UoBGuildofStudents NUSHEFCEStudentsGreenFundBid Energy Wragg WORKING

7/27/2019 UoBGuildofStudents NUSHEFCEStudentsGreenFundBid Energy Wragg WORKING

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1. Project title:

Low Carbon Student Homes A Co-operative Transition: Retrofitting for Change

2. Executive summary

The private rental market in the vicinity of the University of Birmingham has been slow to respond to the

opportunities of energy saving measures. There is an opportunity to decrease energy demand in the

private rental market in order to decrease energy bills, improve comfort and facilitate the ambitious local

authority target of a 60% reduction in CO2e in Birmingham by 2027, based on 1990 levels.

The main aim of this proposal is to reduce the energy consumption of student houses in the areas of

Bournbrook and Selly Oak in Birmingham by offering free environmental assessments to Landlords,

these assessments will form the basis of a business case to inform and empower them to act at low cost

to them.

The students union is well place to do this as it already has an in-house lettings agency (SHAC) and a

wide range of support from across the University of Birmingham. Links made with local community

charities, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Energy Savers, the Energy Saving Co-op and other

partner organisations is indicative of the support required to make the project a success.This proposal requests funding of 278,078.

3. Students union leading the proposal

The University of Birmingham Guild of Students is a large union representing 28,000 students, with 60

FTE staff members (including 250 part-time student staff), and an annual turnover in excess of 4m.

Figure: Student demographics as of November 2013 (Garrett, 2013)

The Guild of Students has gone from strength-to-strength in the Green Impact receiving a Silver Award

in 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 brought a Gold Award, allowing us to take part in the Green Impact

Gold Standard Excellence, which was achieved in March 2013 through Greening The Curriculum project

with the University of Birmingham.

Also, through the University of Birmingham Estates, we have completed a number of energy-saving

projects, such as the new boiler room (750k). In addition, some were funded through the UK

Governments SALIX fund: sealing of all external windows (20k) & changing of 250 light fittings to LED

alternatives (4.5k).

The University of Birmingham is a Russell Group University in Birmingham, West Midlands. Theinstitution caters to a broad range of students through five Colleges: Life & Environmental Sciences;

Medical & Dental Sciences; Engineering & Physical Sciences; Social Sciences; and Arts & Law. The


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activities are split over two campuses, with the majority of those taking place at the Edgbaston Campus

in the South of Birmingham.

4. Other organisations involved

We are aware that the University of Worcester has been working on its Worcester Energy Pioneers

project with DECC for some time, and would really appreciate a partnership of real value to student

housing in Year 2 of the project. In Year 1, we will aim to review the Worcester Energy Pioneers projectand work with them to deliver services that impact students from other universities.

In addition, we have conducted a flash consultation with a number of organisations, and have received

very enthusiastic engagement. Those include:

Northfield Ecocentre a charity based less than five miles from the University of Birmingham, which

is a specialist in energy assessment and consultation regarding social housing and problem

landlords

City Council the largest Local Authority in Europe, Birmingham City Council (BCC) aims to cut its

CO2e by 60% by 2027 (based on 1990 levels); BCC covers 410,000 homes, of which 60,000 is social

housingthey feel Selly Oak provides an excellent pilot opportunity to become trailblazers in energy

efficiency (Sandy Taylor, Head of Climate Change & Sustainability)

University of Birmingham (Estates; Hospitality and Accommodation Services; College of Engineering

& Physical Sciences; Centre for Urban and Regional Studies) the University, as our parent

institution has found it difficult to penetrate the Selly Oak housing market, along with the Guild of

Students. We feel the Green Deal and ECO (Energy Company Obligation) offer great opportunities

for students to work with local providers and improve their lives, reducing student fuel poverty,

increasing comfort and reducing carbon

SHAC Lettings Agency (Guild of Students) the relatively new service has built up quite a wide

range of contacts with local landlords

Energy Saving Co-op (ESC) started around 18 months ago, the ESC is a multi-stakeholder co-op,

of which the Guild of Students could become a member and share our student assessments with

them, so that the Co-op can work with the landlords to complete necessary work.

Birmingham Energy Savers (BES)as Birmingham City Councils retrofitting actors, BES have a

wealth of knowledge of how to engage landlords and tenants effectively, and gaining knowledge.

