Proud to be green

With representation from all departments on Bedford Colleges Sustainability Group, sustainability has now become a key focus throughout the college.

Bedford College is very proactive in establishing networks, developing projects, driving initiatives to achieve maximum benefit to the community and contributing to many Further Education sector developments. The College has a reputation for its achievements in sustainability training and a great deal has been achieved in embedding sustainability into many college operations and external partnerships.

The College has made significant advances and introduced the following sustainable working practices.

Bedford College Sustainability Group (BCSG) established in 2008, with 28 champions (staff and students), each with agreed targets.
Regular updates on the College intranet and in Update magazine.
Sustainability training/briefings delivered to students, managers, teams and individuals.
Learner engagement through BCSG representation, competitions, events, projects and courses.
Numerous curriculum initiatives.
Annual Sustainability Day to showcase students’ achievements and celebrate our external partnership work.
A ‘lift offered / lift wanted’ scheme.
Converting used vegetable oil into bio-diesel at the Vehicle Training Centre.
Regional initiatives to stimulate the renewable energy industry.
Numerous energy efficiency measures.
Increased recycling onsite.
‘Stationery amnesty’ to redistribute unused stock.
Leading two major regional sustainability project, one to develop low carbon skills, the other to develop low carbon businesses.
Playing a key role in national developments to embed sustainability into the learning and skills sector.

There are numerous projects that are being developed to help the college become more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. See the latest news for developments.