Sustainability has become a high priority at the 3M BIC as we join other businesses across the region to become more environmentally friendly and help towards the UK’s 2050 net zero targets.
In 2019, we set up our 3M BIC Environmental Group, with members from the centre’s staff and tenants, to help reduce the overall impact of the 3M BIC on the environment, minimise its use of energy and other finite resources and champion more sustainable operating practices amongst our staff, tenants and visitors.
Our new sustainability policy has been created in line with the University of Huddersfield’s waste hierarchy – Prevent, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Responsibly Dispose – to help prevent our waste reaching landfill.
Since November last year, we have introduced numerous sustainability initiatives that our staff and tenants have already been embracing:
Our Christmas card recycling scheme has been a success with staff and tenants bringing in their Christmas cards. The cards will be made into new ones to raise money for The Welcome Centre in Huddersfield which runs a food bank.
Our offices now have paper and card recycling bins and we have containers specifically for plastic bottles, cans and food waste, including tea bags.
We also have a carrier bag exchange box in reception, so if you forget your bag for life on the way to the shops at lunchtime, you can borrow a bag and bring it back when you’ve finished with it.
Last Summer, we also started trialling sustainable filament and reels for our Ultimaker 3D printers, one made with 50% recycled material and one with 100%. On average we use the equivalent of one reel a week, four on a busy week, depending on the dimensions and density of each print, through our self-service 3D printing hub, The Byte. Using our previous supplier, the filament and reels couldn’t be recycled. With a more sustainable product, our 3D printing waste has been dramatically improved.
Our sustainability strategy is still in its early stages, and we have more exciting plans in the pipeline to help the 3M BIC become greener, including implementing new technologies and practices in sustainable development and resource efficiency. So, watch this space!
For more information about our environmental policy, contact Roo Sarwar, our environmental champion on R.Sarwar@hud.ac.uk.
