The EUI’s Green Action Plan

The EUI has launched a new Action Plan to reduce its energy consumption and control it’s waste over the next 12 months and in the coming years.

“It is a moral must and a financial necessity to pay particular attention to energy and environmental protection,” says Kathinka España, Director of the Real Estate and Facilities Service. “I believe we have some margin for improvement.” 

Investments will be made in the key areas of lighting, water, heating and waste across the campus.

“We are going to try and control consumption and manage behaviour, while improving our infrastructures and systems,” says Walter Pugliese, Building Expert at the EUI.

New motion sensors will be installed in common spaces to avoid lights being left on needlessly; the bulbs will also be changed to increase longevity and efficiency. Thermostats will be added to radiators to regulate the temperature and filters added to taps to reduce waste.

The main areas where the community can be involved are ensuring that lights are switched off when you leave rooms; by keeping doors and windows closed when heating or AC units are on; and through recycling. An additional 100 recycling bins will be placed throughout the campus in the coming months, but people are being encouraged to reduce their waste beforehand, especially in the area of printing, by using both sides of a sheet of paper and adjusting the formatting of documents.

“These are small steps, but if you think that there are over 1,000 people at the EUI, if everyone makes a small effort it means a very large step for the Institute,” says Pugliese.

The EUI will be purchasing hybrid or electric cars to replace the current fleet of service vehicles, and future contracts for amenities from energy to food will be examined with the providers green credentials in mind. In certain areas, such as cleaning, the use of eco-friendly products is already compulsory.

“Moving forward we will be measuring our success from last year’s levels, to see if we are making progress. Projects are one thing, we need to make sure we have results,” says Pugliese.

Future initiatives and results will be regularly published on Real Estate and Facilities website, and contributions from the EUI community will be happily received.