This week (11th– 15th February) commences King’s College London’s Sustainability Week, a period for celebrating and discussing the university’s practices in maintaining sustainability. King’s has committed to making our campuses more environmentally sustainable through a series of proposed policies and strategies. But how much do students really understand or know these protocols? Enter, the King’s Energy Cooperative.
The King’s Energy Cooperative was set up late last year (2018) with the main goal to hold King’s accountable to its objective in achieving carbon neutrality by 2029 while also reducing King’s carbon emissions to 40% by 2023. With such substantial ambitions made by policymakers, the Coop believes that the responsibility surrounding sustainability should be shared amongst the community rather than just our limited number of energy managers alone.
In their online manifesto, the Coop stresses the shared belief that: “A community approach will change the experience and outcomes of the energy sustainable technology implementation” (Walker et al., 2010: 2655). With a focus on calling King’s to accountability in renewable energy use and its intended sustainability forecasts, it is clear that the Coop are active drivers in the battle against carbon emissions and environmental irresponsibility. The Coop provides a platform for all students to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in sustainability as well as a space to develop a greater understanding in how institutions, such as King’s, tackle issues in sustainability.
The Coop is open to all students regardless of studying level or discipline, as the organisation draws on the talents and knowledge of those with an interest in engaging with sustainable ventures and the passion and drive to achieve viable change in our local and greater communities.
On Tuesday 12th February, the King’s Energy Cooperative will be holding an event as part of Sustainability Week amongst a whole range of pop-up events across all campuses. The Coop’s ‘Panels & Pints’ event involves a viewing of the lesser known solar panels on the roof of the Great Dover Street Apartments followed by a social. The viewing seeks to start a discussion on the increasing necessity of renewable energy on site and both the benefits and limitations of the current steps taken by King’s in the fight for a sustainable university. Free tickets to the event tomorrow are available to purchase here. To contact the Coop or to find out more about their upcoming projects and events, be sure to follow them on their Facebook page, found here. Moreover, you can find out more about the amazing events held this Sustainability Week as well as King’s internal initiatives by following the King’s Sustainability department on social media.