Northampton College

Go-Green Project empowers sustainable students

Northampton College’s ‘Go-Green Initiative’ encourages staff and students to consider our environmental impact. Our three campuses are sustainable and generate a low carbon footprint. Our Executive Leadership Team challenges our estates staff to reduce our energy consumption and carbon footprint through efficient building management systems, a green sedum roof and 220kW of photovoltaic solar panels which cover our electrical ‘base load’.

We’ve created protected gardens to encourage nature. We offer students a bus pass bursary, provide secure cycle points and staff who use a car for work may donate 1p for every mile they travel to the College Tree Fund.

We’ve launched Supporting Sustainable Futures to boost the number of young people in STEM and digital subjects. Staff and students are building a timber frame eco-classroom with construction firms which will feature sustainable products and green energy solutions. We’ve installed electric vehicle charging points and made waste management improvements.

Annual carbon savings achieved with the initiative:

• CO2t savings 2022/2023: 65.39 (Estimated).
• CO2t savings 2023/2024: 65.39 (Estimated). 
• CO2t savings over the life cycle of the project: Ongoing.   

What the Judges Thought

Northampton College is helping their learners and community develop an understanding of sustainability and learn behaviours which will stay with them for life.

The judges were impressed by the quantity and breadth of activities they're doing. The whole-organisation approach demonstrates solid executive leadership which also empowers and meaningfully responds to the student voice in relation to sustainability. The enthusiasm of the college for sustainability action jumped off the page but more impressively was backed by evidence of their commitment and the impacts they’ve seen to date. The judges were impressed by work that spanned decarbonisation, education for sustainable development across a broad range of subject areas reaching thousands of learners and creating more social equity.

Their work is supporting the economic prosperity of their local region and is definitely transferable across the FE and training sector. We’re delighted to recognise their leadership and progress with this award.

What it Means to Win

“Winning this Green Gown award is one of our proudest achievements because sustainability runs through everything we do at Northampton College. Going Green has reaped incredible environmental and financial benefits for us and expanded our students’ skills dramatically, giving them an important edge as they embark on their careers.”

Pat Brennan-Barrett, Principal

Top 3 Learnings

1. By working with industry we are maximising opportunities for students.
2. Our Go-Green Initiative has reduced our carbon footprint and waste and boosted our reputation.
3. By approaching Sustainability in an innovative way we’re opening our students’ eyes to new practices.