Our Green Officer

Haley Perkins is our current Green Officer. She can be contacted at mcr-green@clare.cam.ac.uk.

CLARE GOES GREEN - A Guide for the MCR

The University of Cambridge aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2038. This is a big commitment; changes at the collegiate and individual levels are crucial to success. In previous years, Clare has won the University’s Green Impact Competition, which shows the College’s commitment to becoming more environmentally friendly, but there is always more we can do.
Some changes required to achieve net zero will take longer to implement, such as electrifying college and accommodation heating systems. Clare’s emissions* average 2,469 tCO2/yr, with gas responsible for 1,187 tCO2/yr (48%). Food and waste contribute 557 and 216 tCO2/yr, which correspond to 23% and 9%, respectively, so cutting down on these emissions can greatly impact our carbon footprint.

However, there are many shorter-term changes we can make ourselves and encourage others to make that will still have a huge impact on Clare’s carbon emissions.

CLARE GOES GREEN’S TOP FIVE TIPS FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN COLLEGE

1. Try plant-based!
   Go for the vegan option in the buttery, or try that vegan formal! Reducing your consumption of animal-based food products where possible helps reduce the environmental impact of your meals immensely.

2. Keep an eye on your radiator!
   Feeling too hot? Or too cold? Learn to adjust the level of your radiator and, where possible, turn it off when you’re heading out for a while.

3. Save energy!
   Bring a clothes airer to dry your clothes in your room. You’ll also find yourself waiting for empty dryers a lot less often.

4. Reduce consumption!
   Save a bit of money by thinking twice before buying that one extra thing off of Amazon; it’s often one extra thing you have to pack when moving out. And consider whether you can get what you need from the range of independent and charity shops around Cambridge.

5. Wash food packaging before recycling!
   Before recycling your empty tin cans or plastic food packaging, give it a rinse for just a few seconds under the sink.
   *Reference: Roadmap to Zero Emissions in a Cambridge College – Joey Bream, 2022 - contact Joey and give this a read for more information and insights into Clare's emissions and what we can do to get to net zero!

Eco Schemes at Clare and Beyond

The Big 3:

1. No ruminants in the buttery: Discussions of taking ruminants off the buttery menu could help us make a substantial step forward in reducing our carbon footprint in Clare and you can help to push this agenda by opting to avoid these food options. If you want to go further, opt for the veggie or vegan options (if Clare went completely vegan, we could bring this up to saving a staggering 332 tCO2/yr which equates to 13.4% of our annual CO2 emissions).

2. More composting!: could save 83 tCO2/yr (3.4%). Improving our food waste handling by using food waste bins can greatly impact Clare’s carbon emissions. Due to difficulties with students not cleaning out their bins properly in previous years, they are no longer a mainstay in kitchens, but YOU can request a food waste bin from the accommodation office (accomodation@clare.cam.ac.uk )– just please commit to emptying it regularly and giving it a quick clean. If we can perfect our waste management through composting and more recycling we can bump our carbon savings up to 139 tCO2/yr (5.6%)!

3. (Vacation) Heating Reductions: could save up to 38 tCO2/yr (1.5%). If college reduces our heating during the holidays, we can reduce Clare’s carbon emissions by 1.5%. HOWEVER, if we all commit to lowering our thermostats even by a 1 or 2 degrees, we can push this further. Try popping on some fluffy socks and another jumper before reaching to turn the thermostat up each time.

More ways to make a difference:

1. Gardening and Clare Growers: If you would like to be involved in running Clare’s allotment, please contact the Clare Growers Association (ld628@cam.ac.uk). If you are keen to set up a gardening scheme at your accommodation, please contact the current MCR Green Rep (mcr-green@clare.cam.ac.uk) or the Head Gardener, Kate Hargreaves (kh527@clare.cam.uk). To keep updated with Clare Growers you can follow their facebook or instagram pages.

2. Energy Use: Alongside keeping your thermostat and radiators turned down, you can also reduce the time spent in the shower. Also, help out by reporting energy wastage: if you see a light that is always on or not activated by a sensor, please contact Deborah Hoy (with cc to the MCR Green Officer mcr-green@clare.cam.ac.uk), so that the Estates team can replace it with an energy-efficient one.

3. Societies: The undergraduates have a vibrant eco Soc (Clare Goes Green) which has an especially impressive Instagram feed full of tips and initiatives (@claregoesgreen). Clare Goes Green is affiliated with the Clare Growers Association, so do be in touch with CGG if you are interested in the allotment.

4. Greencycle Cupboard: The MCR has a space for new and old students to recycle items. It can be tempting to buy everything new for the year, but do check out the Greencycle cupboard in Clare Court as there are often plenty of pots, pans, etc. ready to be re-used!
   You can find a link to the inventory of what's inside here. Please make sure to follow the following Greencycle Cupboard Comunity Rules:

   • Please update the spreadsheet if you add or remove anything from the cupboard
   • Please be mindful of what is already there. If there is a lot of a particular item, please don’t add more.
   • Please be thoughtful with how you use the cupboard. Don’t put perishable, broken, or unclean items into the cupboard.
   • Please sort your items into their designated spaces. Do not don’t dump whole boxes into the cupboard, as it makes more work for someone else.

