Green Campus CIT is managed by the Buildings and Estates office and supported by the Clean Technology Centre.

The project focuses on all areas of sustainability, and with your help aims to reduce CIT’s carbon footprint. CIT has huge annual electricity, gas, water and paper usage and this project will reduce these resources significantly. These reductions will have obvious environmental as well as economic benefits.

Your continued support is essential for this project to succeed and we want everyone to get involved in making this project a real success. CIT hope to raise the bar for environmental improvement on campus. Let’s make CIT leader in environmental actions and an example to other third level institutes.

Check out the website at www.greencampuscit.ie. This website functions as a portal to keep you informed of our progress and also has some interesting news and facts about CIT. The Newsletters will keep you up to date with any upcoming events and offer tips on how you can get involved in greening CIT.

What is happening now?

The Department of Tourism and Hospitality are members of the Green Hospitality Awards and last year received the Silver award. This year the main canteen also joined up to the Green Hospitality Awards and really need your support in achieving the eco label. Please help your canteen become one of the first college canteens to achieve this label. Watch out for some changes occurring in the canteen in order to achieve the eco label.

What can I do?

You may have already noticed the lighting changes taking place around the campus and you will soon be asked to separate your food waste, along with the dry recyclables. It is important to choose reusable cups, plates and remember the 4 R’s – Rethink, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle your waste.

EWWR

During the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) Food Waste Reduction Fair 26th – 28th November the Hospitality students created a zero waste meal which went down a treat. They reduced the quantity of waste generated by 34.5% compared to the industry standard (as measured by the Clean Technology Centre).

Waste

A waste survey has been carried out on campus. This survey weighed 1.2 tonnes of waste and sampled 125kg of waste from CIT’s Bishopstown campus for a day. We found that the segregated materials (clear bags) were contaminated with 5% organics (food etc) and 19% liquids! This means that some segregated waste is contaminated and sent to landfill instead of being recycled!

Energy

A lot of energy wastage and unnecessary emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere is a result of failing to switch off appliances and lighting when not in use. There is a high energy usage at evenings and weekends at CIT, where obvious savings and reduction of CO2 emissions can be made. A weekend energy audit found that 34% of computers were left turned on and 8% on standby. We urge everyone to turn off electrical equipment when not in use. Plug out computers or switch off at the wall. Turning off equipment will save a lot of energy. For example, a photocopier left on overnight uses enough energy to produce over 1500 copies. That is a lot of energy wasted in a week! It’s not just you who likes to switch off at night! Always print and photocopy on both sides of the page.

Water

In 2009 CIT used more than 41,000 m3 of water! That is enough water to fill 50 Olympic size swimming pools. A major leak detection and water use optimization project is also under way. Flow rates from taps, showers, kitchens, changing rooms etc. have been documented and a plan is underway to improve water usage at CIT. It is important that we conserve water and reduce the generation of wastewater by reporting any leaks or dripping taps. Did you know that a dripping tap can waste up to 90 liters of water a day! (That’s almost 2 beer kegs full!).

How can I get involved?

Being part of the Green Campus Project will enrich your experiences at CIT. Everyone at CIT can get involved in the Green Campus CIT project. By being more aware of energy efficiency; by turning off computers and lab equipment when not in use and switching off lights that are not needed; as well as using the correct bins for your waste - you can make a huge difference. For more information or suggestions on Green Campus CIT, please contact the Green Campus Facilitator, Dr. Mary Purcell at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

This project is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for the Environment (STRIVE) Programme 2007–2013 under Phase 4 of the EPA Cleaner Greener Production Programme (CGPP).