5. Contact person for the proposal

Name: Thomas Wragg

Job title: VPDR

Address: Guild of Students, Edgbaston Park Road, B15 2TU

Phone: 0121 251 2337Email:[email protected]

6. Funding request summary

The fixed price of the application is 278,078 over two years:

Capital costs: equipment for project leader = 2,150.00

Salaries and related costs: recurrent costs = 63,746 (19,789 costs absorbed by Guild)

Recurrent costs for project leader: 2760.00 (3,120 costs absorbed by Guild)

Energy assessors: cost of assessments and related costs = 170,350

Promotions and materials = 19,872Monitoring/Evaluation = 19,200.00

7. Rationale for project
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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The private rental market in the vicinity of the University of Birmingham has been slow to respond to the

opportunities of energy saving measures. The opportunity is to decrease energy demand in the private

rental market in order to decrease energy bills, improve comfort and facilitate the ambitious target of a

60% reduction in CO2e in Birmingham by 2027, based on 1990 levels. There is reluctance on the part of

landlords to act but we believe it is down to a lack of information and if we were abler to provide free

assessments this would empower them to act.

We propose 4 key aims to begin a process of change in the Bournbrook area of Birmingham in year one

widening the impact to the wider Selly Oak area in year two. There are around 2300 properties in the

Bournbrook area.

Beyond Bournbrook, Selly Oak (as defined by constituency boundary) consists of around 83 roads. Of

these most have a given student population.

We want to see large scale measures taken up in the sector to improve the quality of housing and

improve students living standards. The Green Deal and ECO are both incredibly new, and awareness is

relatively lowbut we want landlords to know the benefits of making their houses more effective and

also to help students to understand what they can do to cut carbon and cut their bills.

The students union is well place to do this as it already has an in-house lettings agency (SHAC) and awide range of support from across the University of Birmingham. Links made with local community

charities, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Energy Savers, the Energy Saving Co-op and other

partner organisations have been facilitated through work completed by the incoming VPDR regarding

housing and energy in Birmingham. Attending the recent Sustainability Forum on Greener Homes for

Birmingham showed the level of enthusiasm and opportunity Birmingham City Council and major

companies can see.

The process will aim to train students to become energy assessors, making them more aware of the

challenges in the area and empowering them to influence their peers and landlords. Landlords need to

improve the quality of their housing, such that by 2016 they are unable to refuse reasonable energy

efficiency requests made by tenants, and by 2018 will not be able to rent properties with EPCs of lessthan E they also need to become aware of the LESA (a tax incentive for improvements). The pre-WWI

housing stock with Solid Wall construction makes insulation often expensive, but the ECO is an

opportunity for that bridge to be gapped at no expense to the landlord or tenant; the Green Deal is a

boon for landlords, and if appropriate installation times can be identified (summer and vacant times),

change can be made without adverse impact on those tenants. The league table will be published, and

houses which rank highly will be rewarded with certification/awards.

The People & Planet Green League has been a driver of change in the HE sector in the UK since its

inception in 2007. It has developed a number of stakeholder engagement procedures, including

consultancy and awards, amongst other methods. The creation of a league can help to facilitate change,

and certainly has done at other institutions. However, the private rental market near the University ofBirmingham needs motivation to catalyse the change and shine a light on its poor performance and

neglect of students. With a decrease in students moving into the market this coming year, landlords may

be facing somewhat of a crisis (turning towards a buyers market), and in addition the University of

Birmingham is investing into a large increase in halls. The league would aim to identify those landlords

who are respecting that students want a decent, comfortable place to be able to study at and relax.

As evidenced by the success of Worcester Energy Pioneers, students will be empowered by the

knowledge of energy ratings in their choice of accommodation, and understand the potential running cost

savings of choosing a better house they will also be able to make reasonable adjustments to their

behaviour through the lessons learnt by NUS Student Switch Off. The market will need to improve in

order to attract students and thus the area will continue to have a vibrant student feel. CO2e emissionsreductions will be significant as domestic heating demand has the largest single impact on emissions in

the UK (~28% of energy demand).


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Free assessments to Landlords will have an impact which is why we want to train students to assess

properties. The comfort of housing around the University of Birmingham will be improved as simple

measures, such as draft excluders and radiator foils, will have been put in place and efficient appliances

can be installed through Green Deal. Indeed Green Deal and ECO can work together, so there are a

number of opportunities coming online right now and they need to be tested.

