GET STARTED

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Sign up to the Let’s Go Zero campaign

Start: May 2025

Review: July 2025

Sustainability Lead

Research Let’s Go Zero Website. Sign up to the campaign

Completed May 2025

Calculate your school’s carbon footprint using Count Your Carbon

Start: Sept 25

Review: Nov 25

Sustainability Lead, Finance Director, Health, Safety & Premises Manger

Register setting, Gather data, Complete calculation, Review report, Build carbon reduction plan

Sign up to Sustainability Support for Education

Start: Sept 25

Review: Oct 25

Sustainability Lead

Research Sustainability Support for Education, sign up to the campaign

ENERGY – BEHAVIOUR CHANGE

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Discuss a policy around lighting use

Start: Oct 25

Review: Nov 25

Sustainability Lead, Finance Director, Health, Safety & Premises Manger

Meet with stakeholders to discuss current lighting measures, discussion installing motion sensors for those not on the current system. Display posters reminding staff to turn off lights when not in use.

Research feasibility of a ‘switch off’ campaign

Start: Oct 25

Review: Nov 25

Sustainability Lead

Investigate feasibility across vocations / depts. Research costs/savings potential to promote to learners and staff.

Instruct all staff to follow heating efficiency practices e.g. turn heating down vs opening windows

Start: Oct 25

Review: Nov 25

Sustainability Lead,  Health, Safety & Premises Manger

Create reminders/signage about closing windows when heating is on.

ENERGY – BUILDINGS & INFRASTRUCTURE

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Investigate the potential for solar panels

Start: Oct 25

Review: Nov 25

Sustainability Lead, Finance Director, Health, Safety & Premises Manger

Meet with stakeholders to determine the feasibility of installing solar panels.

TRANSPORT

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Promote walking/cycling/public transport to school/ Park & Stride

Start: Jan 25

Review: March 26

Sustainability Lead

Create promotional materials highlighting health and environmental benefits. Source information for safe walking/cycling routes and display on Learner Information boards. Establish Park & Stride locations 10-15 minutes walk from school. Organise 'Walk to School Week' campaigns.

Investigate installation of EV charging points

Start: Oct 25

Review: Nov 25

Sustainability Lead, Finance Director, Health, Safety & Premises Manger

Meet with stakeholders to determine the feasibility of installing solar panels.  Research grant funding opportunities (e.g., OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme).

Promote public transport awareness - Health & Social Care learners to create transport guides for community

Start: Nov 25

Review: Feb 26

Sustainability Lead, Health and Social Care Tutor, HSC Learners

(Social Action) HSC learners research local bus/train routes, timetables, and costs. Create user-friendly digital and printed transport guides. Include accessibility information for community members with mobility needs. Develop skills in research, communication, and community engagement while supporting sustainability goals.

FOOD

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Explain reasons for eating less meat during enrichment sessions.

Start: Dec 25

Review: Jan 26

Sustainability Lead, Tutors

Plan and deliver workshops covering environmental impact of meat production (greenhouse gas emissions, land/water usage). Include health benefits of plant-based meals and cultural diversity through vegetarian cuisines from around the world. Create engaging presentations with statistics, infographics, and cooking demonstrations.

Increase meat-free offer on multiple days or number of meat-free options in Enterprise café.

Start: Jan 26

Review: March 26

Enterprise Café Lead – STLSP, P4A Learners

Introduce "Meat-Free Mondays" and expand to additional days. Develop appealing plant-based menu items (e.g., bean burgers, vegetable curries, pasta dishes). Monitor sales data and customer feedback. Consider pricing incentives to encourage uptake of meat-free options.

Weigh food waste from kitchen and share results

Start: Nov 25

Review: Jan 26

Enterprise Café Lead – STLSP, Sustainability Lead, Learners (embedding of maths)

Install scales in kitchen areas and create daily logging system. Create visual displays showing weekly/monthly waste data in café and hub area. Use data for math lessons (calculating percentages, creating graphs). Set reduction targets and celebrate achievements. Identify peak waste times and most wasted items for targeted interventions.

Implement farm-to-table program using onsite farm produce

Start: Nov 25

Review: July 26

Sustainability Lead, Enterprise Café Lead – STLSP, Land Based Studies Tutor, Learners

Establish regular harvesting schedule coordinated between Land Based Studies and Enterprise Café. Create seasonal menu planning that incorporates available farm produce (vegetables, herbs, eggs). Develop storage and preservation methods for surplus harvest. Create educational displays showing "farm to plate" journey for customers. Track cost savings and environmental benefits.

WASTE

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Engage with a plastic reduction campaign to promote reducing the use of single use plastics

Start: Nov 25

Review: Jan 26

Sustainability Lead

Launch awareness campaign with posters and digital displays highlighting plastic pollution statistics and promoting alternatives reusable water bottles, metal straws, fabric bags.

Offer a juice dispenser to replace prepackaged bottles.

Start: Sept 25

Review: Oct 25

Sustainability Lead

Install dispensers in Hub and vocational areas. Provide reusable cups.

Completed 12 Sept 25

Where possible, promote 'paperless' measures to reduce paper consumption

Start: Oct 25

Review: July 26

Sustainability Lead, Tutors

Encourage electronic communication (emails, mi-collab) over printed notices. Offer incentives for staff showing greatest reduction based on 7033 number.

