Sustainability
Central to delivering fairer futures for all is the safeguarding of our planet. In the face of a rapidly changing climate, we must reduce the impact of our activities to limit the worst effects of global warming on our communities.
As a flagship Further Education College Group, we recognise our unique position in inspiring climate action through our curriculum, operational management and community engagement.
Our students are powerful changemakers. When equipped with meaningful green skills, they can influence long-lasting solutions. It is our belief that together we can improve the capacity of our estates to mitigate and adapt to climate change and accelerate action amongst our community partners.
Furthermore, our work around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is a key part of ensuring that our plans for adapting to climate change leave no one behind.
Our Targets
Race to Net Zero
In November 2022, we became a signatory of the Race to Zero Charter for Universities and Colleges. This commits us to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Becoming net zero means to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as far as possible and balance what is left with projects that remove carbon (equivalents) from the atmosphere.
More information on the Race to Zero Charter for Universities and Colleges can be found here: https://www.educationracetozero.org/home
The Climate Action Roadmap for FE Colleges
To help guide our sustainability programme, we adopted the Climate Action Roadmap for FE Colleges, developed by the Association of Colleges and the EAUC. Based on the national roadmap, we set ourselves the target to become a “Leading” college by academic year 2025/2026, meaning we will have made significant progress through the roadmap.
Progress to Date
Our 2023/24 progress update against the Climate Action Roadmap for FE Colleges can be downloaded below. We also report our carbon emissions as part of the UK government’s Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) which are published within our annual financial statements and can be found on our Governance page (see page 10 of Financial Statements year ending 31st July 2023).
A full-time Sustainability Lead was appointed in April 2024 to help accelerate action towards our target to become a “Leading” college by 2025/26. Find out more here.
Our Future Plans
We know urgent action is required to ensure the best future possible for people and planet. That’s why we are in the process of developing Milton Keynes College Group’s own Climate Action Plan.
Building on the Roadmap for FE Colleges, a Climate Action Plan is a strategic document that responds specifically to the needs of our college, its staff, students and stakeholders. It will further define our key impact areas and coordinate the steps we need to take to make meaningful change.
This is an important milestone to enhance our awareness of our impacts and speed up action.
Championing Energy Efficiency
We’re proud to announce that we’ve recently become members of the @Energy Efficiency Association CiC. An independent body that provides unbiased information and expertise to help consumers and businesses make informed decisions about energy efficiency, our membership of the EEA is part of our journey to a more sustainable future for the College Group.
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