West College Scotland is committed to:
- Contributing to the Scottish Governments carbon emissions reduction targets.
- Contributing to climate change adaptations.
- Acting sustainably
As part of the above duty, the College submitted its seventh Annual Climate Change Duties Report in March of this year.
We are pleased to say that the College exceeded its 5-year target of a 10% reduction during 2017/18 and has continued to reduce its carbon emissions with a total cumulative reduction of 46% since our baseline of 2014-15.
The College Board of Management, in the recently published Sustainability Strategy pledged to reach Net Zero by 2040, 5 years ahead of the Scottish Government target. The Board recognise the need to address the climate challenge but note that this is an ambitious target and will require assistance from outside of the College.
The table below shows the level of emission reductions achieved by the College and that is in part down to the work of our staff and students taking the necessary steps to address the ongoing climate challenge.
|
Year |
Scope 1 |
Scope 2 |
Scope 3 |
Total |
Cumulative Movement |
% |
|
2014-15 |
2,243 |
2,870 |
190 |
5,303 |
|
|
|
2015-16 |
2,391 |
2,465 |
277 |
5,133 |
(170) |
3 |
|
2016-17 |
2,265 |
1,959 |
635 |
4,859 |
(444) |
8 |
|
2017-18 |
2,325 |
1,562 |
543 |
4,430 |
(873) |
16 |
|
2018-19 |
2,378 |
1,423 |
448 |
4,249 |
(1,054) |
20 |
|
2019-20 |
2,002 |
1,006 |
259 |
3,267 |
(2,036) |
38 |
|
2020-21 |
2,032 |
785 |
245 |
3,062 |
(2,241) |
42 |
|
2021-22 |
1,854 |
860 |
174 |
2,888 |
(2,415) |
46 |
|
Scope 1 - direct emissions from owned or controlled sources e.g., gas. Scope 2 - indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy e.g., electricity. Scope 3 - all indirect emissions (not included in Scope 2) that occur within the College. |
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Liz Connolly, Principal & Chief Executive said:
West continues to strive to become more sustainable, saving energy, resources and money… we’re delighted that we exceeded our 5 year carbon emissions target through a variety of initiatives such as the Christmas switch off, IT computer switch off… plus reducing travel, promoting green transport, hybrid working, and going print light.
Reducing our Environmental Impact
As a result of the pandemic the College has found new innovative ways of teaching and networking by adopting a more digital form of delivery, providing an opportunity to reduce our environmental impact.
These are positive changes that are here to stay.
Christmas 2022 Switch off Facts & Figures
The College has undertaken a Christmas Switch off campaign for many years. This year we have quantified the impact the campaign has had:
The College was able to save on average 48% of its gas usage over the period primarily through the buildings not being heated to normal
temperatures. However, there will always be gas usage as the heating system comes on as the temperature drops.
As for electricity there was an average drop of 72% in the daily amount of electricity use. Largely, this is down to the part of staff and students in switching off equipment which draws power and the switching off, of all non-essential PCs across the College. There will always be a base load of electricity required but their actions have reduced this significantly!
Did you know?
IT now do an automatic shutdown of 3906 student PC’s? This equates to a potential annual carbon saving of 684 tonnes of CO2! 1 tonne of CO2 is equivalent to 500 co2 fire extinguishers!!
West is committed to Climate Change - you can be too - check out our Certificate in Understanding Environmental Sustainability course