Sustainability

Industry Partnerships and Visits

Students from our Art and Design course worked on incorporating recycled materials and end of life considerations into their design projects working with a local recycling company to create their final products.

Workshops and Events

• Groups of students from our degree Environmental Conservation and Equine courses to our Foundation Studies have taken part in sustainability workshops.
• We run a range of events throughout the year to get students involved in all elements of Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) including Green Colleges Week and SDG Week.

Tracking Nature

• Conservation students have been working with our grounds team to identify a re-wilding area. Previously part of the maintained grounds, this 0.38Ha plot will now be left for nature with the students regularly surveying the wildlife to monitor the changes.
• We take part in the RSPB Garden bird count tracking the bird species in our walled and foundation gardens - this year our students spotted over 88 birds including Coal Tits, Robins and a Mistle Thrush.

Building

We have now been awarded 3 phases of Salix Decarbonisation Funding covering 8 buildings at our Bishop Burton Campus including insulation, double glazing and electrifying our heating systems. When the works are completed 12 of our buildings across both campuses will be fully electric, including some of our larger teaching spaces like the LRC and Princess Anne University Centre with an estimated Co2e reduction of over 400 tonnes per year.

Grounds

We're capturing solar energy to power our grounds maintenance equipment, including our robotic mowers, chainsaws, leaf blowers and trimmers saving an estimated 11 tonnes of Co2e per year. Keep an eye out for Lionel Pitchy, our battery-operated line machine!

Electric Cars

We have two electric cars as part of our vehicle fleet as well as a number of electric buggies used for travelling onsite for our care taking and catering teams.

Flood Defences

We have a balancing lake that acts as a flood defence for the rural villages downstream. It also features as a water jump for our British Evening Horse Trails!

Collective Action

We have a group of Sustainability Champions representing areas from across the College and working together on projects and initiatives to drive the College sustainability strategy. Every year we complete a staff survey to understand the views of the whole staff body and work to make improvements based on this.

Our Farm uses a wide range of sustainable agriculture practices, minimising its carbon footprint and environmental impact and acting as a great teaching tool for our students. These include:

• Using liquid fertilisers to increase efficiency
• Growing our own Livestock feed
• Practicing direct drilling techniques for the majority of crops
• Including sheep in our arable rotation
• Planting overwintering cover crops, companion crops and permanent herbal lays
• Working with efficient livestock species

Since 2022 we have already seen a 30% reduction in fuel usage as a result.

As well as focussing on how we can affect change within the College, we know how important it is to promote Sustainability across the sector. To support this we are members of a number of organisations and commitments including:

• Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC)
• Race to Zero for Colleges and Universities
• Sustainable Development Goals Accord
• Landex Sustainable Farms Networks

Our Green Grounds Project- switching our grounds maintenance equipment from fossil fuels to electric, charged using renewable energy, was recognised as Highly Commended in the 2025 Green Gown Awards.