Focus on environmental sustainability at New City College

New City College’s annual Green Week takes place this week. Students in all campuses are participating in awareness raising activities on environmental sustainability, including sustainability fairs, talks by external experts and litter picking and wildflower planting events. Guest speakers and attendees include the Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education (EAUC), Ashden, Zenergy, Bywaters and Too Good To Go, to name a few.

16-18 students are taking part in the Global Goals Teach-ins at tutorials this week. The Teach-ins introduce students to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on responsible consumption and particularly fast fashion. A cohort of A Level students will complete their carbon literacy training this week, to be certified by the Carbon Literacy Trust.

For the first time, students and staff have also been invited to nominate their peers for the Green Hero awards. The winners will be announced on Friday and will each receive internal recognition as well as a reusable water bottle or cup.

A sustainable meal developed by a Level 3 Catering and Hospitality student in Hackney campus is served in all college canteens on Wednesday.

The week also includes a soft launch of the new low carbon heating system in Redbridge campus, which is due to complete imminently. This will be the first of New City College’s buildings to be decarbonised, with roll-out of decarbonisation initiatives planned over the coming years.

Green Week is part of New City College’s Green Strategy and commitment to become a more environmentally sustainable organisation. New City College’s work on this area was recognised at this year’s AoC Beacon awards where the college was a finalist in the category for Education for Sustainable Development.

Green Week is not the only sustainability related event at New City College this March. An information event is being organised next week regarding Local Skills Improvement Fund related work that New City College is leading for Central London Forward. The £6.7m fund delivers significant investment into green skills training, further enhancing the existing offer.