8. Aims of project

1. Train students in home energy assessments2. Change behaviour of students when renting

3. Encourage energy efficiency improvement from landlords

4. Work co-operatively with energy assessors and providers

9. Project plan

In detail we wish to do the following:

1. Assessments - Produce energy assessor training scheme in year 1. Build team of 100 assessors

through Community Wardens and dedicated student energy assessors co-operative. Encourage

assessment by engaging students on housing and co-operatives through a student-led

conference. Work in partnership with Northfield Eco centre for training of assessors and creation

of energy packs (autumn 2013). Carry out 1600 assessments over 2 years and develop clear

business cases for Landlords to drive change at low cost to them

2. Change in student behaviour in year 1 target 2000 properties in the Bourne brook area of

Birmingham to target a further 2000 properties in year 2 in the wider Selly Oak area. Produce

league table of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings and other housing criteria. Run an

awareness campaign on the cost of student housing in Bournbrook and Selly Oak (Birmingham)

link with EPC. Create energy saving packs (freebies, advice) to engage students and show

what changes they can make immediately and cost-effectively. Organise a student conference in

year 1.

3. Preparing Landlord for change - through the Guild Shac lettings agency where we can have

access to 100 landlords and 300 properties, we also wish to work with Birmingham UniversitysLiving where they use landlords from the Midlands accreditation list. Produce case studies of

properties that have already been improved or the landlord wants to go through the process

using SHAC and LIVING. Produce/promote the best ways of improving the property through links

made. Work co-operatively with energy assessors and providers to create energy packs, share

ideas and develop implementation mechanisms .Work with academics, local council, Domestic

Energy Assessors, Green Deal Assessors/Providers and Energy Saving Co-op (ESC) to develop

innovative methods, share ideas and effective practice establish implementation mechanisms

for the business cases resulting from the assessments.

4. Immediate actions as follows: Appoint a project manager, Assemble working group whom the

project manager will work with and write terms of reference, Assemble advisory board and writeterms of reference, Develop detailed action plan for training the assessors and booking the

assessments, Appoint contractor for evaluation and monitoring of project.

10. Partnership plan

The University of Birmingham is currently making significant investments into student halls on and near

to campus, which has the potential to force landlords out of the market due to a depression in demand in

the privately rented sector. Therefore, we are presented with an opportunity to influence the landlords to

more rapid change than they are currently indicating.

The LIVING department is the University of Birminghams accommodation service (predominantly online

advertising), which is increasingly working with the Guild of Students SHAC (student lettings agency).Between the two departments there is a wide range of influence over the sector, with 50 managed

properties and influence over 300 landlords. The LIVING department uses landlords accredited through

the Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme (MLAS) where there is access to over 2000 landlords and


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currently has around 70 properties advertised

.(http://www.birminghamstudentpad.co.uk/Accommodation). LIVING holds copies of Landlords Gas

Safety Certificates, Electrical Safety Certificates, HMO Licences, Tenancy Deposit Scheme details and

EPC (Energy Performance Certificates) on all properties where applicable.

The Director of Hospitality & Accommodation Services is supportive and LIVING is under his overall

control. We are currently talking with the Student Accommodation & Community Manager (LIVING) in

order to ascertain the possibility of partnerships and engaging both students and landlords to ensure

students are making well informed decisions and influencing the market at the grassroots level. Currently

the institution is making significant investments in new accommodation and it is vital students are able to

meaningfully influence how that accommodation is delivered as there is a perception that the

accommodation will have a good EPC rating.

Our other partners will be included through learning and outreach within the context of energy saving

and efficiency work that can impact on the wider community. Working with the Northfield Ecocentre is a

real opportunity for both of our organisations to build a working relationship that impacts the wider South

Birmingham community, particularly in areas of high deprivation and high energy demand.

11. Legacy plan

With 100 student assessors being trained in energy assessment processes to deliver 1600 free

assessments over two years and with the impact those assessments may have on landlords decision-

making processes, we are confident the housing stock of Selly Oak and surrounding areas can be

improved dramatically.