5. Cycle Repair: The Greencycle cupboard is also home to some basic cycle repair materials (a pump, tyre levers, a set of Allen keys, a wrench, and some lubricant spray). These aren’t there for Greencycling purposes, so please put them back once used!

6. Gown Resale Scheme: The MCR has a gown resale scheme where we buy back gowns from students finishing their studies to sell to new students. If you’re looking for a gown to buy or sell, contact the MCR Green Officer.

7. Recycling: When possible, please recycle paper, metals, glass, and most plastics in the recycling bins provided by College. Many Co-ops and bigger food stores around Cambridge accept soft plastics for recycling. If you see the need for a recycling bin anywhere in college, please email the MCR Green Officer or Jackie Searle (js426@clare.cam.ac.uk).

8. Borrow a Bag: If you’re heading to the shops and realise you’ve forgotten to bring bags then you can head to Old Court Porter’s Lodge, and borrow a tote for the trip. Don’t forget to return the tote bag so that others in need can borrow them too!

9. Around Cambridge: There are plenty of eco schemes running in Cambridge that can create a sense of connection and give you a stake in ecological living:

• CoFarm: This scheme is a pilot in ecological community farming taking place off Barnwell road (just next to Coldham’s Common). You can get involved on their website.
• Trumpington Community Orchard: This project is based about 3 miles to the south of the city and aims to maintain a biodiverse orchard that keeps alive heritage apple varieties. The site has free public access, and welcomes volunteers to maintain the grounds.
• Cambridge Trees: There’s lots you can do to help tree life in Cambridge, from volunteering to help with maintenance to mapping, to protecting trees at risk of being cut.

10. Biodiversity: As the importance of biodiversity has come more and more to the forefront in recent years, “citizen science” initiatives have proven to be invaluable data collections. This helps guide us in the directions needed to improve the areas around us, and our practices, which lead to increasing biodiversity. Here in Cambridge we are lucky enough to have a tool at our disposal called iRecord, where we can record data in our surrounding area as we see it, with no need to be an expert in identifying plants or animals, and on any day of the year! You can enter information either on a desktop computer or download the app on your phone to load up sightings as they happen. It is a free tool and simple to use. If this is something you are interested in doing you can watch this instructional video which has all the information you need to start uploading data and be a nature and wildlife hero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rxgd27OE58

11. Eco Shopping:

• The Market in the centre of town is a great way to make your shopping packaging-free. Make sure to take your own shopping bags as well as containers or paper bags to pop the produce into!
• Full Circle Shop UK is a zero-waste pop-up that can be found in the market Monday – Thursday. They have a permanent shop on
  Norfolk Street https://www.fullcircleshop.co.uk/. You can also follow them on instagram @fullcircleshopuk.
• Supermarkets – Sainsbury’s is the biggest and cheapest in town and offer a range of loose and unpackaged veg. It’s worth noting neither Sainsbury’s or M&S in town pay the living wage to staff but Aldi and Lidl do! While there are two Co-ops close to St Regis and Chesterton Road accommodation, the SPAR opposite Stir often has unpackaged farm produce.
• Radmore Farm shop offers zero-waste options on everything from laundry detergent to chocolate! They’ve also started doing deliveries too. Check them out here https://www.radmorefarmshop.co.uk/ & IG: @radmorefarmshop. They also stock local honey, homemade cakes, and cleaning materials.
• Plumbs’ Dairry is a great option if you want to find some plastic-free milk, and they offer great delivery and organic options: https://www.plumbs-dairy.co.uk/
  Be sure to also check out Holland & Barrett in Lion’s Yard, all the independent supermarkets on Mill Road (LOTS of unpackaged and veggie options) as well as Cambridge Organic Food Company as a great place to order weekly groceries from with minimal packaging, no plastic and great groceries. Also, check out the various charity shops, vintage sales and independent cafés located on Mill Road or Burleigh Street (approx 10-minutes walk out of town).

Reading and Resource Recommendations:

https://zero.giki.earth - A great resource that helps you calculate your carbon footprint and then provides a list of steps to reduce your emissions. You can filter ideas/steps by the size of change you're willing to make or the area of your life you want to focus on.
Book Recommendations:

• Is It Really Green? by Georgina Wilson-Powell: This book is a great reference for ways to reduce your carbon footprint and be more environmentally friendly
• Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard: also check out Suzanne Simard's amazing Mother Tree project here: https://mothertreeproject.org
• Sustainable Energy - Without The Hot Air by David Mackay: A great read if you want an in-depth analysis of our carbon emission crisis and renewable routes to remission.
• The Overstory by Richard Powers