Trinity raises Green Flag for the environment
Posted on: 03 September 2019
Trinity’s ‘Green Flag’ was officially raised today by the Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast in recognition of the campus’s green status.
This follows a rigorous re-evaluation by an expert panel of the college’s performance in the areas of environmental management and enhancement, after which An Taisce once again granted the international accreditation. Six years ago, Trinity became the first campus in an EU city to be awarded the Green Flag.
Sustainability is a fast-growing area for the university, the Provost explained in his speech. In the past few years, we have ended investments in fossil fuels; put in place a Campus Pollinator Plan, which involves reducing mowing on grassy areas, planting pollinators, and welcoming honeybee hives and solitary bee hotels to campus; voted to eliminate single use plastics on campus – eradication of disposable plastics from catering venues is now 80% complete; and we’ve become a member of the International Sustainable Campus Network, or ISCN.
Specific initiatives within the past 12 months include the salvage of student belongings during Move Out in April/ May of this year. Through this salvage, we managed to divert 450 cubic metres of belongings from being dumped. These belongings will be sold tomorrow, in our first annual ‘Trash to Treasure’ event, to incoming students in the gym in the Sports Hall.
Trinity’s first Photovoltaic solar electricity array has been installed on the roof of the new Trinity Business School, which also has the first exterior ‘green wall’ in Dublin and this summer three areas of lawn were replaced with wildflowers.
Two outdoor, public water fountain have recently been installed to add to the 120 indoor water fountains around campus, which encourage students to drink tap water rather than bottled water. For Freshers’ Week, we’re presenting, as a gift to all first-year students, a reusable water bottle.
Sustainability has been embedded in Trinity’s structures with the establishment of Staff and Student Sustainability Networks, the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability, the Sustainable Procurement Working Group, and the new Resident Sustainability Champions programme.
Other speakers at the Green Flag raising ceremony included Michele Hallahan, Trinity’s Sustainability Advisor, Ruby Barrett, SU Environmental Officer and Dr Michael John O’Mahony, Director, Environmental Education Unit, An Taisce as well as a lovely performance by the Trinity Belles.
For more information on Trinity’s sustainability initiatives, please see our Green Pages here
