ESG* and Sustainable Development @ Runshaw

Runshaw College recognises that sustainability needs to be at the core of everything we do and acknowledges that this will require collaboration between all staff and students to create the urgent changes required.

Runshaw is committed to working towards a more sustainable future. Prioritising sustainability as one of the six key priorities in the Strategic Plan for our organisation and is a crucial first step in the education and practice of more sustainable behaviours. Our Environment and Sustainability policies can be found on our Policies & Procedures page below.

*Environment, Social Value and Governance

ESG & Sustainable Development Report Sustainability Policy

Around our campus

We take care to limit our environmental impact and make best use of natural resources by reducing our carbon footprint, improving resource efficiencies through recycling, setting energy targets, raising awareness and monitoring impact. We educate and support staff and students to make lasting changes to behaviour and working practices to proactively improve the local and wider environment and create a positive future. Below are just a few resources in place here at Runshaw.

Sustainability Coffee Cups — Compostable cups and recyclable aluminium cans

Sustainability at Runshaw — Electric Chargers & Solar Panels at Hawkshead, Car Park C

Sustainability Herb Garden — Herb garden outside Dalehead, used for Chef School and catering

Deer between Mardale and Dalehead captured on one of our wildlife cameras

Sustainability Courts Edit — Our courts are surrounded by woodland, back of Dalehead

Sustainability Trail Cam Edit — Wildlife cameras are positioned across the campus

CR-2803 Sustainability Trees Edit — New trees being planted across our campus

Bug House created by our students with support from a volunteer at Brockholes

WILDLIFE.CAM

Wildlife cameras – biodiversity

Our campus is home to a diverse range of species including foxes, badgers, deer, squirrels and birds – we are working with our eco-society to actively monitor our biodiversity to support the growth of these populations.

Refillable stations for water

Refillable water stations are available across college and students are encouraged to bring their own water bottles. Water is also sold in aluminium cans to reduce single use plastic on site. Compostable coffee cups and recyclable aluminium drinking cans are available in all dining areas.

Solar Panels

Five of our buildings, including the new Buttermere building, are now fitted with solar panels. There is a plan to looking at expanding our provision over the next 12 months.

EV Chargers

Six new electric vehicle charging points were installed over summer 2022 to support staff and visitors in adopting electric vehicles. These can be found in Car Park C at the back of Hawkshead.

Getting involved

Staff Sustainability Forum

In order to successfully carry out our Strategic Plan, our newly formed sustainability forum will be working to implement the principles and initiatives out lined in the Climate Action Roadmap for Further Education Colleges. These initiatives include monitoring and reducing our carbon footprint, increasing biodiversity on campus, and further increasing the number of carbon literate staff and students.

Sustainability Committee – Student Council

The Sustainability Committee has been created as part of the Student Council to tackle issues and help to embed sustainability within our curriculum, campus and culture. Engaging with crucial topics that will affect everyone’s future will allow students to develop the skills needed to become catalysts for positive change.

Runshaw Eco-society

We are currently working through the seven step programme in order to apply for an Eco-Schools green flag award. This programme will empower our students to make a difference in college and the local community. In order for us to achieve the award we have to connect activities that we complete in and around college to three or more of the ten eco-schools topics. These topics use directed themes that can prompt young people to consider environmental changes that they can make in college and in their everyday lives. The three topics we will focus on are biodiversity, water and marine. Our first activity will be on world water day in March. We will have a stall and are going to hand out some leaflets made from plantable paper that contains wildflower seeds. We hope that everyone across college will wear blue and donate too. The society members meet Wednesday mornings at 9am – new members are very welcome. Contact Louise via email for more information: Gilston.l@runshaw.ac.uk

Woodland Trust Area & Fire Pit

Our Outdoor Learning Area was built in partnership with the Woodland Trust as part of our enrichment provision. Strong evidence shows that engagement with outdoor natural environments is beneficial for mental health and wellbeing: through a restorative effect, positive social contact and opportunities for physical activity.

A Sustainable Curriculum for Lancashire – In partnership with The Lancashire Colleges.

A Sustainable Curriculum for Lancashire is led by Runshaw, working with Burnley College, Lancaster & Morecambe College, Myerscough College and Preston College.

Lancashire’s Colleges will work together to audit the FE curriculum, assessing the extent to which sustainable development topics are included within different courses as relevant to the sector-subject area. This will support our objective to have a ‘sustainable curriculum’ across Lancashire’s Colleges as per the FE Climate Action Roadmap. The SDF funding will be used to pump-prime what will be a much larger and significant piece of work which will see the colleges collaborating in a brand-new way, ensuring a pan-Lancashire and more efficient response to this significant challenge.

Businesses and industry experts will support the project, helping to inform the audit and the emerging curriculum while students will be engaged, helping colleges to understand the topics which are of most interest to them. Following the audit, the colleges will work together to identify where there are existing courses or content which can be built into the curriculum and/or modified to suit a particular sector or subject area and will modify or develop new courses where there are gaps.

Strategic Plan 2021-24

Campus & Facilities