School of Computing Blueprint success

The School of Computing's Blueprint team along with their Staff Sustainability Architect made a huge impact during their recent building move, saving over a tonne of books from going to waste. 

The school moved into the new Bragg building earlier this year and during the move collected a large quantity of books that were no longer needed.  Rather than leave them behind to be disposed of, the team stepped in with some enthusiastic student volunteers to give the books a new lease of life.  Working with the University Library and AnyBooks (an online second-hand academic bookshop) they were able to rehome over a tonne of books. 

Keeping items in use for longer is a critical part of sustainable consumption. This initiative not only reduced the waste stream created by the move, it also supported countless individuals to be able to access the books they need at lower cost and with a reduced environmental impact. 

To reduce the impact of their reading and study materials, students and staff can make use of online resources such as e-books, databases and journals rather than purchasing physical copies. The University Library has over 1 million e-books that you can access without even needing to go to the Library.  Sometimes it's really helpful to get your hands on a physical copy, in which case the Library has 2.7 million physical books to lend out.  You could also check if anyone on your course has a copy you can borrow, or check out second-hand academic book sites such as AnyBook or Unidbooks.  Of course this can save you money too!

Blueprint is our sustainability programme designed to help schools and services identify the impacts they have, and make changes that help to support the University's sustainability commitments.  If your school or service already has a Blueprint, why not see if you can get involved in helping to deliver it?  If it doesn't, you could consider joining the staff sustainability community, becoming a Staff Sustainability Architect and / or starting a Blueprint programme for your team.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can make an impact, or to tell us about what you've been doing to make a difference, check our 'get involved' pages here, or email us at sustainability@leeds.ac.uk.

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We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity.

Find out more about our impact on the SDGs.