Sustainable campus management

TBS Education’s carbon strategy

TBS Education’s carbon footprint is calculated every 2 years, in order to facilitate the management of its carbon trajectory. All 6 categories are evaluated for the most accurate calculation possible (direct GHG emissions, indirect emissions associated with energy, indirect emissions associated with transport, indirect emissions associated with products purchased, indirect emissions associated with products sold and other indirect emissions).

Carbon footprint 2024 for Toulouse campuses based on 2022-2023 data

*Personal travel: takes into account :

• Student travel (internships, university exchanges, summer and winter school, home-school, home-region-school)
• Staff travel (work and home-work)
• Worker travel
• Travel by service providers (cleaning, security, etc.)

As shown above, our activities at school emit CO2 (around 11,000 tonnes in 2021). When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, the ERC sequence (Avoid – Reduce – Compensate) is the most effective and widely recognized.

Avoid

The new telecommuting agreement signed in 2022 authorizes employees to take 2 days of telecommuting per week. This avoids producing GHG emissions linked to transport for 2 days a week.

Reduce

To reduce its CO2 emissions, TBS Education has changed its energy supplier and taken out a green electricity contract. Another reduction action: the change of copiers in 2018, when we switched from hot laser technology to cold technology.

Offsetting

Once avoidance and reduction actions have been put in place, it is possible to offset part of the CO2 emissions linked to the school’s activity.

In 2023, TBS Education partnered with Climat Local for its carbon offset project. We worked with local farmers and associations to plant hedgerows.

With Climat Local, we have offset around 200 of the 11,000 tonnes of CO2e emitted in 2021, by planting 2,000 meters of hedgerows in Blagnac, Portet Sur Garonne, Labastide Clermont…

This is a long-term project, since it will take 25 years for these 2km of hedges to capture the 200 tonnes of CO2e we want to offset!

These initiatives not only aim to store carbon, but also to preserve biodiversity and natural areas. Hedgerows provide a refuge for birds, pollinators, rodents, etc. They also help combat soil erosion and improve the quality and infiltration of water into the soil.

Last March, B3D students had the opportunity to visit the gardens, discover their activities and meet the local players.

In 2018, TBS Education drew up its Corporate Mobility Plan with the help of the Public Transport Authority (SMTC) and Tisséo. An action plan was then put in place to promote alternative, active and public modes of transport:
• 25 new spaces have been created to park bikes
• a mileage-based travel allowance has been set up for bikes
• a carpooling platform is available for employees
• 50% of the price of a public transport subscription is reimbursed

TBS Education includes SD-CSR criteria in the School’s calls for tenders, when relevant. The School also encourages its staff and students to prioritize the purchase of eco-friendly materials/products on a day-today basis, or when organizing events.

Since 2017, two green rooftop terraces have been planted at TBS Education, based on an overall eco-design plan: use of local partners, choice of plants with low watering needs, furniture made by Recyclo’Bat from reused wood. All students and employees have access to these two areas.

Since 2016, the Entiore campus has been home to four beehives. To guarantee the bees remain healthy, TBS Education has chosen a bee-keepers union to manage the hives. TBS Education has designated “beehive officers” and provided them with training to develop their bee-keeping skills. They also take part in the life of the hives; they open them with the bee-keeper, familiarise themselves with the different moments in the life of the swarm and learn about bees and their ecosystem.

The best waste is no waste!

TBS Education aims to reduce its ecological impact by reducing waste at the source thanks to initiatives such as:

• the use of eco-friendly cups
• the installation of water fountains
• the organisation of zero-waste workshops
• the withdrawal of straws from the cafeteria
• the sale of portable cutlery sets to reduce the number of disposable knives and forks used during meals
• the provision of boxes with deposits for packing students’ meals
• mug-detection systems in vending machines
• the “office car-boot sale” which gives TBS Education staff the opportunity to buy computer equipment and furniture before it gets thrown away.

A low-carbon menu: the doubly good menu (2foisbon)

This nationwide programme involves creating a low-carbon menu that is good and healthy for consumers but also environmentally friendly. The 2fois bon menu is available every Tuesday in the TBS Education cafeterias.

Selective waste sorting

TBS Education has implemented selective waste sorting by installing 350 voluntary drop-off points on its Toulouse campuses. The project was designed from an overall perspective, meaning the containers were produced using wood from sustainably managed forests – manufactured by Symbiosphere, a cooperative and participatory company (SCOP) located a few kilometres from TBS Education – and the waste collection and recycling are managed by Greenburo, a SCOP which promotes professional integration through the employment of people in difficulty.

Today, paper/cardboard, cans/bottles and plastic cups are sorted and recycled. The quantities of waste recycled at TBS Education increased significantly between 2017 and 2018: 4 times more cardboard, 5 times more cups, 21 times more bottles, 18 times more paper.

Zero waste workshops are open to students and employees at TBS Education:

• During the ANEDD, which organises a series of practical workshops: how to make cosmetics and household products, or repair broken/damaged objects/clothing. These workshops are coordinated by associations/companies such as Zéro waste ToulouseElemen’terre and Naturel Factory.
• During the “Down with straws” day, when a workshop is organised to learn about the zero waste alternatives of Zéro waste Toulouse.
• During the “No Impact Week”, with a workshop on how to make reusable packaging from cotton and beeswax, organised by Zéro waste Toulouse
• Eight workshops are regularly proposed to TBS Education staff by the association “à croquer”. Half of these are devoted to promoting biodiversity and half are devoted to reducing waste (DIY cosmetics, DIY household products, DIY soft drinks).

A day dedicated to promoting alternative transport modes: Allons-y à vélo (AYAV) or Let’s go by bike! The programme includes:

• test stands where people can try out electric bikes
• a BMX demonstration
• a road-safety stand and workshops
• a food-truck bike

The No Impact Week takes place at TBS Education in May. Based on a concept invented by Thomas Parouty (TBS Education alumnus 1995), it aims to remove obstacles and create incentives that will encourage everyone to adopt eco-friendly habits at work; these are good for the individual involved as well as for the environment.

The principle involves organising a week of positive actions in local companies, where TBS Education staff set up workshops and/or challenges addressing a subject related to office life. Each subject provides an opportunity to explain and promote some of the actions already in place at TBS Education and around the region to the companies’ employees, in addition to sharing easy-to-implement tips.

The Ecosia on Campus Initiative was designed by TBS Education’s B3D student association for Sustainable Development! The Ecosia search engine is installed by default on our campus computers.

The goal is to plant as many trees as possible thanks to the searches made using Ecosia at TBS Education. Since October 2019, over 20,000 searches have been made on our campuses using Ecosia. This has resulted in more than 300 trees being planted in critical biodiversity areas and in areas where people need them.