Brunel has successfully achieved ISO 14001, the internationally recognised environmental management standard.
The achievement demonstrates the University’s commitment to protecting the environment and marks Brunel as a leading environmentally responsible institution through its operation and delivery of services, teaching and research. Currently only 21 higher education providers hold ISO 14001 accreditation, and of these only a few - including Brunel - hold it for the entire institution.
For the past two years, staff in the Operations Directorate have led the implementation of the standard under the supervision of the Environmental Strategy Group, chaired by the Chief Operating Officer Paul Thomas. Schools, Research Centres and departments, including the Medical Centre, have all demonstrated their compliance with the legislative requirements, often adopting more stringent standards than required. The achievement also reflects the major contribution of three intern students from the Institute for the Environment, as well as the efforts of other students from the Institute and the School of Engineering and Design who devoted their extracurricular time to the project, gaining valuable professional experience in the process
Congratulating Brunel, the lead auditor William Richardson said: “The Environmental Management System (EMS) at Brunel is very well run and a lot of work has clearly gone into it. There was very little that one could be critical about as the internal audits were incredibly extensive and the reporting structure robust. The whole EMS has a top down approach.”
Paul Thomas added: “The scale of this achievement from a very low starting point in 2010 is quite exceptional, reflecting very well on the University as a whole and on the small team, under Dr Jeung Lee’s stewardship, who led the initiative. It is also a collective accomplishment made possible by the hard work of students and staff across all Schools, Research Centres and departments. It is an award to cherish as 2012 draws to a successful close.”