UCL saves carbon emissions equal to planting 1,667 trees this Christmas!

Results  

Each year, the Christmas Switch Off campaign demonstrates how small actions can result in significant impact, supporting UCL’s goal to reduce carbon emissions.

Over 400 staff and students committed to switch off lights, computers, laptops, fridges, microwaves, projectors, lab equipment, ventilation, and heating. This resulted in a huge reduction of 480,647 kilowatt-hours, leading to a combined saving of 100 tonnes of carbon – that’s equivalent to planting 1,667 trees! This also saved UCL an incredible £144,194 over the festive period.  

> UCL Sustainability Strategy: Change Possible  

Competition winners  

The Faculty of Laws are the champions for the 2023-24 Christmas Switch Off! Congratulations - you will receive £100 towards a community-building event for your efforts.  

Honourable mentions go to the Institute of Education, Geography, and the London Centre for Nanotechnology for their pledges.  

The winning accommodation is Ifor Evans Hall! Congratulations and thank you for taking part – your Hall Community Officer will receive £100 to be spent on an event for residents. 

Yet, this achievement extends beyond specific departments and residences; it's a collective effort. A heartfelt thank you to every staff member and student from all corners of UCL who participated. Without your dedication, we wouldn't have achieved these fantastic results. 

Saving calculations are detailed at the end of the article.  

What action is UCL taking to reduce energy use?

Making our campus more energy efficient   

• Repairing existing and installing more controls for heating, cooling and lighting.     
• Working with the Energy Institute and others to link our heating system to on-campus weather stations helping to better match heating provision with demand.  
• Connecting our room bookings system with our heating control system so unoccupied rooms are not heated unnecessarily.    
• Undertaking surveys in buildings to implement more LED lighting and improve BMS controls to improve building performance and efficiency.  
• Adopting a fabric first approach for refurbishment and construction projects ensure less energy is needed from the offset.  

Streamlining our operations  

• Continuing to work on the management of our buildings, to ensure they are working efficiently, with adjustments to our heating, lighting, and ventilation systems. 
• Opening hours of some buildings have been changed to reflect usage patterns. We have worked to ensure that there are no unreasonable impacts on teaching, research, or other business-critical activities. The Student Centre will remain open for 24/7 studying.   
• Consolidating our office space by moving all Central Professional Services (PS) teams to Bidborough House.  

Making improvements to our IT services  

• Consolidating data storage into data centres to improve energy efficiency and data security.  
• ISD is changing how power for Desktop@UCL computers is managed across campus. It is estimated it will save £500 a day.   

What actions can you take to help save energy?

• Spark change by switching off: Check appliances daily before heading home to ensure computers, monitors and lights are switched off. We currently spend £3,000 every hour overnight when the campus is largely unoccupied. Switching lights off each night would  save UCL £500,000 a year – equivalent to the CO₂ absorption of almost 7.5 million trees.   

• ‘Watt’s’ causing energy inefficiency? If you have identified something that is causing energy wastage in your department such as windows not closing or faulty lighting controls, please report them through this form.  

• Be a chameleon: In the cooler months, use layers to keep warmer, rather than turning up the thermostat or heating. In the Spring and Summer, use layers and light clothing to keep cool, rather than turning up the air-conditioning. Teaching, research and office spaces are regulated between temperatures of 19-21°C on weekdays between 8-6pm, during Spring.  

• Make Change Possible: Join Green Impact and LEAF – our sustainability behavioural change programmes to make further changes to your offices and labs. 

> Green Impact & LEAF 

Stay in touch: 

Follow us on social media or sign-up to our sustainability newsletters to find out more and be the first to know about the Easter Switch Off!  

• Follow us on Twitter and Instagram 
• Sign up to our Sustainable UCL newsletters  

Savings calculations:

On average, one tree can consume approximately 60kg of CO₂ from the atmosphere.  

Carbon savings given are CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent).  

Department winner: Calculated by percentage participation per department compared with the percentage energy saving of the department.  

Hall winner: Calculated by taking the number of pledges per hall and dividing by the number of current occupied rooms to get a participation percentage. 

• The holiday period was from 22.12.2023 - 02.01.2024. 
• Savings compared to term time = 480,647kWh. 
• Average weekday energy use during term time = 286,703kWh. 
• Average weekday energy use during holidays = 225,083kWh. 
• Average weekend energy use during term time = 250,299kWh. 
• Average weekend energy use during holidays = 222,567kWh.