Sustainability and Climate Change Policy 2024/25

Introduction

Meeting the challenges of Climate Change by moving to a Net Zero economy is one of the most important goals of society. The Education sector has a role to play in achieving these goals. In April 2022 the Department for Education published Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children’s services systems in response to the COP 26 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) meeting held in November 2021.

Amongst the strategic aims set were -

Net zero: reducing direct and indirect emissions from education buildings, driving innovation to meet legislative targets in the transition to net zero
Resilient to climate change: adapting our education buildings and system to prepare for the effects of climate change
A better environment for future generations: enhancing biodiversity, improving air quality and increasing access to, and connection with, nature in and around education settings

Purpose

Hull City Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and set a target to become carbon neutral by 2030 and become a net zero business by 2040. These targets provide the framework within which the Environment Policy and its objectives sit.

HTAE recognises its responsibility in m contributing to and managing its environmental impact and making decisions that support the current sustainability agenda. Sustainability has been defined as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs," (Brundtland Commission 1987). This policy sets down the actions that we are already taking, and will incorporate into our planning, to demonstrate our commitment to meeting the challenges of climate change.

Aims and Objectives

Our aim is to reduce the impact of our operations on the environment. We will continue to monitor environmental performance wherever possible and incorporate environmental factors into business decisions. Our work is continuous and ongoing. The focus of our activity will be concentrated on the following areas -

Aims and objectives
Category	Commitment	Actions
1. Energy Use (e.g. Heating, Lighting, Air Conditioning)	We will seek to reduce the amount of energy used wherever possible Energy consumption and efficiency of new products will be taken into account when purchasing	Lights and electrical equipment will be switched off when not in use Heating will be adjusted with efficient energy consumption in mind and installation of smart heating controls Install LED lights during all new refurbishment projects Install motion sensor lighting Staff will be encouraged to turn off electrical equipment when not in use
2. Materials Use (e.g. Building projects, refurbishment)	Large scale refurbishment projects will be managed following BREEM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) framework We will develop offices, teaching and study spaces that support the college’s learning agenda in a sustainable way	All new refurbishment projects are managed with the integral objective of reducing the carbon footprint of the service
3 Marketing, Teaching and Office supplies (e.g. paper and teaching materials)	Educate, train, and motivate staff to conduct their activities in an environmentally responsible and net zero manner We will evaluate the environmental impact of equipment and products used/purchased by the business	Sustainability in teaching mandatory module for all teaching staff We will prioritise products that are more environmentally friendly and efficient wherever possible, for example all paper purchased will be recycled We will reuse and recycle wherever possible, for example all used clay is recycled Move away from paper-based marketing to digital based promotions saving on brochure costs and distribution Maintain recycling points in all communal areas around all centres
4 Waste and Recycling (e.g. water and class room furniture)	We will minimise waste by reduction, re-use and recycling methods We will use upcycling where possible in terms of office refurbishment and ensure that anything new is as environmentally friendly as possible We will ensure that waste is disposed of by licensed and appropriate organisations to minimise environmental impact	Eliminate use of Single use plastics in learner lounge areas Work directly with staff or third parties to re-home, donate or recycle unwanted furniture Use a WEEE approved contractor to dispose of redundant IT equipment and other electrical items
5 IT Infrastructure	Our HCC IT strategic aim is to move to a Cloud hosting system so removing the need to maintain an on-premises IT server room Move to adopting laptops as standard for all staff and removing PC’s so needing less IT hardware (no towers and monitors)	Four-year IT equipment refresh cycle giving the opportunity to adopt next generation equipment which is more energy efficient Allocation of Laptops to speed up move to laptop enabled environment Donation of old IT equipment where opportunities arise within corporate directives
6 Transport	Promote our easily accessible locations with multiple public transport links by rail, and bus We will promote the use of Teams conferencing as travel alternatives We promote cycling via the cycle to work scheme	We will promote the use of Teams as travel alternatives We promote cycling via the cycle to work scheme Publish public transport links on our website to show range of choices available
7 Health and wellbeing	Maintain and enhance a healthy working environment for all who visit our sites	Carbon dioxide monitors installed. Sign posting of learner and staff support services around building including safeguarding contacts
8 Subcontracting and Procurement of educational services	All educational suppliers will be asked how they will support the Authority to become carbon neutral by 2030 through the delivery of our services	Work with our suppliers and contractors to minimise the negative environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emission derived from of their goods and services

Communication

Communications play an important part in our sustainability planning. Through effective communications we will -

Raise awareness of our work and provide evidence of our commitment to sustainability Obtain support from staff, tutors and learners
Collect feedback on our activities
Provide evidence that can be used in communications with external audiences
Appropriate channels of communication will be used such as the staff newsletter, meetings, social media postings and video guides

Review and Development

This policy will be reviewed on a regular basis and updated to ensure that it remains appropriate in the light of any relevant changes to the law, education policies or contractual obligations. Additional policies may be created to cover specific areas. All changes will ultimately be approved by the Executive advisory board (EAB)

https://www.hull.gov.uk/downloads/download/199/hcc-environment-policy-2022