New City College Environmental Sustainability Annual Report 2024
Environmental Sustainability
Annual Report 2024
Foreword
The academic year 2023/24 has seen significant strides in our efforts towards environmental sustainability. One of the highlights was the decarbonisation project at Redbridge, where the installation of air source heat pumps will dramatically reduce our carbon footprint.
This report celebrates the impact that our Green Strategy has had over the past four years. This is particularly visible in our college estate where we have managed to reduce our direct and indirect carbon emissions by over 20%. Significant progress has also been made on other aspects of our sustainability work, as highlighted later on in the report.
There remains much more to do for us to become a truly sustainable college. As we embark on a review of our strategic intent in the coming academic year, this also gives us an opportunity to review and refresh our sustainability strategy. Whilst these reviews are ongoing, our work on sustainability continues.
Gerry McDonald Group Principal and CEO
December 2024
Low Carbon Technology Lab, at our Hackney Campus
Introduction
New City College (NCC) launched its Green Strategy in January 2021. The purpose of this Strategy was to create a greener NCC. It was aligned with the Climate Action Roadmap for FE Colleges 1 and covered actions related to Leadership and Governance; Teaching and Learning; Estates and Operations; and Partnerships and Engagement. The Strategy was delivered in phases, with the second phase completing by December 2024 and taking NCC to a leading college on sustainability.
This is the third annual report on NCC’s environmental sustainability work. It presents NCC’s carbon emissions and how these have evolved over time. It provides an overview of actions and activities undertaken as part of the Green Strategy during the academic year 2023-24. It concludes by outlining the focus areas for work in 2024/25.
Purpose of carbon reporting
The purpose of carbon reporting is to track the greenhouse gases emitted by organisations with a view to demonstrating how organisations are meeting the Government’s and international net zero targets. The scientific consensus is that the rise in average global temperatures should be limited to below 2°C from pre-industrial levels, targeting a maximum rise of 1.5°C.
Organisations report on greenhouse gases by converting all emissions into carbon dioxide equivalencies (CO2e). Reporting is done on three Scopes.
Scope 1
Emissions that are directly under our control e.g. emissions arising from gas boilers and owned vehicles.
Scope 2
Emissions that are indirectly under our control, primarily from purchased electricity.
Scope 3
Emissions associated with our organisation that we are indirectly responsible for e.g. waste, water, travel, purchases etc.
Organisations usually report on emissions by referring to tonnes of CO2e emitted. One tonne equates to driving an average petrol/diesel fuelled car for 2,500 miles.
Achieving net zero means reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions to 0 or as close to it as possible. For Scope 3, the focus is on reducing emissions as much as possible and offsetting what cannot be reduced by contributing to initiatives that absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
NCC’s carbon emissions
NCC reports on its carbon emissions using the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) process as recommended by the UK Government. The full 2023/24 report is included in Appendix A.
In 2023/24 NCC produced 47,317 tonnes of CO2e emissions.
This is the second year that NCC has been able to report on nearly the full scale of its Scope 3 emissions, including those arising from its supply chain. As expected, Scope 3 emissions form the great majority (93%) of emissions from NCC. Further detail on Scope 3 emissions is provided later.
Scope 1 and 2
Scope 1 and 2 emissions show a continued year-on-year reduction since NCC started reporting on its carbon footprint. NCC had set itself a target of reducing its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 20% by December 2024. This has been achieved with a total reduction of 22%. Scope 1 emissions have reduced a total of 21% and Scope 2 emissions by 23% since 2019/20.
The primary driver for the reduction in Scope 1 emissions has been the significant reduction in gas consumption. For Scope 2 emissions, the reduction has been driven by a combination of reduced electricity consumption and the increase in the proportion of renewable energy in the national electricity grid. It should be noted that all reported consumption data comes with a level of uncertainty as it is based on invoicing data where consumption is sometimes estimated.
A year-on-year comparison between campuses shows that with a few exceptions, there has continued to be a reduction in gas consumption per square metre. This has been most marked in Rainham, Havering Sixth Form and Redbridge, primarily due to faulty gas boilers and, in Redbridge, as a result of the decarbonisation works which saw the boilers being turned off.
