Wellington College Sustainability Committee

First meeting of the Academic Year 2011-12  (22 September 2011)

Agenda

1.     Apologies for absence

Ian Morris, Debbie Arnold, Philip Stockwell, Claudia Geitner (A)

2.     Membership of the committee

3.     Report from meeting with ADAS

4.     Sustainability Day: 5 October

·         Theme: Consumption and Waste

·         Activities

·         Tie-in with Service Day

·         Tie-in with Harvest Festival

·         Role of House Reps

·         Announcements at Assemblies on 28 September and 3 October

5.     Visit of Hal Gillmour and Isabel Carlisle

·         Feedback

·         Where next

6.     Dates for the diary:

·         Thu 6 Oct: Reps dinner 7pm

·         Sun 9 Oct: Harvest Festival 8pm

·         10 Nov: Committee Meeting 5:20pm

·         23 Nov: Earth Summit (Scientists) – London

·         24 Nov: Sustainability Day (Energy)

·         24 Nov: Earth Summit (Geographers) – London

·         30 Nov: Reps dinner 7pm

7.     AOB

Minutes

Present: Mr S Farrell (chair, minutes), Mr A Peter, Mr G Burbidge, James Chapman (R), Zach Topley (Bd), Ashna Shah (O), Fred Noble (Hl), Hugo Williams (Bl), Michael Yu (M), Barnaby Walker (Bn), Charlotte Wheeler (W), Austin Curtis (T), Angus Franz (L), Min Ju Oh (Hn), Callum Davidson (Pn), Tom McGlynn (Hg)

SAF opened the meeting by thanking everyone for the good attendance, and thanking Mr Peter for his work up to this point.

1.     Apologies for absence

Mr I Morris, Mrs D Arnold, Mr P Stockwell, Claudia Geitner (A)

2.     Membership of this committee:

Mrs Lunnon to be included in invitation                                                                        Act: SAF

There was discussion as to the student membership. SAF explained that the purpose of the reps dinners was to engage in broad discussion, whilst the remit of the committee was as a decision making/action recommending/question asking body. For the time being all students will continue to be welcome and invited as SAF felt that the student group had much to offer the proceedings.

3.     GMB reported on a meeting earlier in the day with the agency ADAS, whom he has appointed as advisory group on environmental matters at Wellington. ADAS will help groups of students and staff at Wellington to carry out practical projects to improve and maintain the site. There will be a full report on their proposal at the next committee meeting.

4.     Sustainability Day 5 October: proposals to raise awareness about waste by

a.     Making houses aware of their traditional “zones” of responsibility for cleanliness [Act: GMB and SAF]

b.     House reps to launch competition for tidiest zone on 5 October [Mr Waugh to be invited to judge]

c.     Houses to analyse waste bins on 5 October, with a prize for the house that has recycled the most effectively

d.     Raise awareness of the litter problem by using Mr Waugh’s photos on the plasma screens in the V and A on this day.

e.     Proposal to empty the lake of waste was felt to have, potentially, too many health and safety concerns to be practical

A sub-committee of SAF, Min Ju Oh, Charlotte Wheeler and Barnaby Walker was established to take plans forward.

5.     Transitions Talk: there was much positive response to the presentations by Hal Gillmour and Isabel Carlisle. Some members of the group felt that a significant majority of the school community was still too “cynical” for us to be able to adopt a Transition approach, though others felt that this was exactly why we should do so. GMB gave examples of projects in which the school was engaged that have dramatic effects on lowering energy consumption. The students felt it was important to note that the general perception was still of a school dependent on high levels of energy consumption for its core activity and that, if this perception was incorrect, more could be done to raise awareness of the balance of energy use/saving.

6.     Future dates for the diary to be circulated via this document.

7.     AOB:

a.     Suggestion to publish house/department energy use on house/department intranet sites                                                                                  [Act: GMB, SAF, JTL]

b.     GMB announced the imminent arrival of the Ecobus, and was warmly congratulated and thanked by the committee for providing such a wonderful teaching tool in a practical solution to a temporary space problem.

Meeting closed at 18:15

Sustainability Committee Meeting 22^nd January 2010

Minutes

Action required in Bold.

Attendance:  RAP; GMB,PJT, Fotherby, Hunt, Butcher, Sanina, Virdi, Bhatti.  Other members otherwise engaged.

STAGS

STAGS were urged:

To meet regularly for short periods - IT STAG model recommended

To complete their action plans by exeat - what we are doing, what we intend to do, what we have considered but discounted for the moment.

Plans are in hand or on their way from IT, Purchasing +Waste, Food, Energy+Buildings+Water+Grounds   AP will format coherently

AP will see SJB about Travel and Traffic

Ecobuild

There is an Ecobuild exhibition on 2^nd - 4^th March at Earl's Court.   AP will seek permission from JAG to take a select band of interested pupils with an eye on careers in architecture, design, engineering, construction industry, sustainability.

Carbon Auditing

GMB said College is actively pursuing the possibility of buying a carbon auditing system that will enable pupils, teachers and support staff to carbon audit College on a regular basis and formulate sustainability strategy based on that auditing.   The Sustainability Committee should be part of the interviewing process.   Interviewing two prospective partners projected for 4^th March 2.30-4.00.

AP to check with Director of Sport that pupils might be excused sport that afternoon, and relay response to GMB;  GMB to invite potential partners;  GMB to book a venue.

Sustainability Week

Plans for individual events must be formulated by weekend leave.   That allows us two weeks before half-term to firm up arrangements.   PJT to hound everyone.