2023 - A Year in Sustainability and the Environment at Pembroke

Thursday, 11 January, 2023

Pembroke College takes environmental and sustainability matters very seriously. In 2021, it set up the Consultative Committee on Sustainability and the Environment. It meets at least once per term, with representatives from the student body, the Fellowship, heads of services and staff.

The Committee is an advisory body reporting to the Planning Committee and can issue recommendations to the Governing Body through its minutes. It looks at a wide range of matters, including recycling, waste management, energy and water conservation, and is the place to gather feedback and ideas on all environmental and sustainable matters and measures the College takes to ensure its environmental legacy for future generations. 

The last twelve months have been very busy with activities happening in all areas of the College.

Buildings

The key College building project is the the ongoing development of the Mill Lane site. While Phase 1 was officially opened last June, 2023 also saw the rapid construction of the shell of Phase 2, Ray and Dagmar Dolby Court. The building has been rated BREEAM Excellent and will be heated by a ground-breaking giant air source heat pump. Once completed, it will house around 100 students. The first student cohort will move in September 2024.

Permission was granted by the City Council in to install solar panels on Milstein House. Together with those in the plans for Dolby Court, around 275 panels will be installed on the site. A fundraising campaign to encourage alumni to sponsor and name a panel uis currently being undertaken by our Development Office.

Once Dolby Court is opened, the College will cease renting hostels, making a big step towards decarbonising its estate.

Across the road, Pembroke was successful in its application for a further Salix grant (to replace old gas boilers by air source heat pumps) this time for Foundress Court (installed over the Christmas 2023 period). The grant is for £680k, towards a total project cost of £750k. Once all these are in place, over a third of student rooms across the College will have carbon-free heating.

Further efficiencies are being made by insulating our properties and replacing all lighting with LED lighting when properties are refurbished (on a rotation in the Long Vacation).

Gardens

Head Gardener Sarah Claydon and her team continue to do wonders in the gardens. The summer plants were a real joy to look at and brightened even the greyest of days.

They have sown a wild flower meadow in Foundress Court, which will start blooming in 2024. The annual wildlife survey has shown an increase in the variety of species found in the grounds and a net increase in population of bees and butterflies. The student green officers have agreed to help with the annual surveys.

The gardens team now makes their own compost and as a result, the need to purchase mulch has been greatly reduced. 

Petrol and diesel gardening equipment is gradually being replaced with electric equivalents, which are more environmentally friendly and much quieter.

Postgraduate students are actively involved with revitalising the Allotment Society which was neglected post-COVID.

Housekeeping

Recycling was at the forefront of the agenda in June, when students left their accommodation for the Long Vacation. Teaming up with student representatives who produced posters asking students to be mindful about removing or recycling belongings they no longer needed, the team reported that the number of items skipped had been reduced, with only 23 skips required this year.

Food caddies have been supplied to Gyp rooms, where space allows, to enable students to recycle organic waste.

Catering

Our Catering team has worked hard with students, staff and Fellows to raise awareness about environmental issues.

Students and staff are actively encouraged to use the recycling bins in the Hall and Cafe Pembroke, and to use them appropriately. Catering staff are on hand to give guidance, which works very well.

The decision was made to discourage the use of disposable Vegware food containers (albeit compostable). A 20p discount is now given to anyone bringing their own container with them, while disposable containers, while still available, now incur a charge of 75p.

Posters are displayed in the Servery showing the relative carbon footprint of different types of food to help educate choice.

In the last 12 months, out of 65,895 meals served, 52% were meat-based, 27% vegetarian and 21% vegan. From Lent Term 2024, only one red meat option will be available per week. Fish sales on Fridays represent 82% of all sales that day. All the fish served by the College comes from sustainable sources.

Deals are being made with suppliers to recycle the cardboard boxes that supplies are delivered in.

Support services

HR and Payroll have recently implemented a new paperless system. Payslips are no longer printed and a full roll out of options will be done gradually to all departments. HR also now includes environment training as part of staff inductions.

All printing defaults to double sided and staff are actively encouraged to minimise printing. A second screen is available on request from the IT Department.

Pembroke has adopted a flexible working policy, which reduces cars on the road. It was the first college to offer all eligible staff an EV salary sacrifice scheme and charging points have been installed in the College to use by all members. Alongside this, it continues to offer the Cycle to Work scheme. Bikes can also be borrowed from the Porters’ Lodge as an alternative to taxi or car for short journeys within Cambridge).

Investments & Banking

The College was the first college in Cambridge to adopt an ethical investment policy. Via the Bursar, Dr Andrew Cates, it is closely involved with the University in its campaign to pressure Barclays and Lloyds banks to remove all their ties with fossil fuel financing.

The College agreed with the student body that its investment portfolio would aim to be free of fossil fuel investment by 31 December 2023, with an exception for CUEF, where it was agreed to work tothe University's timeline of 2030. Pembroke has almost reached this target. One manager has yet to disinvest fully. They had been tasked with finding equivalent funds without fossil fuel, but their latest proposal does not meet the College's criteria for investment. Holding with this manager represents 9% of the portfolio. Further discussions will take place in early 2024 to give them a chance to remedy this.

Catherine Rawlings
Chair of the CCSE