Trinity has had its Green Flag renewed for another three years, the College announced today, after an examination of its environmental efforts by heritage charity An Taisce.
This is the third time Trinity has received the international accreditation – awarded in recognition of a long-term, campus-wide commitment to preserving the environment – since it received its first Green Flag in 2013.
In a press statement, Provost Patrick Prendergast said: “It pleases me greatly that Trinity has received the Green Flag from An Taisce for another three years, which serves as recognition for the work put in by the many students and members of staff on the Green Campus Committee and beyond.”
Prendergast added: “Since 2013, Trinity has instigated a variety of environmental initiatives, which serve to reduce our environmental footprint and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Our aim to reduce our impact on the environment is ongoing.”
Since 2016, when Trinity last had its Green Flag renewed, the College has implemented a number of initiatives focused on sustainability.
In November 2016, Trinity announced its intention to divest the €6.1 million it had indirectly invested in fossil fuel companies.
In April 2018, the College asked staff and students to vote on the steps it should take in its bid to become a plastic-free campus.
Three options were proposed: replace disposable glasses with reusable ones in the Buttery, abolish all plastic cutlery from the Buttery or introduce paper straws in the Pav.
Student campaign group TCD Plastic Free, established in 2017, pushed the College to commit to ridding the campus of disposable plastics by 2020.
Speaking about the decision to renew Trinity’s Green Flag, Michael John O’Mahony, the director of An Taisce’s Environmental Education Unit, said: “We are delighted that Trinity College have renewed their Green Flag and have continued to implement the Green-Campus Programme over the last three years.”
“It is evident”, he said, “that the Green-Campus programme is supported from the top down and across all sectors of the college. Now the challenge is to maintain and build on the progress. We are more than confident that Trinity College will be able to meet this challenge, continue to gain from it, and inspire others”.
As well as Trinity, the Green Flag is held by University College Cork, Dublin City University, the University of Limerick, NUI Galway, Maynooth University and St Patrick’s College Maynooth.
