At York College we encourage everyone to play a part in reducing energy consumption and minimising our impact on the environment.
We have joined other colleges in the region to adopt the Climate Action Roadmap for Further Education Colleges – launched in 2020 by the UK Further Education Climate Commission.
Under the Roadmap, we will collaborate, and jointly commit to reduce our carbon footprint - collectively achieving net zero by 2030.
Together we have also committed to achieve the three levels of sustainability maturity, detailed in the Roadmap.
Click here for our Carbon Footprint Report.
Reaching Net Zero means an organisation has achieved an overall balance between the emissions it produces against those it takes out of the atmosphere.
To reach our 2030 net zero target we are committing to a number of initiatives aimed at reducing York College’s carbon footprint – ie the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses our activities release into the atmosphere.
We’ll be regularly updating this page to tell you about our initiatives which will cover everything from plastic recycling to reducing water waste and even growing our food right here on campus.
Our newest project, launched in 2022, is intended to transform York College’s environment through an ambitious long-term programme of planting and rewilding.
Through a cross-college effort, we have already created new woodland at our Jubilee Grove, comprising 30 young, native trees. We have already begun growing our own produce too, thanks to the hard work of College staff, students and outside partners who have created of a number of growing beds. This will enable us to reduce our food miles.