The retrofitting of existing properties is a vital activity that needs to be taking place alongside the zero-

carbon homes plans being implemented at regional and national levels. The project will re-organise in

line with the objectives of sustainability through infrastructural changes to effect carbon reductions via

entirely energy efficiency measures to save money on heating and electricity bills by decreasing load

in spite of unit bills increasing.

The strategy moving forward will be to take the more interventionist approaches which will challenge ourinstitutions to make major step changes in sustainability issues across campus and indeed looking off

campus and into the private sector.

On the academic side, the Guild of Students is aiming towards greening the curriculum through

Education for Sustainable Development. This has led to a major meeting between the Guild of Students,

university academics and management (including the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education). There appears

to be a commitment to making this work across the universitys activities, so sustainability is not

neglected.

The Ethical, Environmental and Procurement Policy for the Guild of Students has recently been updated

and we feel the partnerships that we will built up through this project will allow us to have a more

effective impact on CO2e reduction over the next ten years.

The league table model can be used to ensure this project works, and then the methods of stakeholder

engagement can be made more effective, nuanced and student-focussed. The potential to benefit the

wider student movement is excellent as it can show how student-led intervention on housing issues can

affect the housing market and improve the comfort and costs of student living. NUS Connect could be

used to good effect to identify where the problems and successes have been within this project and can

aid replication and improvement.

This project is particularly suitable for areas of high percentage student housing, where students are

staying for short terms and often being exploited. If this scheme was to reach all students landlords in

the vicinity of the University of Birmingham, the reach may mean that all landlords must become part ofthis league in order to have the confidence of student tenants.

It is notable that as soon as a house has been assessed and the information has been gathered for the

first time, it can be stored and then added to as appropriate. The landlords are incentivised to improve
http://www.birminghamstudentpad.co.uk/Accommodationhttp://www.birminghamstudentpad.co.uk/Accommodationhttp://www.birminghamstudentpad.co.uk/Accommodationhttp://www.birminghamstudentpad.co.uk/Accommodation


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their position through the league whereby a top 50 position might mean a set of tenants the following

year. The knowledge supplied through the assessments will focus the landlords and students on the

scale of the current problem and be an important first step towards affecting real change over the next

10 years

12. Reach, outcomes and impact statements

12.1 Reach statements

1. 10,000 unique page views on this project over the two years.2. 3,000 students on Birmingham University campus engaged on this project over the two years.

3. Over 1,000 social media followers on this project over the two years

4. 25-50 Guild & University staff engaged on this project over the two years

5. 500 Landlords reached

6. 50 Lettings agents reached

12.2 Outcome statements

1. An institutional increase in student participation in pro-environmental actions.

2. An institutional increase in student awareness of sustainability initiatives.

3. An increase of between 10-15% adoption of pro-environmental behaviours.4. Students leave higher education feeling they have the understanding and skills to take

positive actions on sustainability particularly with Green Deal and energy assessment skills which they

can apply in personal and institutional situations.

5. Students are more attractive to employers as they understand the wider social, economic and

environmental costs of energy in their homes, workplaces and public spaces.

12.3 Impact statements

1. 2,000 tCO2/year saved across all HEFCE/NUS funded projects; One ton CO2e/year per house

retrofitted on this project.

2. An increase in the LiFE5 and Green League6 scores at institutions with funded projects.

3. The potential to increase good attitudes that have an impact on students bills is very significant and

can provide scope for students to implement energy saving measures in the houses they live in

throughout their lives due to having the knowledge of simple things they can do, as well as what they can

ask landlords to do and how they can use grants to improve their comfort, energy bills and environmental

impact.

4. Institutional leaders become more concerned about the holistic problem of sustainability, not just

regarding CO2e emissions (which have improved at their targeted rate).

5. Guild Councillors passed work to push the Guild of Students to challenge the University of

Birmingham on their 0% renewable electricity supply. There are a significant number of academics

interested in energy saving measures and creating a low carbon energy system, but little is being done

to make it happen in Birmingham. The Education for Sustainable Development work the Guild ofStudents and the University of Birmingham are working on together will be catalysed by student

participation in course development; this project may enable engineering students in particular to engage

with real life scenarios that affect their lives and use their skills.

6. The University of Birmingham will lead the way in creating a sustainable Russell Group University, that

doesnt just care about its CO2e emissions, but also looks at its other activities; in addition, it will look at

how academic and student travel (particularly flights) affects their Scope 3 emissions.

