Green Gown Awards 2014 - Carbon Reduction - Coleg Gwent - Finalist

The College ‘Eco’ Footprint

The aim of the project was simply to produce less waste and use less energy in order to improve the ecological footprint of the College. To achieve this, the College aimed to reduce its energy by 50%, greenhouse gas emissions by 20% and work towards a zero-waste College.

The College identified that the main impacts on the environment and its ecological footprint were waste and energy consumption.

Over the period of the project, the College consolidated its waste management contract at all campuses, implemented energy monitoring campaigns, awareness training, and standard tender documentation to include sustainable building techniques, purchased green energy for all campuses, energy efficient systems and the upgrading of services.

Top 3 learnings

1 Ensure sustainability is led from the top of the organisation and is embedded as a core principal of the organisation
2 Develop a set of targets that are clear, realistic and achievable
3 Involve staff, encourage student engagement and ensure that you communicate your progress as much as possible.

Videos

• The College ‘Eco’ Footprint (click to hide)