The University of Cambridge is committed to reducing it’s carbon footprint, and we in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology are determined to play our part in achieving this.

We were very pleased to achieve a Green Impact Platinum award for the 2021-2022 years efforts, as displayed by some of our Green Impact Team members at the award ceremony. We as a team are fully determined to maintain this status in the next Green Impact Challenge.

Emma Cook (who was awarded runner-up for Environment Hero, 2018) has, after many years of diligent service decided to step down from the role of EEC.  We thank you Emma for all the hard work over the years…you have left some big shoes to fill (recycle)!

 

We fully support the University’s Transport Strategy 2019-2024 and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus Travel Strategy so encourage the use of public transport and car sharing where possible. Thank You.

 

Recycling Options in Obs & Gynae

 

We have even introduced two new recycling initiatives this to further reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill. These initiatives are the recycling of coffee grounds and of face coverings which of course became a significant issue because of Covid-19.

Follow this link to find out what else the university is recycling.

 

Below are just some of the things we as a department, have been doing to reduce our environmental impact:

Displays and Pledges

To ensure our department members are aware of, and supporting the drive for a healthier environment, we set up a display in our Rosie based department. Each department member was asked to pledge to change one thing that would help us reach our goal. These have now been displayed as part of our dandelion display.

 

Switch Off Week Spot Checks

During February’s spotlight on energy month our team members performed spot checks of the computers within the department. Those that had been switched off overnight, rather than left on, or on standby, were rewarded with a yummy snack and a smiley face sticker. The great news was that the number of PCs switched off overnight was up from last year. Well Done Department.

 

 

Coffee cup awareness

Over a five week period, staff we asked to save coffee cups that had been bought at work (most were purchased from the Concourse on the Biomedical campus) and then the Green Team displayed all these cups in our tearoom.  This was done to raise awareness of the problems arising from the estimated 5000 cups that are thrown away in the UK every minute!

We were encouraged to consider buying a reusable cup as this will:-

 

 

• Help to reduce the number of trees cut down to make the cups in the first place
• Reduce the number of cups that end up in landfill: only 1% are recycled
• Reduce the energy, water, chemical agents, transport and labour used to collect, segregate, clean and reprocess each cup
• Save yourself 25p every time at Starbucks
• Add 25p donation to ‘Keep Britain tidy’ every time it is used at Costa

Lastly, if we do purchase coffee cups, we were encouraged to put the empty cup into our green recycle bins.

Our Green Team put together a wonderful morning tea all around a bee theme.  While we enjoyed their yummy creations we were able to read all about the bee and why it is so important we all do our part to keep the population a buzz!  The Green Team provided a very informative and comprehensive display of facts, figures and information.  Homemade Bee B&B hotels were also available for sale.

Why bees matter:

• The loss of habitat is the most pressing problem facing British bees: 97% of our vital grasslands have been lost in the past 60 years.
• More than twenty bee species have become extinct and a quarter of those left are on the threatened species list.
• Bees pollinate 75% of our main food crops worldwide, including some of our favourite produce like apples, strawberries and tomatoes.
• Scientists estimate that it would cost over £1.8 billion every single year to pollinate UK crops by hand.