7. The University of Birmingham will integrate sustainability as a core skill of graduates by the end of the

funding period by ensuring ESD is a priority.

13. Added-value themesSustainability issues: The socioeconomic elements of sustainable development as a theme shall be

explored, particularly looking at Hopwood et al (2005) on mapping different approaches and perceptions

of the meaning of sustainable development.


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Institutional issues: Engaging student officers, Trustees, Guild Councillors and Student Reps in

sustainability; engaging institutional leaders in sustainability, particularly the University Executive Board;

engaging academics in sustainability, particularly those concerned with urban resilience and

sustainability; engaging the University of Birmingham in their relationship with the private rental sector, in

order to create wide-scale change; bring different Schools and Colleges within the University of

Birmingham together to engage students, landlords and lettings agents through sustainability issues.

Engagement themes: Change personal behaviours through participation with students with training and

energy packs; engage those not yet engaged in sustainability, particularly by aiming to improve landlordengagement and uptake of sustainability issues; green the curriculum and learning through the

Education for Sustainable Development measures being worked through the last year and into this

coming year; green student homes / home energy conservation in the private rented sector is the main

focus and looking at stakeholder relationships; community learning and development on sustainability

through our work with the local Northfield Ecocentre, a charity, Green deal and the energy saving co-op.

14. Supporting the movement

The NUS wishes students unions to have impacts on their institutions and local communities, as well as

being examples of green institutions in themselves. Unions are delivering green programmes to ensure

they are not put in a hypocritical position. The unions aim to create tangible benefits at the local level,and we think we are in a strong position to influence the local housing market through our broad

partnerships and student engagement/leadership. We believe Student Switch Off and this project are

very complementary, as the behaviours of students and their opportunity to challenge property owners

into change is vital. The providers of accommodation to students beyond their first year at university are

predominantly in the private sector.

A large component of this project is Creating community bridges and engaging the local stakeholders

whilst being strong to protect students and work for students is. Employability skills relating to

sustainability issues have been identified as a priority of employers from the HEA/NUS report on

Education for Sustainable Development. The low carbon economy is the target area we need to be

looking at for student employability, looking at the scientific evidence of our unsustainable progress. Our

students union can put itself in a stronger position through using SHAC (student lettings service), along

with the LIVING in the University of Birmingham. The potential of working with Northfield Ecocentre for

the duration of the project will help the Guild of Students make stronger cases to the University of

Birmingham in pushing for tangible and intangible changes to student life at the institution this includes

making our supply chain greener and more ethical.

15. Monitoring and evaluation plan

A full monitoring and evaluation plan will be developed at the start of the project by the Energy Saving

Trust. This will lay out what the expected outputs, outcomes and impacts of the project are and how

each of these will be measured. Ensuring that this is produced and developed prior to project design

and delivery will allow progress against objectives to be monitored throughout the life cycle of the project

and ensure overall success is assessed against objectives and lessons learned collected at the end of

project completion

The main aim of the project is to reduce the energy consumption of student houses in Bournbrook and

Selly Oak areas. In order to achieve this aim there are a number of outputs that will be delivered which

will result in a number of different outcomes and impacts across the course of the project (as described

in section 12).

Monitoring of the project will be undertaken quarterly to collect necessary information and evidence

about pre-determined indicators which will be used to track progress against project objectives, to informcontinual best practice delivery of the project and to feed into the evaluation at project completion. This

will then be included in the quarterly NUS progress report.


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The outcomes will be measured through monitoring data collected as part of the project. A spread sheet

will be created to log all students that have been trained with information on when they were trained,

contact details, demographic information on the students, together with information on the number of

properties they have assessed. A linked spread sheet will collate all of the information on the houses

assessed, this will include information such as type of property, number of bedrooms, fuel type, address,

assessor. Website stats will be collected through partnership between Guild and the energy trust. The

number of students engaged will be monitored through the number actively engaged at events, training

etc. together with the potential reach of media.

Outcomes are more difficult to monitor regularly as they generally require analysis, to some extent, of the

cause effect chain relationship that caused them to happen because of the intervention. Where possible

they will be assessed during the lifecycle of the project, however, certain outcomes will not be able to be

assessed fully until the end of the project and will be incorporated into an overall ex-post evaluation.