In other campuses, the reduction is due to continued focus on abiding by the NCC temperature protocol, which has reduced the overall average heating temperatures on campuses. Differences in weather may also account for some of this reduction. There has been a slight increase in gas consumption per square metre at Hackney and Ardleigh Green. It should be noted that Epping Forest data has been excluded from this analysis due to concerns about its validity in 22/23. There is accurate data for 23/24 which will allow a comparison to be presented in next year’s annual report. Consumption in all campuses is below the CIBSE good practice benchmark for FE and HE.
The changes in electricity consumption per square metre demonstrate a year-on-year reduction in all campuses except for Havering Sixth Form. The primary driver for this has been the continued roll-out of LED lighting. In Havering Sixth Form, the works associated with the construction of a new teaching block are likely to be the main reason for the increased electricity consumption.
Ardleigh Green and Rainham are the only sites where consumption is above the CIBSE benchmarks for FE and HE. In Rainham this is due to the specialist Construction and Engineering curriculum, which requires a high use of electricity. In Ardleigh Green this is due to some of the buildings being heated with electric heaters rather than radiators. It should be noted that the Epping Forest data does not include data for the Wellness Centre.
NCC’s carbon emissions
Scope 3
One of the priorities in NCC’s work on sustainability has been to continuously improve its emissions data reporting. This is the second year that a nearly full set of Scope 3 data is reported on. New data on staff and student commuting to college campuses has been added this year. In addition, waste data has improved and now includes some direct emissions data in addition to cost-based estimates.
The majority of the Scope 3 data is based on costdata, which is a typical way for estimating Scope 3 emissions. Carbon emissions are calculated using a conversion tool, which translates different types of non-pay costs into emissions based on typical emissions associated with these types of activities. This is helpful to clarify the scale of emissions associated with different business areas but provide only an estimate as they do not reflect the specific contracts which NCC holds. As the alternative would be to review every purchase item and contract separately, the tool is used as an efficient option to begin to understand Scope 3 emissions.
At 58%, the majority of Scope 3 emissions at NCC arise from student travel to and from college. This data is based on information gathered at enrolment. Whilst the majority of students travel to college by public transport, the sheer number of students travelling to and from college several days a week creates a significant carbon footprint. Only 7% of students report travelling to college by private car.
At 21%, the second most significant Scope 3 emission source is staff commuting to college. Staff commuting emissions are based on a survey sample, which has been extrapolated to estimate the total staff commuting emissions.
Around 40% of staff travel to college by private car and a similar proportion use public transport. NCC launched a car-sharing scheme for staff in spring 2024 with a view to reducing emissions from staff travel.
At 13%, the third most significant Scope 3 emission source are business services. These include everything from marketing, staff recruitment and conferences to banking, insurance and auditing. Emissions associated with business services have reduced by nearly 40% in a single year. This is partially due to cost savings. For instance, there has been a significant reduction in 19+ subcontracted provision in line with college strategy.
There has also been a significant reduction in the use of consultancy services. In addition to cost savings, some of the areas included in last year’s report under business services have been removed due to them being considered staff costs rather than non-pay costs. The removal of restructuring costs from Scope 3 emissions is an example of this.
A review of Scope 3 emissions yearon-year demonstrates that most emissions in 23/24 are broadly in line with the emissions reported in 22/23. In addition to business services, the main differences arise from food and catering, which reflect a contract change between the two financial years and the impact of inflation on food items.
There is a considerable decrease in waste and water emissions, mostly resulting from the implementation of a new waste management contract in Hackney and Tower Hamlets campuses which allowed enhanced reporting on recycled waste and resulted in an increase in recycling rates. Lastly there has been a reduction in emissions associated with international flights, reflecting annual variations in the number of international student trips.
