10%
Reduction in University electricity usage compared to 2007, a saving of 380,000 units – that’s like driving a car 28 times around the planet.
Energy and environment
The way the University manages its energy consumption has a significant impact on the environment.
We have a long term aim of reducing, reusing and recycling waste and minimising utility usage wherever possible.
Find out what we are doing to meet our aims - and how you can get involved:
25 tips for greener student living
- Carshare, use public transport, or walk and cycle to and from Bath and the University – stay fit and green at the same time.
- Close windows and doors when the heating is on. Turn radiators down or off if you’re too hot, and draw your curtains to keep the heat in.
- Cook for your friends – cooking larger quantities uses less packaging and energy. Use lids on pans to cook food quicker and more efficiently.
- Turn off your electrical goods – Britons waste the equivalent power of around two power stations of electricity each year by leaving TV sets and other gadgets on standby.
- Reduce, reuse and recycle… Use rechargable batteries, reuse envelopes and scrap paper.
- Car-boot sales and charity shops – sell or donate your old clothes instead of throwing them away.
- Reuse plastic bags. Every week each person uses an average of nine plastic carrier bags, each one is made from petrochemicals and takes 500 years to decay in a landfill site.
- Turn off the lights when you leave a room. This will save 25kg of CO2 each year per room, and help the University save money on energy.
- Eat local and organic produce. The University prioritises locally-sourced produce wherever possible in its bars and restaurants; do the same and help eliminate airmiles and reduce the effects of intensive farming.
- Make sure your refrigerator is on the right setting. If it’s even 10 degrees too cold, this can increase energy consumption by 25 per cent.
- Unplug your chargers. Phone, laptop, iPod and camera chargers often continue to draw current when not in use. This can add up over a year to CO2 emissions that are the equivalent of driving a petrol car for 130 miles.
- Cook using the microwave: it’s quicker and more efficient. And it goes ‘Ping’. Awesome.
- Clean the back of your fridge. Dusty fridge coils can increase energy consumption by 30%.
- A five-minute shower uses 35 litres of water, a bath 80 litres. Taking regular showers instead of baths can save over 300 litres of water a week.
- Wash clothes with your flatmates, use half-load settings and lower temperatures where possible. Choose eco-friendly and concentrated detergents.
- Reduce your printing, and refill ink cartridges rather than buying new ones.
- Drink tap water instead of buying water in plastic bottles and ending up with lots of empties. Consider buying a water filter and reuse plastic bottles.
- Use advice-packed free site Money Saving Expert to save yourself money, find free restaurant vouchers and greener options for travel and utilities.
- Report any dripping taps or leaks. A dripping tap can waste up to 140 litres of water a week – enough for four showers.
- Bank online to reduce paper statements.
- Sell or recycle your old phones instead of throwing them away.
- Check Freecycle.org to see if you can pick up anything you and your housemates need for free locally, before you go and buy it.
- Only put the amount of water you need in the kettle. If a million people did this, over a year, it would be the equivalent of taking at least 20,000 cars off the road.
- Join in with the Student Switch Off competition, a campaign to help students save energy in halls of residence.
- Take part in the Big Energy Challenge and help reduce energy consumption across the board.