The outcomes and impact of the project will be measured through a number of ways using both

quantitative and qualitative data collection. As well as providing the data to measure the outcomes the

data collection will help to provide information on the satisfaction and experience of the project to help

improve the project during its progress and for any future projects. This will be obtained through

feedback from all stakeholders including student assessors, landlords and tenants. Information obtainedwill include, but not limited to:

Attitudes and behaviour towards energy efficiency (this will be designed to be comparable to

other data collected such as the NUS HEA survey)

Satisfaction with the project and their involvement

Any changes to their behaviour or property as a result of the project

Feedback will be obtained through a mix of online, telephone and face to face feedback through

interviews and focus groups. The mix of methods will allow for quantitative data on the impacts and

benefits of being involved in the project but also allow for the more qualitative information to be obtained

around understanding how behaviour was impacted and understanding what made the difference. In

addition information will be obtained from the EPC data to help estimate any savings achieved following

the install of measures.

The Energy Saving Trust will provide support and guidance on the development of the monitoring and

evaluation plan. They have a dedicated evaluation team who regularly evaluate energy efficiency

projects and their impact on behaviour change and the installation of measures and the impact that this

has on CO2e emissions.

16. Marketing, communications and media plan

Target audiences

Students at the University of Birmingham; and/or living in private rented properties; and/or

interested in volunteering or furthering their employability skills; and/or with an interest ingreen/energy efficiency projects;

Landlords in the Selly Oak/Edgbaston area;

Staff at the Guild of Students; and at the University of Birmingham.

Key messagesGet your house assessed - save energy; save money; save the planet

Specific messages for target groups:

Students at the University of Birmingham:

Become an energy efficiency assessor and gain employability skills;

Are you interested in promoting energy efficiency? Become an energy efficiency assessor;

Get the energy efficiency of your house assessed to save money and you could win a [insert

prize];

Do you know how much you could save on your energy bills? Get your house assessed for free!;

How energy efficient is your house? Find out with an energy efficiency assessment;


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When looking for a house to rent ensure you consider the energy efficiency it could save you

money!

Students living in private rented properties:

Do you live in private rented accommodation? Get the energy efficiency of your house assessed

and see if you can save money;

Do you know how energy efficient your house is? Get your house assessed for free!;

Get the energy efficiency of your house assessed to save money and you could win a [insert

prize];

When looking for a house to rent ensure you consider the energy efficiency it could save you

money!

Students interested in working or furthering their employability skills:

Become an energy efficiency assessor and gain employability skills;

Do you want to educate students and landlords on energy efficiency? Volunteer to be an energy

efficiency assessor today!

Students with an interest in green/energy efficiency projects:

Do you want to educate students and landlords on energy efficiency? Volunteer to be an energy

efficiency assessor today!;

Do you want to contribute to an energy saving initiative? Volunteer to be an energy efficiency

assessor today!

Landlords in the Selly Oak/Edgbaston area

Improve the energy efficiency of your houses and help the environment, and students;

Support the local community and get involved in an energy saving initiative.

Get a free energy assessment on your property and improve the value of your asset.

PR Opportunities

Volunteering Fair 26th September 2013: This fair is specifically designed for students who are

looking for volunteering opportunities; the project could advertise volunteering opportunities and

the other ways for students to get involved in project.

Housing Fair Early January 2014 (date TBC): Over 800 students attend this fair to look for

private rented accommodation and over 20 landlord and letting agents exhibit; this is the ideal fair

to promote the project to both students and landlords.

Go Green Week 10th 16th February 2014: The project sits within the aims of Go Green Week

and will partner effectively with other marketing efforts.

Community Day June 2014: A University event supported by the Guild. The project could

secure a presence here to promote the scheme to the wider community (approx. 12,000

attendees).

Summary

The Guild of Students will utilise its many established communications channels to effectively reach key

stakeholders with an overarching message, and to target individual stakeholder groups with tactical

messages throughout the project. These channels include the Guilds Union Cloud website; a dedicated

section of the website will house information on the project and will be updated frequently, the project will

also be given a homepage presence. Key messages and updates throughout the campaign will be

disseminated via Guild social media profiles (Facebook (6800+), Twitter (6350+) and YouTube.

