The next climate justice topic that we’re going to discuss is centred around waste. Waste production has skyrocketed across the world in recent decades due to globalisation, population growth, overproduction, and consumer shopping habits^[1]. People living in Ireland now produce more than 13 million tonnes of waste every single year^[2]. This mass production of waste is a climate justice issue due to its negative impact on our planet and vulnerable populations.

The 4th installment of the UCC Green Campus podcast is now available where we talk to UCC student Timothy McGrath. 

Hello Everyone 

As we all prepare for a well-deserved break we just wanted to remind you to power down and switch off all office equipment before leaving for the Christmas holidays. 

Christmas is just around the corner and while this is a time for relaxation, quality time with friends and family, and lazy days at home, it’s also a time that has significant environmental costs

Join us for an online workshop led by Abigail O'Callaghan-Platt from VOICE about disposable and reusable menstrual products. 

UCC Green Campus is delighted to be holding our next climate resilience workshop with The Green Step on Tuesday, December 14th @ 6-8.30pm on MS Teams. To book your space click on the eventbrite link: Self Care is Climate Care

Success: it’s in your nature is a new Canvas module aiming at promoting wellbeing through nature in our students and staff. 

The 3rd installment of the UCC Green Campus podcast is now available where we talk to UCC's head gardener Jack Murphy. 

The next climate justice topic we’re going to be delving into is fast fashion. The boom of the fast fashion industry has had detrimental impacts on the planet and the workers it exploits. It is both unethical and unsustainable, and if we want to reach critical climate targets we must integrate climate justice into our fashion industry.

UCC Green Campus is delighted to be holding our 4^th climate resilience workshop with The Green Step this Thursday, November 25^th @ 6-7pm in the Hub.

Why not join us for our Community Market which is being held on Tuesday 30th November from 10am-2pm outside The Hub. 

UCC's EV charging stations are spread across the campus, the objective being to have a charging station per each large geographical area. For eligibility users must read and agree to abide by the UCC-PEV-Charging-Policy.pdf and complete this Registration Form UCC Plug In Electric Vehicle Registration Form.  

The third climate justice topic we’ll be exploring is related to energy. Our continued reliance on fossil fuels for energy generation coupled with the ongoing climate crisis is a global threat to countless communities and people’s livelihoods.

This week and next (Oct 31 – Nov 12) 196 nations of the UN have converged on Glasgow for the COP26 summit. UCC organised a number of outreach and engagement events to mark the occasion. The first of these was a Model COP26 which was held on October 26^th in the Devere Hall. 

From artists to illustrators and charity shops to vintage one thing all our stalls have in common is their desire for circularity and sustainability and a better way of living. Why not come along to see for yourself. 

The excitement is building for our Community Market a collaboration between Envirosoc and The Green Campus. Come along to support our local community initiatives, goods and social enterprises. 

The Green Campus team are so excited to be collaborating with UCC's Environmental Society to bring you our Community Market on Tuesday 2nd November from 10am-3pm outside the Hub. The Community Market is focused on circularity, supporting small businesses, artists and socio-environmental initiatives. 

The Green Campus team believe that the benefits of travelling by E-Bike are so significant that in June 2020 we invested in a fleet of 3 E-Bikes (Raleigh Motus) and gave the UCC staff community the chance to see for themselves. Building on from a successful pilot in 2019, and with the support of our friends at The Bike Shed, who serviced and maintained our E-Bike fleet throughout, UCC staff got the opportunity to trial an E-Bike.

We are delighted to announce another call for proposals under our Green Campus Living Laboratory Programme.  Proposals for research masters projects (up to €28,000) and demonstration projects (up to €10,000) are welcome

The Green Campus Podcast

President John O’Halloran and Students Union President Asha Woodhouse were presented with electric bikes for their use during the academic year 21/22 by UCC’s Green Campus Team. 

With the upcoming COP UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow UCC will host a COP26@UCC global negotiation event on the 26^th of October. 

Cycling to Campus – what’s new?

National Reuse Month

The first climate justice topic that we’re going to delve into is food. Yes, believe it or not, food is a climate justice issue. Food security and climate change are inherently linked, and therefore, environmental degradation and social justice issues are linked.

In February 2020, UCC ran its first climate assembly. Build Back Better was a series of workshops, based on the themes in the college’s sustainability strategy, that gave students and staff a chance to have their say in shaping future policy. An accompanying survey was also sent to students and staff.

In 2020 the Higher Education Authority (HEA) launched a pathfinder program under Project Ireland 2040. The pathfinder program was set up to find strategic pathways for energy efficiency and decarbonisation programs within higher education buildings. UCC applied for and obtained grant funding under the program for the decarbonisation of the O’Rahilly building (ORB) heating systems.

The objective of the project is to demonstrate the retrofitting of a low temperature Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) into a 1990’s building without the need for significant intervention on the building fabric or heating system arrangements.

When first getting involved with environmentalism, it’s not unusual for people to feel overwhelmed, and at times, even intimidated, because these are complicated issues and it’s easy to feel like everyone else is an expert, especially when you're only at the beginning of your sustainability journey.

On the 9th of August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group I released a report on the scientific basis of climate change entitled: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis1. This monumental report has triggered international outcry from climate activists who have been calling for political leaders to wake up and take substantial action to combat the climate crisis for years.

With the recent fine weather and sunshine what better time to check in on our existing PV installations across the campus which are outlined in the table below.

In February UCC students and staff came together to run a climate assembly in UCC. This was the first assembly of its kind to take place in an university in Ireland. The assembly was inspired by the Citizens’ Assembly, and was based around the need to “Build Back Better”.

Between the winding boreens and the coastal highways of Cork, UCC’s Electric Bikes have travelled them all over the past 10 months and not without the help of our friends at the Cork Bike Store who serviced and maintained our E-Bike fleet of three Raleigh Motus Tour E-Bikes throughout. Following on from a successful pilot in 2019, our UCC Green Campus “Building Back Better” E-bike trial, started on Monday 29^th June 2020.  The objective of this initiative was and is to provide UCC staff with E-bikes for a trial period, allowing the individual staff member to determine if an E-bike is a suitable method for commuting to/from work.

As the move to electrification of cars gathers momentum UCC has invested in its charging infrastructure to provide our staff with the facilities to charge on site, should they require a charge to complete their return journey. 

Earth Day 2020 (April 22^nd) will be remembered by many for a variety of reasons, not least because, while we all continue to be divided by distance during this difficult time, we remain very much united in the global fight against climate change. As one of the most sustainable universities in the world, UCC aims to lead by example and encourage action against climate change in all of its activities and operations. Faced with this complex challenge, UCC quickly realised the need for a clear roadmap to a sustainable future, leading to the establishment of the 2019-20 Climate Action Project, aimed at developing a Climate Action Plan for UCC.

The UCC Dark Skies Project.

Read more about UCC Green Week 2021

Welcome to our March Energy newsletter. This month, we sat down with Pat Mehigan, UCC's Energy Manager, to discuss UCC's Energy Story.

Welcome to the first of our monthly energy bulletin where we summarise the energy performance of our Estate. In the coming months we hope to inform you of the energy trends across the Estate, the measures that the UCC community are undertaking to reduce and conserve energy as well as an update on ongoing energy conservation projects.

Welcome to our energy update covering UCC's energy use in April 2021...read on