Environmental initiatives at UKAEA
The graduates at UKAEA are taking an active role in helping UKAEA to achieve its goal of providing clean energy for generations to come. While we work to develop new technologies and systems to eventually deliver fusion energy to the masses, it’s important to remember that our environmental impact today is as important as in any other industry.
Since 2019, a group of graduates at UKAEA have been meeting regularly to brainstorm and enact ideas for improving the daily operations at Culham Science Centre to decrease our carbon footprint, emissions and impact on the environment from a fresh new perspective. The idea for a forum was developed upon the realisation that there was still plenty of room for improvement at UKAEA, and that the generous support of the Graduate Scheme could be directed towards this. The idea immediately grew in popularity and took shape with the arrival of the new generation of eco-minded graduates.
The Environment Forum
So, what does the Environment Forum do? It aims to improve UKAEA’s operating procedures as well as raising environmental awareness to UKAEA staff. This could include improvements such as:
- Waste minimisation by implementing waste management strategies
- Local sourcing of materials / equipment
- Favouring eco-friendly products with a lower embodied energy
- Committing to switching off energy-consuming appliances when not in use
- Developing our infrastructure with sustainability in mind
- Raising awareness amongst UKAEA staff
- Implementing and suggesting new ideas for sustainable catering
- Enhancing biodiversity
- Hosting outreach events such as Earth Day
Since the birth of the forum, the graduates have been eager and ready to get stuck in with existing activities as well as proposing our own. A number of us took part in the on-site litter picking scheme which saw participation from people at all levels of the organisation. Meanwhile, as our own initiative, members of the Forum set about re-labelling recycling points across site in order to reduce contamination of recyclable waste.
Engaging people on site
By working closely with UKAEA’s Environment Advisor, Silvia Rapa, along with the Property Management team, we have succeeded in gathering information on current on-site waste, recycling and catering strategies and making this information available to all through the organisation’s intranet. The Forum has identified data and visibility as a means of engaging people on-site and making it easier to identify opportunities to improve.
Through this data collection we have made links with relevant people on-site and learnt about potential future initiatives. We have been engaged in regular meetings with COO Lyanne Maclean to keep her updated on our latest activities. The feedback we’ve received and the willingness of the executives to engage us and discuss environmental issues have given us confidence that we can achieve a lot. However, we still have a big job ahead of us to raise awareness of the forum.
To this end we used Earth Week on April 20th-26th to announce the Forum to wider site, leading with a haiku competition! The response was brilliant, with many non-graduates asking how to get involved.
The winning haikus:
The world is today
If I change today for us
What world tomorrow?
My water bottle
Fill up again and again
Reduce plastic now
As in any organisation, adaptation to change is a challenge. Given the very scary statistics and predictions for the future if we continue to live without a sensitive side for the environment, we could be facing dire consequences. Therefore, it is of vital importance that we change our mindsets and attitudes by giving more thought and consideration to the environment, even though sometimes this is easier said than done. Given the current aims and objectives of the forum and with the future in mind, we hope to create a workplace that further pursues our commitment to sustainability by raising awareness across the site but also by utilising new technologies and working procedures.
Adapting to new circumstances
We are all familiar with the impact of Covid-19 on companies and individuals. While many of the Forum’s plans have been postponed by the lockdown, the situation presents a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of our presence on site and has opened the door to more flexible working arrangements for many. There are lessons to be learned which the forum hopes to take forward and implement.
Since March the Forum’s activities have continued in a different light. The new Strategy Group has been evaluating the direction of the Forum and has completed an evaluation of the Forum's role on site, the relationships between the activity stakeholders and the resources available to us. This will be invaluable in planning and conducting future campaigns effectively. The group has also settled on a vision for the Forum:
Our work at UKAEA is to create a sustainable, environmentally friendly source of power for future generations. We hope that the Environment Forum can help to apply the same sustainable principles to every part of the way we work.
In September the 2020 cohort of UKAEA graduates joined the graduate scheme. Silvia and several of the second-year graduates have already introduced the Forum and received an enthusiastic response. With two big graduate cohorts and a high level of interest from non-graduates on site, and guided by a newly developed strategy, we are confident that the Environment Forum will build upon its first year and continue to be an effective force for change at UKAEA.
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