Supporting materials will be produced, where appropriate, using the Guilds in-house marketing team,

including full-time Graphic Designer and Website Coordinator. Marketing collateral will include: flyers,

posters (to be displayed within the Guild building both in print and electronically on screens, and across

campus), and video production. Making use of the access to University communications channels, key

messages and campaign updates will also be issued to the Universitys central marketing department

and spread via its student portal, website, and e-communications.


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The Guild will call upon local media outlets, in particular the Birmingham Mail which the Guild has built

and maintained and positive relationship with. Reporters at the Mail and other local press including the

Birmingham Post, Express & Star, BBC Midlands Today, Central News and BBC WM, Sustainability

West Midlands (online), Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (online) and other environmentally and

volunteer specialist sites will all be included on any press release distribution list.

Related key words will be provided to the Guilds existing press monitoring service, Precise, in order to

collate coverage of the campaign and used to celebrate the projects developments.

17. Key milestones chart

Key milestone Completed by? Anticipated outcome(s)

1 Hiring project co-ordinator and other staff Aug 2013

2 Training designed (NE) Aug 2013

3 Website designed & social media Aug 2013 Twitter

4 Management Group assembled Aug 2013

5Rough assessment of current housing stock

pre-assessment online toolAug 2013

6 Advisory Board (AB) assembled Sep 2013

7Big launch (Welcome Week) - more students

recruited23-27 Sep 2013

8 Community Wardens recruited After 30 Sep

9First training session delivered for ten GoS

Community Wardens (NE)After recruitment

1090 more students trained in 4*2-day sessions (10

per group)Oct 2013

11 First pre-assessments carried out (50) Nov 2013

12 First Quarterly Review (AB) End Oct 2013

13 VPDRs Housing/Co-op Conference Nov 2013

14Thermal Imaging (video made) Dec 2013/Jan

2014

15 Housing Campaign Jan 2014

16 Housing pre-assessments carried out Jan 2014

17 Go Green Week 10-16 Feb 2014

18 Housing pre-assessments carried out 18-22 Feb


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18. Project Gantt chart

Jul13

Aug13

Sep13

Oct13

Nov13

Dec13

Jan14

Feb14

Mar14

Apr14

May14

Jun14

Jul14

Aug14

Sep14

Oct14

Nov14

Dec14

Jan15

Feb15

Mar15

Apr15

May15

Jun15

Jul15

Applicationsdeadline 3Successfulapplicationsannounced 29

Recruitment ofProject Stafflaunched 2

Branding

Twitter Feed andFacebook Pagelaunched

Website designedRecruitment ofProject Staffapproved 29

Training designed(NorthfieldEcocentre)

Academic buy-inand investigationsCheck CommunityWardens Managerrecruitmentprocess in place 12

Multimediapreparation work

1-20

Student assessorjob descriptionand personspecification

Health and safetypolicy specification

Assessmentmethod statement

Raise awarenessof project- softlaunch atWelcome Week

23-

27


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Project teamappointed andinducted

Project plandrafted/approved

8-10 CommunityWardens recruitedand trained

Events for studentstaff to raiseawareness

23-

27

10-

16

22-

269-14

Co-op andhousing

conferenceGuild HousingCampaign

Raise awarenessof project at GoGreen Week &Refreshers

10-

16

Project relaunch atWelcome Week2014

22-

26

Studentsexpression ofinterest

Leafleting andmultimedia

awarenesscampaign

ManagementGroup meets 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

Monthly progressreports 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

Advisory Boardmeets 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23

Quarterly fullreports 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23Training 100student energyassessors

Housing pre-assessmentscarried out


13/16

Second stageassessmentscarried out

Review of pre-assessmentmethodology

Review ofpartnerships andproviders'performance

Implementation ofmethod changesThermal ImagingSeasonrecording andvideos

End of Year report 21 21

Evaluationundertaken, Year1

Evaluationundertaken, Year2

Evaluating optionsfor continuingactivities

Retrofitting activity

Planning,understanding andlobbying

Projectpartnerships

Review ofpartnerships


14/16

19. Project team

Advisory Board (18 members) Quarterly: Report compiled by Project Co-ordinator with Support from

administration.