Ensure recycling bins are in all key areas e.g. hub area, enterprise cafe and staffroom.

Start: Oct 25

Review: Dec 25

Sustainability Lead, Tutors

Install clearly labelled recycling stations with visual guides showing what materials go where. Include separate streams for paper, plastic, glass, and general waste.

Create composting system managed by Land Based Studies Learners

Start: Oct 25

Review: July 26

Sustainability Lead, Land Based Studies Tutor, LBS Learners

Install composting bins/areas using Land Based Studies as practical learning project. Train LBS learners in composting techniques, temperature monitoring, and turning schedules. Collect organic waste from Enterprise Café (vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, food scraps) and grounds maintenance (grass clippings, leaves). LBS learners create educational signage explaining composting process and benefits. Use finished compost for college gardens and vegetable plots.

ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Conduct a grounds audit using LtL tool for climate resilience

Start: Nov 25

Review: Jan 26

Sustainability Lead, Health, Safety & Premises Lead

Conduct a grounds audit using Learning through Landscapes (LtL) organisation's audit tool to assess how well our outdoor spaces can handle and adapt to climate change impacts such as extreme flooding / droughts / heat waves.

WATER

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Raise awareness around water consumption and efficiency through workshops and displays that may be offered by our water provider

Start: Oct 25

Review: Dec 25

Sustainability Lead, Tutors

Launch awareness campaign with posters and digital displays promoting reducing water consumption i.e turning taps off, harvesting rain water.

NATURE

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Enrol with The Nature Park (NENP)

Start: Oct 25

Review: Dec 25

Sustainability Lead

Contact NENP to understand membership benefits, resources, and support available for educational institutions. Explore opportunities for trips, CPD, and embedding into curriculum. Access to wildlife identification resources.

Collaboration between vocations to create habitats such as a bug hotel or bird boxes on the farm and or sensory garden

Start: Oct 25

Review: July 26

Sustainability Lead, Vocational Tutors, Learners

Construction and Land Based Studies learners to build wooden bug hotels and bird box frames.

CULTURE

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Promote sustainability goals/projects/successes to school website

Start: Oct 25

Review: July 26

Marketing, Advertising (SC), Sustainability Lead, Tutors.

Create dedicated sustainability section on website with regular updates on progress against action plan. Include photo galleries of projects in progress (bug hotels, composting systems, recycling stations). Feature learner and staff spotlights highlighting individual contributions to sustainability goals. Publish quarterly progress reports showing measurable impacts (waste reduction, energy savings, biodiversity improvements). Share success stories from vocational departments' sustainability projects. Include links to resources for learners/families to continue sustainability practices at home. Ensure content is accessible and engaging for prospective learners and parents/carers to demonstrate college's environmental commitment.

CURRICULUM,  GREEN SKILLS AND CAREERS

ACTION

TIMEFRAME

STAKEHOLDERS

NOTES

TRACKER

Develop upcycling projects in Construction workshops as part of Social Action

Start: Oct 25

Review: July 26

Sustainability Lead, Construction Tutor, Construction Learners

Learners to create promotion material (including social media) to promote Social Action. Identify waste materials from local businesses and community (furniture, wood offcuts, fixtures). Learners design and create functional items using donated materials / resources and demonstrate their construction skills. Partner with local charities for donation of completed projects. Document transformations for portfolio evidence and promotion of sustainability. Link to joinery units where applicable.

Develop repair cafes run by Mechanics learners as part of Social Action

Start: Oct 25

Review: July 26

Sustainability Lead, Motor Vehicle Tutor, Motor Vehicle Learners

Learners to create promotion material (including social media) to promote Social Action. Monthly community repair cafes hosted in college workshops. Learners diagnose and repair household appliances, small engines, bicycles. Develop customer service skills alongside technical competencies. Track items repaired vs. items that would have been discarded. Link to IMI qualifications through practical diagnostic experience beyond curriculum vehicles.

Establish Sustainability focused competitions between vocational departments

Start: Oct 25

Review: July 26

Sustainability Lead, Tutors, Learners

Launch competition promoting sustainability innovation across vocations. Showcase how your vocational area contributes to a sustainable future. Each vocational area will compete to demonstrate the most innovative and impactful sustainability practices within their field. E.G; Construction - Green building techniques, sustainable materials, energy-efficient designs. Motor Vehicle - Electric vehicle maintenance, eco-friendly repair practices, emission reduction. Health & Social Care - Waste reduction in healthcare settings, sustainable care practices. Land Based - Organic farming, renewable energy, biodiversity conservation. Hair, Beauty Barbering - create natural, organic hair and beauty products using locally-sourced ingredients, Sustainable Salon Operations, Upcycled Beauty Tools & Accessories, Green Career Pathways in Beauty

Promote ‘Green Careers’ through a variety of activities and guest speakers as part of Green Careers Week

Start: Oct 25

Review: Sept 26

Sustainability Lead, Tutors, Learners

Week-long focus on careers in renewable energy, sustainable construction, environmental engineering, circular economy. Guest speakers from industry. Create career pathway displays linking qualifications to green job opportunities. Coordinate with careers service and local employers. Track learner progression into sustainability-focused apprenticeships and employment.