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Sustainability

With environmental issues making headlines around the world, the College is committed to making a difference with an innovative and timely sustainability plan for a brighter, greener tomorrow.

As a college, we’re committed to improving sustainability and have taken on the challenge of implementing sustainability across every curriculum and service area.

The sustainability agenda has gained momentum over the years and is now integrated into the College Targets, Estates Strategy and Teaching Plans across B&FC to the benefit of students, staff and the wider community.

 

The College aims to:

  • Work with stakeholders to encourage and establish effective Environmental and Sustainability (E&S) practices, partnerships and activities throughout the College and wider community.
  • Increase energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and save resources and costs wherever possible.
  • Improve the College’s E&S performance by setting monitoring and achieving environmental and sustainable targets.
  • Embed Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) throughout the curriculum.
  • Effectively communicate E&S principles through events, social media, curriculum, teaching, research, training and participation exercises.
  • Meet and where appropriate exceed all relevant E&S legislation.

 

Key targets

  • Reduce energy consumption by 15% by 2020 against 2013/14 levels.
  • Reduce utility related carbon emissions by 15 % by 2020 against 2013/14 levels
  • Reduce water consumption by 10% by 2020 against 2013/14 levels.
  • Produce 5 % of the College’s electricity demand through renewable technologies by 2020 against 2013/14 levels.
  • Reduce the volume of waste the College produces by 15 % against 2013/14 levels.

 

Key Policies

The College believes that sustainability is essential to student learning and enabling students to expand their outlook in respect of their course and the wider community, and all College policies, now require an impact assessment that incorporates sustainability.

 

What do we do to support sustainability?

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

The College has implemented a cross College approach to delivering and embedding Sustainable Development (SD) through the curriculum, the sustainability Moodle learning page and the NUS Green Impact scheme.

 

Staff, Student and Community Engagement

The College provides a wide range of projects, activities and events working with students, staff and the local community that envelop a broad sustainability focus to encourage long term sustainable thinking through the following examples:

  • The Green Impact Scheme
  • Green Week events
  • Fairtrade Fortnight events
  • E-Learning resources

As a result of student engagement projects the College received the EAUC Green Gown Highly Commended Award for Student Engagement in 2014.

 

Energy savings and carbon reduction

In recent years the College has been working hard to significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions through a variety of projects including:

  • Installation of a new energy monitoring software package has been agreed for the Fleetwood campus and installation will begin in February 2016 to enable electricity monitoring and identify areas for energy savings.
  • Installation of photovoltaic renewable technologies across the Bispham Campus.
  • Installation of a liquid pool cover at the Fleetwood Environmental Tank
  • Upgrades of old inefficient lighting to LED lighting – cross College
  • Overcladding and Mechanical and Electrical upgrades to buildings at Fleetwood and Bispham campuses.
  • On-site recycling scheme requiring staff to separate food waste, mixed dry recycling and general waste across the College.

 

Biodiversity

The College works with both staff and students to enhance the biodiversity of the campuses, through projects such as the allotment volunteer project which works to grow vegetables and fruit onsite and working to protect and manage the plants and trees across the site.

Biodiversity is also an important aspect of all College planning applications and the new Advanced Technology Centre development included a large wild flower area being established alongside the building, with an aim to enhance the local environment.

 

Travel

The College continually encourages and promotes sustainable travel and has installed bike lockers, cycle shelters, shower facilities, electric vehicle charging points and College car share schemes. There is an up to date College Travel Plan which aims to encourage staff, students and visitors to commute more sustainably. The College also reviews all sustainable travel options as part of the College Property Strategy and Planning Application.

 

Sustainable Procurement

The College is dedicated to sustainable and ethical procurement and requires all suppliers to demonstrate their own sustainable and ethical procurement practices when providing goods or services on behalf of the College. Whilst balancing costs and value for money, the College promotes and embeds sustainable and ethical procurement practices across all areas of the procurement process through the following examples:

  • Create a whole College approach to sustainable and ethical procurement
  • Select products and services having taken into account their impact on the depletion of natural resources and biodiversity.
  • Consider the life cycle analysis of product, to include durability and future capacity to upgrade and repair, prior to purchase
  • Consider poverty aware procurement.
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