Student leadership (9):

VP (Democracy & Resources) Chair

VP (Housing & Community)

Ethical & Environmental Officer2 students appointed through Ethical & Environmental Forum

Student Assessors Representative x3

Community Warden Student Representative

Academic/University leadership (4):

Academic from Centre for Urban and Regional Studies (Geography, Earth and Environmental

Sciences)

Other academic from Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences or Urban Resilience Research

Group

University Representative from Sustainability Task Group

Environment & Sustainability AdvisorExternal Members (7):

Birmingham City Council (Climate Change) Representative

Localise West Midlands Representative

Simon Wright (Head of Midlands & East, Energy Saving Trust)

Phil Beardmore (Birmingham Energy Savers, Energy Saving Co-op)

Northfield Ecocentre Representative

Green Deal/ECO Delivery Representative

Students Green Fund Representative (NUS)

Management Group (9 members) Monthly: Report prepared by Project Co-ordinator with support

from administration. In addition, some of the members of this group will look after day-to-day running ofthe project.

Guild of Students Community Warden Co-ordinator

Guild of Students SHAC Manager

Guild of Students Facilities ManagerVP (Democracy & Resources) - Chair

Ethical & Environmental Officer

Students Green Fund Project Co-ordinator

Student Assessors x3

University LIVING Representative


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21. Project leadership, governance and accountability

One significant issue for students is having ownership over how their accommodation is created and

developed. The Advisory Board (7/18 student members) will have oversight over the Management Group

(3/8 student representatives) and review its activities. The Management Group will have one University

Representative for the purposes of continuity and ensuring the University Management have someone to

talk to about the delivery of the project. Two Sabbatical Officers will be on the Advisory Board, along with

a Non-Sabbatical Officer. The Guild of Students will allow Community Wardens (8-10 part time student

staff) to be trained in this additional skill. SHAC will work with the University of Birminghamsaccommodation service (LIVING) for landlord/letting agency engagement.

22. Value for money

The project will have M&E delivered at cost by the Energy Saving Trust (an expert group of DECC). The

Energy Saving Co-op aims to use collective buying power to drive material costs down. Training

Community Wardens to become energy assessors allows those student employees to additionally

conduct short assessments whilst visiting properties they are already reviewing for students adding

value to the Community Wardens as well as to the Students Green Fund project. The Community

Wardens also have good information about the housing across the most concentrated student housing

area (Selly Oak). Student assessors will contribute invaluably to the project, and will be asked to conduct

at least 10 assessments, adding to their experience and employability skills. The governance is based in

the local region, and will ensure good value. University academics have very busy lives, but can

potentially conduct research which will really improve the M&E and strategic aims of the project such

as those who worked on the Birmingham Eastside project, linking with Birmingham City Council. The

monthly meeting of the Management Group will ensure costs are managed according to the constraints

laid down by the Advisory Board. The Management Group will ask the Project Co-ordinator to justify

costs of individual items over 1000 (though this figure may be revised by the Advisory Board). The

project will aim to utilise the Energy Saving Trusts free advice and information services to provide the

best information for users of the projects services and then give additional support throughout the

project at cost.

23. Equality

The primary aim of the project is to give good value to students who are currently being let down by

landlords where their houses are uncomfortable, leaky and expensive to run (without students realising

they could be improved). Home students with parents/carers who own the accommodation they live in

whilst at the University of Birmingham should be included in the potential energy assessments. The

targeted areas where those students live will be targeted and training provided as appropriate.

24. Project risks and mitigations

Low pick up by landlords

Low student engagement

Rental increases as a result of league/measures

Changes in legislation Green Deal, ECO, rental requirements etc.

Lack of qualified Green Deal Assessors and local Providers

Friction between the University of Birminghams Accommodation Service (LIVING), the Guild of

Students Student Lettings Agency (SHAC) and landlords.

25. Confirmation of approval

Confirmation by the President

Confirmation by the Chief Executive

Confirmation by the Facilities Manager

26. Other applications


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This is one of two project applications which are being submitted. The other project has elements

whereby food growing and low-carbon hot food options are worked on in partnership between the Guild

of Students, Winterbourne Botanic Garden and the University of Birmingham.

27. Letters of support

Sandy Taylor Birmingham City Council Head of Climate change & Environment

Documents

UoBGuildofStudents NUSHEFCEStudentsGreenFundBid Energy Wragg WORKING