Semi-green educations
Over two years after all public institutions were supposed to have a plan for environmental administration through Green State, many educational institutions still have a long way to go.
På norsk;)
In a government proposition from 2001, all public institutions in Norway were included in the «Green State» project. The goal was for all institutions to have a simple system of environmental leadership, which was to be integrated into the administration of each unit. The four main areas of importance were waste sorting, energy economization, reducing transport emissions, and environment-friendly purchasing agreements.
By the end of 2005, only 20 per cent of all companies and institutions had a plan for how to carry out Green State. Today, almost two years later, most institutions of higher education are still lagging behind.
- It has been a question of priorities, and many considerations have to be made, says Einar Fagerås, Director at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO).
He is unsure of how much potential the school has to launch any major measures, and thinks that changes can be made on a smaller level. In any case, the point is to getter better at taking environmental measures.
Consideration towards students
Fagerås explains that one of the reasons they are trailing so far behind, is that they are being considerate towards the students.
- We have many students that work during the evening and nighttime, and so we need continual ventilation in the study halls. With consideration to their working environment, we cannot carry out certain measures that deal with energy conservation, he says. When it comes to the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO), environmental measures have had to take a backseat while they wait for the second building phase of the new school premises. According to Jan Myhr, Purchasing, Building and IT Manager at the school, the idea is that the new building will mark the transition towards a more environmental Academy of the Arts, both when it comes to production, adaptation and usage.
- In the new building, we will use district heating, and the pottery kilns will run on gas, he says.
In addition to this, there will be radical measures to make sure that both students and employees at KHiO use public transport. There will only be five parking spaces for the whole school.
- This is of course to make sure that people leave their cars at home, he says.
UiO and NMH the best
Those who have integrated Green State to the largest extent are the University of Oslo (UiO) and the Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH). Frode Meinich, Technical Director at UiO, says that they have focused on making environmental measures part of their administrational thought process, and that they are continually working with the four main areas of Green State.
Jorulf Silde, Health, Safety, and Environmental Manager at UiO, says that it has been important to take the environment seriously.
- We have costs of more than one billion kroner a year in ordinary purchases, and this makes it important for us to choose the most environmentally friendly products, he says.
Knut Jarbo, Section Head at NMH, reveals that energy conservation is a special priority.
- We have two large buildings, and if we can economize our power usage, that will make a difference. In addition to this, we sort waste and are conscious about the fact that as many as possible of the products we buy should be eco-labelled.
Costs before environment
Despite progress, few schools have fully implemented all parts of Green State. The Norwegian School of Sports Sciences (NIH) is just getting started when it comes to cuts in transport expenses and emissions. The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (NVH) is forced to admit that costs go before ecolabelling when purchases are to be made. Kjetil Oftebro, Technical Director at NVH, admits that the school could do better, but that they now have launched several measures.
- The lack of eco-labelled products on the market means that purchases cannot always be environmentally friendly, Oftebro says.
Meinich at UiO says that changing over to more environmental operations is expensive.
However, Jarbo at NMH thinks that the school can save money with environmental measures.
- When we manage to get the energy usage down, there will of course be a financial gain, he says.
Baard Wist, Director at NIH, agrees.
- We have already made big cuts to our energy usage and we are sorting our waste to a much greater extent than before. This has been financially beneficial.
Silde at UiO says that in the last few years, it has been easier to think about the environment in addition to costs – both because there has been greater availability of environmentally friendly solutions, and because UiO has a responsibility as a large institution.
