The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU) is one of the schools that really push for a more sustainable mode of operation. Although their strategy is still in preparation, they have already taken a number of individual steps such as waste and energy audits that showed them how to save energy. They use bio waste bins in their tea kitchens, and the number of applications for Green Erasmus under which students travel the world environmentally soundly has doubled.
The school’s sustainability coordinator Klára Banotová has contributed a fair share to these efforts. “There are many examples of good practice and recommendations, but the difficult part is figuring out the best mix for AMU,” Banotová says.
Having a sustainability strategy is the foundation for a more sustainable conduct. Has AMU got such a strategy?
Not yet, but it is a document of pivotal importance, and is currently in preparation. Our leaders and the Environmental Panel of AMU (ed. note: an advisory panel to the Rector and the Academic Senate on sustainability issues) pay a great deal of attention to it. We completed the introductory stages of strategy preparation last year. At first, we analysed the current situation, took a look at AMU from outside, and collected internal documents with a bearing on sustainability. We also drew inspiration from similar art schools, both Czech and international. Then we identified the key material topics, of which there are a total of 22 in the emerging strategy, divided into four future chapters: operation and management, development and planning, sustainable artistic work, and education and the third role of the university.
What is the preparation of such a sophisticated strategy like in a university environment?
We did an analysis of where we stood, and I think we got a good overview of the initial situation. At this stage, we received a lot of help from CIRA Advisory, a consulting firm that guided us through the process and gave us valuable advice and recommendations. Along with the material topics, we also identified groups of stakeholders whom AMU’s activities concern in one way or another: students, educators, other employees, AMU and Faculty leaders, partner organisations, and also the general public such as our neighbours. The next assignment was to invite those stakeholders to a debate on the material topics, obtain feedback from them, and thus get them involved in creating the strategy. The objective was to ascertain their opinions, positions, and the importance of the individual topics for them. We organised four such stakeholder dialogues last year.
Did they yield any interesting insights?
They have been the most exciting experience to me so far. The interviews were in-depth, personal, and very open, and they helped me to understand what the various groups consider essential. We also confirmed that sustainable development and environmental responsibility are not just empty phrases for our students and educators. Equipped with a wealth of revealing knowledge and insights, we started writing the text of the strategy in the latter half of 2023. The wording is currently being reviewed, and we would like to submit it for comments and approval in the spring. During the entire project, our involvement in the UNILEAD development project in 2022–2023 was very helpful, as it allowed us to obtain valuable information about sustainable development practices in other tertiary schools and draw on experience from schools that are a few steps ahead of us in this field.
You completed a waste audit in the past, among other things. What results did it yield, and what conclusions did you draw?
The waste audit took place at AMU and all its faculties at the turn of 2021/2022, and it was our first major step towards sustainable development. The aim was to assess the current status of our waste management and define measures geared towards the most efficient waste management practices possible at AMU. These measures should result in cost savings, a greater rate of waste separation and recycling, and a reduction of the overall amount of waste generated in the future. We began by comparing the contractual terms in place with the collection company, the pricing and legal aspects, and the actual costs recorded in the accounts with waste statistics. This was followed by a physical analysis of waste which gave us a highly detailed perspective on the contents of mixed waste bins and the potentially recyclable share of waste in them.
Did the audit make you recycle more?
When we looked at what was inside the bins, we saw a lot of room for improvement. We began with the seemingly simple things: installing bins for separated waste in all buildings, creating infographics, and ordering new containers for collecting separated waste – and we were instantly able to reduce the frequency of mixed waste collection. We placed bio waste bins in larger staff tea kitchens since coffee grindings account for a significant portion of mixed waste. We installed new bins for depleted batteries and electronics and ordered their collection. In the years to come, we want to monitor any reductions in waste amounts. The next step was creating the waste management strategy, which we intend to fine-tune as part of the sustainability strategy and the related action plan. Communication and education are crucial in this respect; unfortunately, a lot of waste still ends up in the wrong containers. In terms of communication, I would like to point out our AMU Goes Trash video created by student Klára Kubenková from FAMU’s Department of Animated Film (KAT), as well as standard means of communication including infographics and our website and social media. We have a lot more tasks for the future, for example to reduce the quantity of paper towels and disposable cups, and we could certainly improve waste separation following the events that AMU organises.
Your Rector’s recommendations of January 2022 include environmentally responsible travel, i.e. using public transport, land transport, and sustainable accommodation. How much is this exercised in practice?
