quietly paring back our ambitions in line with our straitened circumstances?
Keeping up the pace
While these concerns are understandable, the consensus of opinion in the sector is to maintain a focus on carbon reduction. For sure, the biggest difference universities can make is through their academic activities – educating the next generation with the scientific expertise to tackle climate change, raising awareness in the public arena, and undertaking research across an array of disciplines; by contrast, the direct contribution HEIs will make to reducing the world’s carbon footprint is minuscule.
On the other hand, universities must lead by example if they want to be agents of change. This means setting targets for carbon reduction that, at the very least, match those of other sectors and preferably force the pace a little. For the most part, it has been university-based academics in this country and abroad who have highlighted the existential threat represented by man-made climate change; it would be absurd if the employers of those experts dismissed the knowledge they have generated and ignored one of the most pressing problems facing humanity.
There is strong encouragement to act from within our own communities. Student opinion is rich and varied, but as a recent poll conducted by Students Organising for Sustainability showed, 79 per cent of UK students report a high level of concern about climate change, while 83 per cent agree that if everyone plays their part, we can lessen the impact on the world. In other words, most students expect action and want their universities to be in the vanguard.
When we show leadership in this space, students generally think better about their institutions. This leads to a stronger sense of identity with, and belonging to, their places of learning. Student wellbeing is also positively impacted – 90 per cent of students say that anxiety about climate change adversely affects their mental health. Seeing their institutions respond to the crisis and creating practical opportunities for students to participate can alleviate frustration and anger. To quote the charity Student Minds, “students widely expressed a desire to make a positive contribution to tackling climate change but often felt like they didn’t know where to start.”
This is a key part of our agenda at Glasgow – we want to invoke the active support of the student body through educational courses, campaigns, internships, volunteering opportunities, and a very successful Eco Hub, funded by the university but run by the students themselves. We are also trying to engage colleagues, drawing on a core of enthusiastic staff members and nudging the majority towards greater environmental awareness.
Glasgow’s approach to net zero is set out in its strategy document, Glasgow Green, published in 2020. It commits the university to being net zero by 2030; the consultants felt the best we could achieve would be a footprint of 37,000tCO2 by the end of the decade, reducing to 32,000tCO2 by 2035, with the balance made up by offsetting. The governing body itself insisted on the 2030 target, seeking to match Glasgow city council’s objective. Making good on that will depend on progress in three key areas – improving energy efficiency on campus, cutting business travel emissions and reducing further our dependence on fossil fuel energy sources.
The heat
Which brings us back to our plans for the Partick pumping station. The model is similar to a facility at Toronto western hospital – it involves using thermal energy from wastewater running through the city’s sewers to supply heat. Technology meets public sector partnership meets carbon savings – what’s not to like?
Of course, as with many initiatives, the devil will be not so much in the detail as in the myriad steps necessary to make it a reality; we will only proceed if we can successfully balance deliverability with carbon reduction and cost considerations. It will not be simple to realise this and the other projects in our energy portfolio, but the reward for success could be implementation of our strategy on schedule, and with a showcase facility which others can learn from.
A few weeks ago, driving along Sauchiehall Street in the evening, the thermometer hit 28 degrees. In Glasgow. In late August. Climate change is a real thing and the university community is right to be concerned about it. As senior managers, we need to step up and meet the commitments we have made to tackle it; and by doing so, we can show the way to the rest of society.
