Bournemouth University is to roll out a sustainability and wellbeing programme to all of its 2,000 employees following a six-month pilot programme.
The Jump programme, provided by Green Rewards, will be available to all employees from January 2018. The roll out across the organisation follows a pilot scheme that was open to approximately 450 employees across four different university departments.
The programme, which is accessed via an online platform and app, is designed to engage employees on topics such as sustainable travel, energy saving, and employee health and wellbeing by awarding staff with points for making positive behaviour changes. For example, employees can earn points for using sustainable modes of transport to commute to work, such as walking or car sharing, reporting their recycling and using reusable bottles and cups, and by reporting exercise they have done.
The Jump programme enables employees to win individual prizes, as well as compete in teams to win a £100 donation to a local charity project.
The winning department at the end of the pilot period was announced at an awards ceremony on 3 July 2017. The Bournemouth University finance team, who won the accolade, decided to put the prize money towards the Bournemouth Food Bank (pictured). The donation was given on 1 August 2017.
During the six-month pilot, the university’s average energy consumption fell by 14.6% across the participating departments, 26,000 sustainable miles were travelled on participants’ commutes to and from campus, and 11 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were avoided.
Sharon Byrne, finance and resources team leader at Bournemouth University, said: “I’ve really enjoyed taking part in the Jump pilot. It’s been such an informative programme and I love that I can earn rewards for being more eco-friendly.”