Digital and Campus Services

ECU's combined energy consumption rating is amongst the lowest in the Australian University sector that undertake Tertiary Education Facilities Management Association (TEFMA) benchmarking.

The following initiatives have been introduced to reduce energy usage:

• Installation of energy efficient lighting;
• Setting air conditioning systems for optimum energy efficiency;
• Monitoring energy consumption of each campus;
• Utilising power saving modes on IT equipment; and
• ECU engages an independent agency to capture their annual organisational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the ECU Carbon Footprint Report.

ECU recognises water is a precious resource and is implementing water saving and recycling strategies within the buildings and grounds. Water saving initiatives on campus include:

• Recycling water from air conditioners for grounds irrigation;
• Monitoring grounds water usage, adjusting application according to weather patterns and benchmarking against published evaporation rates to avoid over-watering
• Selection of waterwise plants including many native species across all campuses and the use of drip irrigation as the primary garden watering method particularly across the Joondalup campus
• Utilising waterless urinal systems;
• Installing on-campus water refill stations; and
• Implementing the replacement of major hydraulic valves on a programmed basis to reduce loss of water

Digital and Campus Services manage waste and recycling at ECU. A wide range of recycling facilities are available at our Joondalup, Mount Lawley and South West campuses, to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

What is recycled?

Items that can be recycled on campus include:

• Batteries (excluding car batteries)
• Construction and demolition waste
• E-waste (computers, keyboards, etc.)
• Freecycling
• Green waste
• Medical waste
• Paper and cardboard
• Organic waste
• Coffee pods
• Metal, timber and steel

Other waste reduction initiatives:

Restriction on single-use plastics

How can I help?

Plan ahead
Bring your own water bottle. Free fill beats landfill!!

Recycle
Make use of the recycling bins on campus to correctly dispose of recyclable materials.

Keep Cup
Invest in a re-usable coffee cup and get a discount on your coffee. If you had one coffee a week, you could save close to $200 in discounts, not to mention the coffee cups you’d be saving from landfill!

More information:

• ECU Waste and Recycling Guide
• Recycling at ECU Frequently Asked Questions

ECU encourages staff and students to choose sustainable and healthy alternatives to individual car trips.

Use of active forms of transport such as walking, cycling and public contributes to improved air quality, increases incidental exercise and reduces traffic congestion.

Monitoring emissions

ECU monitors its progress against its objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from travel to and from the University. Specifically, we will work towards an increase of 1-3% of staff and students using active forms of transport.

Results from Travel Surveys and previous studies suggest that staff and students are starting to travel to ECU using active forms of transport, although the proportion of those that drive alone remain much greater.

The location of the Joondalup and South West campuses is thought to influence decisions regarding transportation mode.

ECU helps staff and students to switch to active transport modes through:

• the provision of end of trip facilities;
• encouraging staff participation in various cycling and activity challenges;
• providing SmartRider cards to staff to encourage the use of public transport for business-related travel; and
• working with Transperth to introduce a free ‘CAT Bus’ service from Joondalup bus port to ECU Joondalup campus.

More information:

• ECU Thinking Transport - find out how to get to each ECU campus;
• ECU SmartRider - find out how to obtain your student discount on public transport;
• Transperth Journey Planner - plan your journey via public transport, walking and cycling; and
• Google maps - plan your journey via public transport, walking and cycling.