Leadership – as if education and the planet mattered Di Dale Principal & CEO, Wiltshire College Chair AoC SW Sustainable Colleges Group

SW Colleges of FE – Leadership on The Sustainable Journey What we did Barriers overcome Lessons learned Benefits for students

The Further Education Context – 32 Colleges in SW Various approaches and levels of commitment FE Capital Programme (it’s collapse – BREEAM – what now?) Very little resource The Green Colleges Declaration South West UK’s first low carbon region

The AoC Sustainable Thematic Project AoC/LSC/RDA funds for a 3 year project Creating a network – it’s breadth and depth is unique Best practice dissemination Awareness raising events

Phase 1 Baseline audit of sustainable activity in SW Colleges in 2008 using 4 key themes: Leadership and Management, Estates & Buildings, Curriculum & Learning, Business & Community 91% response rate

Key Headlines from the baseline survey in the South West region 38% of colleges have an SD policy 17% of colleges have an SD organisation role in the structure 39% of colleges have an SD committee 14% of colleges have an SD Action Plan 61% of colleges have a measure of energy use 47% of colleges have an action plan for reduction of energy use 10% of colleges have an EMS 29% of colleges have a sustainable procurement policy 43% of colleges have a green travel plan 48% of colleges have begun to embed SD in the curriculum 32% of colleges encourage volunteering in the community

2009 – Phase 2 11 Case Studies examined in depth Huge variety of best practice May 2009 dissemination event – 65 attendees, 5 workshops – student participation Opportunity for college leaders and managers to plan

Phase 3 – looking to the future – further funds secured 3 workshops during 2010 Embedding SD in Curriculum Delivery Promoting Sustainability in our estates on tight budgets College governors briefing

Barriers overcome Securing the funding Working together Overcoming anxiety Managing reluctance Using champions to lead task groups

Lessons Learned Leadership commitment to SD is crucial Where are the government funded initiatives for FE (as in Greening Schools)? The students are leading the way – many benefits Cooperation and collaboration are critical to best practice and dissemination

SD in SW Colleges – the way forward Recession impact Budgets in next 3 years Will SD initiatives lose momentum? Renewed commitment critical