TES 'green' award for college

The award recognises and rewards the provider that can demonstrate the most imaginative and joined-up approach to the social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability.

The award was presented to Chris Paget, Executive Director of Asset Development and Diane Whitehouse, Technical Academy Leader for Agriculture, Countryside and Equine by TES Editor, Gerard Kelly and Dragons Den and Radio 4 presenter, Evan Davies.

The college has been committed to sustainability – good environmental practice – for many years involving staff and students in a range of initiatives. The college gives each student the opportunity to engage with sustainability initiatives such as ‘green theme weeks’, lunchtime debates and teaching them about the impact of their behaviour on the wider world.

College development projects have included using sustainable technologies in new buildings, reducing paper consumption by 20% and reducing general waste collection by 30% in favour of recycling. In the curriculum, both land-based and construction courses were revamped to incorporate environmental concerns.

The TES commented that: “Warwickshire College has embedded sustainability into everything it does, not just addressing the physical fabric of the buildings, but building it into the curriculum too. The college has a great overall strategy and good monitoring systems and has already achieved some major carbon savings.”

Principal and CEO, Mariane Cavalli, said: “Sustainability is part of our college values and has been adopted wholeheartedly by staff and students alike. Our achievements in this area have been outstanding – for example, the new Rugby centre uses just a third of the energy used by the previous centre and, from next year, 80% of our waste will be recycled.”