Jour ney through
BUas ’ Greenery
Written by : Alisha Wenas & Lenssa Dummi Designed by : Jasmijn Kruijssen
What did BUas do to become greener and more sustainable ? You will probably answer this question by mentioning BUzz , the beehives , or the solar panels . Even though these answers are not wrong , there is so much more to the sustainability of the campus than these aspects . In the last couple of years , BUas has made its way to becoming more sustainable and tries to encourage its staff and students to do this as well . How have they been doing this ? Take an inside look into the story behind BUas ’ greenery and sustainability .
BUas ’ Sustainability :
Viktoria Ivan was a former student of Leisure and Events at BUas , who did a minor in SSRPI ( sustainability , social responsibility and professional identity ) and an internship at the Marketing and Communications department of BUas . In 2020 she wrote her thesis for the AFP ( Accommodation , Facility , and Planning ) department of BUas . The thesis was about a Green Office at BUas , which became some months after a reality . After her graduation , she got in touch with colleagues she had met when doing her thesis . They told her about the SDG ( Sustainable Development Goals ) Task Force , a group of lecturers and staff members who talked to many colleagues and students to better understand what is already happening at BUas that is connected to specific SDGs . “ The idea was to create a whole BUas SDG inventory in the topics of research , curricular , operations , and community ,” Viktoria mentions . “ We have collected their input on how BUas can improve and what kind of support is necessary for that .” In December 2021 , they made an action plan for 2022-2025 based on their findings . Since January , they have been working under ‘ SDG support HUB ’ and started implementing the actual action plan . First , she began to work part-time in the SDG Task Force , but since December 2021 , she hasworked almost full time .
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Viktoria Ivan
You might not notice it until you look a little more closely at BUas ’ campus , but BUas has taken a lot of measurements regarding the sustainability of the buildings . One of the most obvious ones is the solar panels placed on the top of the horizon building , contributing significantly to energy consumption . “ When renovating the whole
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campus , sustainability was kept in mind regarding isolation , heating , and how it works ,” Viktoria explains . “ The building is designed so that we don ’ t have to use a lot of heating in the winter , and it keeps cool in the summer . The whole building is focused on being accessible by motion censored doors .”
It is true that motion censored doors help minimize heat transfer , air leaks , and air infiltration , since we don ’ t have to think about opening or closing the doors ourselves . However , the motion censored doors of BUas are also part of social sustainability . Along with the elevators it makes the buildings easily accessible for everyone , so also for people with disabilities for example . BUas has also silent areas and rooms for people who need to escape the noise occasionally . This is also part of the social sustainability .
BUas ’ greenery is also designed having sustainability in mind . “ The trees and the whole garden were designed to retain rainwater for the trees . The trees are planted in a little dent , like a bowl-shaped from the ground which helps retain the rainwater for the tree .”