A commitment to the issue of sustainability has been at the heart of our redevelopment - this is demonstrated by the building of a new ‘green' campus, the introduction of significant sustainable technology, college-wide recycling and waste management, and an ambitious travel plan.
The new Campus was ‘Highly Commended' at the Hampshire Sustainable Business Awards in May 2010 and was described by the judges as 'inspirational', demonstrating the College's “strong commitment to the use of renewable energies”.
Our travel plan was introduced in 2007 with the target of a 9% reduction in commuting car traffic. Two hundred bike parking spaces have been built at the new campus to support the plan. In addition the plan has resulted in:
Highbury College came top in the Extra-large Category of Portsmouth's annual Big Green Commuter Challenge in May 2012.
The multi-million pound Highbury Campus opened in 2009. It was built on a brownfield site to reduce the impact on the local eco system; local contractors were used and sustainable materials, including FSC timber and Marmoleum flooring, were incorporated where possible.
The new Campus includes one of the largest geothermal (or 'ground source heat pumps' (GSHP)) in the UK, capable of saving an annual 2,275,000kWh of electricity or 548 tonnes of carbon emissions.
Additional sustainable features at the new Campus include:
Eco-friendly students filmed taking part in our Sustainability Fair held at Lakeside in 2015
Environmental practices at the College now cover every aspect of College life. Sustainable concerns form part of the ordering and procurement process with a preferred use of local and regional suppliers and the use of recycled materials where appropriate. Chartwells, the College's caterers, were selected in part on the basis of their commitment to corporate responsibility, including the procurement of Fairtrade produce. In addition the College has introduced a requirement for suppliers to take away packaging, reducing waste, and to submit details of their environmental policies as part of the tender process.
Following a review of the College's waste disposal procedures, College-wide cardboard and paper recycling, oil recycling and general waste compaction were introduced in 2007, reducing traffic movements and carbon emissions. Waste is now segregated and monitored to manage reductions and there is a preferred use of non-hazardous materials.