Our management systems
In 2009, we successfully gained ISO 14001 accreditation –
one of very few higher education institutions to do so at the time. This
accreditation is an international standard providing a framework – for
organisations of any size – to control and improve environmental performance
via an Environmental Management System (EMS). It provides practical tools for
us to identify and control environmental impacts and it recognises that we
have a systematic approach to environmental management – one that is externally
audited. We are externally accredited to ISO 14001 for our Environmental
Management System, for the activities on our main campus site, including
Cookworthy building, as well as Derriford Research Facility and John Bull building.
We also have a Building Management System (BMS). A
computer-based system, it manages, controls and monitors building
technical services – like the energy the devices
in our buildings use, and lighting. It controls 95% of our campus buildings, ensuring intelligent control of the building
systems to make sure there's no energy waste. The BMS, for example, will turn
on the boilers according to external temperatures, and can report a fire or a
break-in.