Green Strategy Actions 2023/2024
TOP 3 actions/activities under each Green Strategy strand
Leadership & Governance Teaching & Learning
Led a Local Skills Improvement Fund project for Central London Forward, creating retrofit labs in several campuses and increasing the college’s green skills training offer
Secured £4.6m from Salix to deliver heat decarbonisation projects in Ardleigh Green and Epping Forest
Continued to prioritise investment for sustainability initiatives via the Green Investment Board
Estates & Operations
Decarbonised heating at Redbridge campus with the support of a £1.1m Salix grant
Developed an Environmental Action Plan to help drive forward sustainability related improvements to estates and operations
Participated in a menu flipping project with support from Students Organising for Sustainability UK, exploring how to increase the take-up of vegetarian and vegan meals in college catering outlets
Undertook a pilot project on how to embed Education for Sustainable Development into the 14-16 curriculum
Delivered accredited carbon literacy training to A Level students at two campuses
Incorporated sustainability as one of five core themes in the 23/24 curriculum plan with a view to monitoring its development via quality processes
Partnerships & Engagement
AoC Beacon awards finalist for Education for Sustainable Development
Green Gown finalist in the Money for Good and Next Generation Learning and Skills categories
Delivered an annual Green Week with increased participation rates and celebrated staff who are passionate about sustainability by launching the Green Heroes awards
Focus for 2024/2025
• Delivering a £3.9m heat decarbonisation project at NCC’s Epping Forest campus, resulting in a 79% reduction in gas and electricity related emissions.
• Beginning the implementation of a heat decarbonisation project at NCC’s Ardleigh Green campus as part of the wider masterplan works.
• Developing a sustainability strategy for the future, aligned with the college’s new Strategic Intent.
• Continuing the leadership of the Local Skills Improvement Fund project for Central London Forward, further enhancing the college’s green skills training offer.
• Providing carbon literacy as part of academic enrichment to A Level students and piloting a tailored carbon literacy course for Level 2 students in Business and Construction and Engineering.
• Delivering a further enhanced Green Week, with increased student leadership via the Environmental Officers in student unions.
• Developing a biodiversity strategy, which will be aligned with wider climate resilience plans for each campus.
• Continuing to invest in sustainability initiatives via the Green Investment Board, with a focus on securing funding for the first solar PV project.
• Launching a campaign to reduce the use of quickly discarded plastics at all college campuses.
• Roll-out of electric vehicles to replace existing fossil-fuel based fleet vehicles and minibuses.
Appendix A.
Quantification and reporting methodology
We have followed the 2019 HM Government Environmental Reporting Guidelines. We have also used the GHG Reporting Protocol – Corporate Standard and have used the 2024 UK Government’s Conversion Factors for Company Reporting.
Scope 1 and 2 data is based on utility bills and records of fuel and f gas consumption. Utility data covers all NCC freehold sites with the exception of electricity data in the Epping Forest wellness centre, which is not available. Utility data from leasehold sites is included in Scope 3 data.
Scope 3 data is based primarily on cost data, calculated using the EAUC Scope 3 tool. The exceptions include international flights and student and staff travel data. International flight data is based on actual flight data from student trips. Students travel data to and from college is based on information gathered at enrolment regarding primary mode of transport and travel distance. Staff travel data is based on a staff survey. The response rate for the staff survey was low at 108 responses but has been used to estimate the total staff commuting emissions for NCC. Waste and water data are a mixture of cost-based estimates for leasehold sites and invoice and emissions data for freehold sites.
*Business travel in employee-owned vehicles is now incorporated into the estimated employee commuting figures rather than being reported separately.
Intensity measurement
The primary intensity measurement ratio is total gross emissions in metric tonnes CO2e per staff member (counted as FTE), the recommended ratio for the sector. We have also included a secondary intensity measurement ratio which captures total gross emissions in metric tonnes CO2e per student (counted as FTE).
Measures taken to improve energy efficiency
In 2023/24, NCC has implemented the following measures to improve energy efficiency:
• Upgrades to Building Management System across all sites
• Continued roll-out of LED lighting
• Decommissioning of gas boilers in Redbridge campus and their replacement with low carbon alternatives
• Implementation of quick win actions recommended by the decarbonisation plans for each campus.
Further, we have continued to improve our capability to measure and report on carbon emissions.