While we want to reduce carbon footprint over time, we do not want to take the path of restrictions and prohibition. Personal contact with audiences and colleagues in the Czech Republic and abroad and the associated travel is indispensable for artists and art students. The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us to reassign some activities to the online realm, but live musical and theatre performances are irreplaceable. We are a quite small school and community, and so we believe that explaining the benefits of greener travel is better than a stark restriction on certain types of travel. We also see that the students’ and employees’ mindset and conduct are changing. For instance, mobility stays under the Erasmus programme account for the majority of our travels abroad, and the programme has now included the Green Erasmus incentive scheme for three years, rewarding travellers who opt for a greener mode of transport. This is where we see hard data and specific results: the number of applications for Green Erasmus has doubled between 2021 and 2022, and although the 2023 call is not closed yet, the figures will most likely grow again. We have created a video in cooperation with UMPRUM and other art schools to promote environmentally sound academic mobility.
What other steps does AMU take towards sustainability? Can you be specific?
The activities of the Environmental Panel of AMU are pivotal. All our Faculties are represented on the Panel through students and educators, and it provides a common platform for debate. All members are or have been actively involved in environmental efforts, and they incorporate this topic in their artistic work and/or are activists. Professor Bedřich Moldan has contributed to the development of the Environmental Panel of AMU as a professional guarantor. Among other tasks, the Panel collects suggestions from the entire academic community and submits them to AMU leaders for addressing. Another major step was an analysis of the potential for energy and water savings undertaken across all AMU buildings in 2023. This thorough analysis took several months and its goal was to identify the potential for saving fuel, energy, and water with a view to improving the school’s performance, and in particular the options for using EPC – Energy Performance Contracting (ed. note: a method where the measures are financed from the future energy savings). Two alternatives for an energy efficiency project were assessed, and the AMU leadership will decide this spring on which of the proposed measures will be adopted.
Your students go on climate strikes and organise happenings and workshops, but are they willing to actually take specific steps themselves, such as use the public transport on their way to school, recycle waste, and buy coffee in reusable cups for example? How much of their own personal comfort are they willing to sacrifice?
Our students do not restrict themselves to mere symbolic gestures. Since our buildings are situated in the historical city centre, using the public transport, walking, and riding bicycles is an obvious choice for them. Also, it was students who asked for more bins to separate waste, and their demand for vegetarian and vegan food is increasing too.
What do you see as the most difficult part of your sustainability coordinator job?
There are many examples of good practice, recommendations, and strategies that we can learn from, but the difficult part is figuring out the best mix for AMU. Priorities are another nut to crack: the list of sustainability tasks is huge, but we are a small school with limited human resources. We do a lot of the things in a DIY manner and improvise, but we are trying hard and honestly.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Ever since the inception of the Environmental Panel, I have been in charge of preparing the activity reports for the leadership of AMU, and every time I do this at the end of the year, I get to realise how much AMU has been progressing. It makes me happy. I certainly do not see this as my personal achievement – it is the result of the work of many people for whom ‘sustainable development’ is not just an empty phrase. AMU is capable of quickly and flexibly adopting both isolated and systemic measures, including major ones such as waste and energy audits and implementing the resultant recommendations, because sustainability is a priority for the leadership.
What else would you like to achieve?
The practical implementation of energy and water savings will be crucial for AMU. I believe taking part in the Green Skills and Sustainability Support programme in universities as part of the National Recovery Plan will push us forward a lot. This initiative aims to review existing study programmes with a view to introducing the topics of green transformation. I am convinced that art and artists, and also AMU as a whole can contribute towards resolving the current environmental crisis. As far as the environment is concerned, responsibility is both collective and individual.
You have drawn inspiration for sustainability from other art schools abroad. Where exactly?
We explored the ways in which universities that are rated the best in various rankings approach sustainable development. For example, since 2022 we can use the QS Sustainability Rankings that rate the measures universities adopt. It is especially beneficial to pay attention to sustainable activities in art schools whose focus is the same or similar to ours. There are many inspiring institutions, including the Aalto University, the Royal College of Arts, and the University of the Arts Helsinki (ed. note: this school serves only responsibly produced vegetarian food and fish caught in Finland). But honestly, even though certain international institutions are a long way ahead of us, the biggest source of inspiration to us over the past two years have been the Czech universities with which we worked in the UNILEAD consortium.