Coleg Gwent is celebrating being awarded the prestigious Green Dragon Environmental Standard Level 5 – the highest Green Dragon standard for excellent environmental management.
Coleg Gwent is only the third Welsh further education college to achieve the accolade, which recognises effective environmental management and rewards actions taken to achieve continual environmental improvements. The award is supported by the Welsh Assembly Government and the Environment Agency.
The college has been working towards the Standard over the past four years, initially achieving level 2 in February 2007 and finally achieving level 5 in August 2010. Since beginning the award, Coleg Gwent’s staff and students have been doing their bit to reduce the college’s impact on the environment. Engineering staff helped to monitor energy and fitted efficient equipment, procurement staff have ensured use of sustainable materials and services, and the Student Union promoted recycling bins, which led to nine tons of plastic being recycled by students last year.
Some further improvements made by the college over the last year include recycling 75% of all waste produced and recycling 100% of all paper and cardboard disposed of via a blue bin recycling scheme.
The environment has also been an important part of recent Coleg Gwent construction projects, with the college achieving a BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) standard of ‘Excellent’ for the design of a new development at Crosskeys Campus. The new build uses many ‘green’ features including rainwater harvesting, solar thermal panels, a biomass boiler and is predominantly naturally ventilated.
Over the last year the college has also scooped an Enviroswise Waste Management in the Public Sector Award and been highly commended by the The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EUAC) for environmental and waste management.
To achieve level 5 of the Green Dragon Environmental Standard the college undertook a comprehensive audit and assessment process over two days against all elements of the standard and all previous standards achieved, successfully meeting criteria such as addressing sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Coleg Gwent’s Health Safety and Environmental Manager Ian Rowe is delighted by the outcome of the assessment: “Achieving level 5 clearly demonstrates Coleg Gwent’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and improving the environment. The college’s aim is to continue to reduce its impacts on the environment and simultaneously reduce its costs through efficient energy use, the implementation of good waste management and effective sustainable procurement practices.”
Coleg Gwent Principal Jim Bennett said: “We are very proud to have achieved the Green Dragon level 5 Standard. This recognises our continuing dedication to making Coleg Gwent as environmentally friendly as possible through the innovative efforts of staff and students.”
