Hidden in the nook of House 1, I sat down with Jane Stout – internationally recognised ecologist and entomologist, and Trinity’s current Vice President for Biodiversity and Climate Action – to discuss all things sustainability. This article was written to provide the study body, who may not be aware of who Trinity Sustainability is, with information about their valiant work and highlight opportunities of involvement.
Jane Stout, when asked to briefly summarise Trinity Sustainability said that “it is a journey”, “a real vibrancy” that is “building momentum”. Formed just three years ago under Provost Linda Doyle’s commitment to climate and nature, the initiative has seen massive growth. Of particular significance, the brand new team have developed a Sustainability Strategy to deliver a series of Sustainable Action Plans. This broad area “feeds into almost everything we do,” says Stout.
The Vice President for Biodiversity and Climate Action is responsible for overseeing Trinity Sustainability. The VP works at a strategic governance level to embed climate, nature and health into what the university does, and looks at issues with a “sustainability lens”, and provides the much needed “voice” for climate, nature, health and sustainability issues.
Trinity Sustainability has a multitude of partnerships and collaborations at various different scales. From working closely with a plethora of government departments to working together with various universities, academics and stakeholders in policy, to being a part of various Global networks such as LERU (League of European Research Universities) and the International Nature Positive Universities Network.
Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan
Trinity Sustainability have 264 action plans that support the Sustainability Strategy. The actions are divided into Education and Research, Campus Operations and Implementation. It is further subdivided into climate, nature, active campus and circular campus and responsible campus. Actions are kept on track by a Sustainability Management Group and are organised with a traffic light system (red, amber, green) – with a focus on red which highlights the actions that are in need of attention. Actions are constantly revised and proposed and outlined in an annual report.
By 2030, Trinity hopes to be nature positive – this involves reducing our impacts on nature, and halting biodiversity loss. 2030 would also like to see a healthier campus through diet and exercise. Trinity hopes to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, and a GHG reduction of 51 per cent by 2030.
Education and Research
In their mission statement, Trinity Sustainability say they want to overcome climate and biodiversity challenges through educational programmes, and my talk with Jane Stout has revealed many. In the Sustainability Strategy, the initiative has a vision that all students and staff will become “equipped with the knowledge, skills and competencies for a sustainable future”, says Stout. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an internationally recognised programme that Trinity is trying to imbed into their curriculums. This is a long process that is currently being mapped out for undergraduate and postgraduate students. ESD fellows are working with Trinity to develop ESD modules and they speak to schools and programmes about how they can embed sustainability. To assist this Trinity has developed an ESD Resources Hub for teaching staff to find information about finding space for ESD in their teaching.
Last year Trinity was part of an international pilot called Responsible Futures, whereby students led an audit on Trinity’s curricula to see how ESD was embedded. Trinity is now accredited as a Responsible Futures university. But, “there is a lot more to do.”
Informally, Trinity Sustainability is trying to embed climate, nature and health into everything Trinity does, through teaching, extra curricular activities and community outreach. Associated with this are the creation of Living Lab Projects – using Trinity’s context as an experiment for collecting data and doing research. These projects have been really successful, says Stout. Healthy Trinity did projects on travel, and smoking. One student-led project looked at alternatives to catering milk, and as a result the levy on non-dairy milks was dropped at TCD. This is an example of “doing the research on site” leading to a “change in practice”, as Stout puts it. A current Living Lab project has students, professional and academic staff looking at air quality, to inform decisions about installing air quality monitors across campus.
Projects
Of recent note, The National Transport Authority (NTA) has awarded Trinity College Dublin a gold-level Smarter Travel Mark in September, for the college’s efforts to support active and sustainable travel to and from its campuses. This project was in the works for 13 years and had lots of people working together. Receiving the gold “was fantastic” and showed the college’s “commitment to more sustainable, healthy travel”. The campus Travel Plan is a part of the Sustainability Strategy, and is one of 260 actions. The plan involved collaboration with NTA and Dublin City Council to promote active, safe travel with an emphasis on increasing cycling and pedestrianisation.
Lots of projects are in the works for the upcoming years. Trinity Sustainability are finalising their Biodiversity Plan which will focus on nature on our campuses and also looking at nature in their business model and supply and waste chains, as well as furthering education and working with people who increase literacy about biodiversity.
Stout and her team are working on a decarbonisation plan for Trinity’s buildings, aiming to tackle Scopes 1 and 2 emissions by 2040. They aim to reduce fossil fuels mainly for heating and increasing energy efficiency. A Food Plan is in place to fulfill a “vision for creating healthy sustainable food on campus.” Furthermore, a Green Events Guide is being developed for the sustainable running of college events.
Currently underway is the successful Green Labs programme. As a leading research university, Trinity must deal with immense energy and water use from labs, hence Trinity’s labs are under review to receive accreditation and green lab status. 20 per cent are now in the process of being accredited under this programme – an increase of 80 per cent. This addresses operations of energy use and connecting with people in what they’re doing everyday. This is something Stout is particularly excited about.
Student Communication
Speaking on how to get students involved with the work done by TCD sustainability, Stout emphasised how there was “already a lot of engagement happening.” This engagement can be seen in projects such as the Urban Garden and Trinity Bio (gardens on campus that grow edible food). There are several student-led organisations such as the Green Campus Committee and lots of student societies that are interested in sustainability challenges. Getting involved can also mean internships and suggesting events. Altogether, Trinity wishes to develop the Student Engagement Plan to promote student agency.
Trash to Treasure is a “fantastic” student-led initiative running for a few years now. As students move out of their accommodation at the end of their studies – anything they no longer want but is still usable, can be donated where it is then cleaned, sorted and stored, until it is sold at a discounted price at the start of the year. It is an “extremely hard, complex” thing to do, but it is highly rewarding as all thrifted items get sold in a few days. The team then looks at the carbon savings – what’s been saved from landfill, to get some quantification of the initiative.
If a student wants to get involved in any of Trinity Sustainability’s work, they can join through the environment officer at the Student’s Union, through the Green Campus Committee or directly through the Trinity Sustainability office
Another way for students to get involved is through the many events happening. Biodiversity and Climate Action Week took place in the middle of October and featured career panels, tree planting and various workshops. Green Week is set to take place in March, and while it is too early to say what events will be on, in the past we had the Sustainability Leadership Awards, guest speakers – such as Mary Robinson last year – movie screenings, fast fashion, repair and recycling, and sporting events and panels. “The whole point of these actions weeks is to remind people that this is an issue and remind people that there are things that they can do”.
Stout concludes with a plea; “please be patient, we can’t do everything overnight”. Trinity Sustainability is new, but “building momentum”. Trinity Sustainability knows the issues and what they’re tackling is “massive”. Stout praises all the staff and students working across the campus. There is a “real vibrancy” and it’s “a credit to very many people.”
Stout finishes off with a quote to encompass it all: “It’s a journey, we have a long way to go, but we’ve made a really good start.”
