Shaping a sustainable future in Royal College of Music Green Week 2024
Monday 26 February 2024
Royal College of Music (RCM) Green Week takes place from 26 February to 3 March 2024, offering an opportunity to spotlight the College’s commitment to environmental sustainability and encourage students and staff to keep getting involved.
The Royal College of Music recently achieved first place in the 2023/24 People and Planet University League table for universities with under 5,000 students, for the second consecutive year, reflecting an ongoing commitment to environmental and social sustainability.
Aida Berhamovic, Royal College of Music, Director of Estates, commented: ‘We are incredibly proud of the result in the People and Planet University League table and I’m grateful to all staff, students and members of our wider community who continue to support sustainability initiatives at the Royal College of Music. Green Week is a wonderful opportunity to come together to celebrate these achievements and consider how we can continue to do our bit to live sustainably both individually and as a College.’
Currently on track to reach the ambitious goal of becoming carbon net zero by 2035, the Royal College of Music has already exceeded its target to reduce carbon emissions from gas and electricity by 73% by 2027 from a 2004/05 baseline, having reduced it by 77% in 2022/23. In the past year the RCM has continued to improve energy efficiency and decarbonise its systems with recent steps including:
- New LED lighting in the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall which has delivered a 80% reduction in energy use
- Sensors in all corridors in Jay Mews to control lighting automatically
- Digital ticketing and enhanced data ensuring only the necessary number of programmes are printed
- Secondary glazing fitted in office spaces in Jay Mews to help with heat retention
- A sustainable food policy championing plant-based options and minimising use of single use plastics
- A new waste contract improving recycling rate and reducing emissions from waste collection
- New policies ensuring environmental and social considerations are included in decision making around partnerships and suppliers
The Royal College of Music is also an active member of South Ken Zen +, a partnership of world-leading science and arts institutions in South Kensington, committed to tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis, with the joint aim of becoming a zero emissions and nature positive neighbourhood.
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The annual Royal College of Music Green Week is an opportunity for students and staff to come together to further their understanding of sustainable practices both at College and in their personal lives, inspiring everyone to make their small but vital contribution. Green Week events include free bicycle maintenance to encourage sustainable transport, an initiative at Prince Consort Village encouraging growing of fruit and vegetables and inviting wildlife into the area, and a drop-in session with the Director of Estates allowing students and staff to suggest new initiatives for the coming year, while the Students’ Union will be running a mending workshop for clothes and a social media campaign to share sustainable recipes.
Tymon Zgorzelski, President of the Royal College of Music Students’ Union, commented: ‘Green Week is an inspiring collaboration across the Royal College of Music. We are using this week to promote some of the key areas where everyone can make a difference, including food and clothes consumption. I am proud that RCM takes these global issues so seriously and is effectively working towards a more sustainable campus.’
Celebrate Green Week at the RCM Woodwind Ensemble’s nature-inspired concert on Thursday 29 February.
If you would like to get in touch with the Estates team with a suggestion or query, please contact sustainableRCM@rcm.ac.uk.
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