Sustainability Report 2019-20

Table of Contents

Introduction
Goals and progress to date
Energy Use
Water Use
Waste & Waste minimisation
Transport
Streamlined energy and carbon reporting for college corporations

1. Introduction

   This report covers the reporting period from 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020. We remain mindful and committed to reducing the environmental impacts of our operations and set objectives and goals in order to improve our environmental performance. We review our performance against these objectives and goals. This report sets out initial performance benchmarks and actions underway to monitor and improve the environmental impacts of our operations.

   The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of College campuses in March 2020 leading in turn to significant reductions in electrical and gas consumption. For the remaining part of the year, with provision for vulnerable students continuing and a limited wider opening for some students in June based at the London Road campus. This significantly reduced electrical and, to a lesser extent, gas consumption for the year.

2. Goals and progress to date

    

   I.	Goal: Reduce Electricity consumption in 2019/20 through the implementation of improved energy-efficient lighting at the London Road Campus by the end of calendar year 2019. Complete: Energy efficiency lighting project completed in December 2019.
   II.	Goal: Following evaluation of the impact at London Road, we will consider extending the lighting renewal programme to other campus sites. Progress: This remains under consideration. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed evaluation and assessment and as a result is to be deferred to 2021-22.
   III.	Goal: Review, identify and quantify the sources of, and where practicable to reduce, baseload electricity consumption at each site. Complete: Significant base load electricity reductions were achieved by monitoring and optimising use and performance of air ventilation and extraction systems at London Road.
   IV.	Goal: Review and identify sources of heat loss for each building at London Road to identify opportunities for reduction in gas use through improved thermal efficiencies. Progress: During June and July the boiler in the main block was replaced with a more thermally efficient system which will reduce gas consumption in future. Further renewal activity is required to improve the insulation of the main block where windows are old and single glazed. Additional investigation work is underway to assess the benefits of installing extra controllers to radiators within the main block to better regulate and minimise heating. These form part of the Estates maintenance and refurbishment plans but also is a major capital cost.
   V.	Goal: Review, identify and quantify the sources of, and where practicable to reduce, water consumption at each site. Progress: Ongoing. This activity has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
   VI.	Goal: Review and reduce the use of “single-use” consumable items as part of the College’s catering activities during 2018/19 and 2019/20. Complete: The College reviewed and reduced the use of “single-use” consumable items as part of the College’s catering activities during 2018/19 and 2019/20. All single-use plastic cutlery and cups have been replaced with sustainable compostable alternatives.
   VII.	Goal: Review and identify opportunities to improve waste disposal and recycling practices across all campus sites by the end of 2020-21. Progress: During 2019-20 a number of historic waste disposal issues at the London Road campus were addressed to remove the build-up of construction and motor vehicle wastes on-site and to ensure that these were disposed of in the appropriate and environmentally appropriate manner. The College’s waste disposal contracts are being re-procured during 2020-21.
   VIII.	Goal: Continue to raise awareness among staff and students of the importance of sustainability in their day to day behaviour and activities. Progress: The College sustainability group was formed and met termly prior to the COVID pandemic.

   
   The impact of the COVID pandemic during 2020 and into 2021 has had a significant impact on the College. A number of Covid control measures are inherently less sustainable than normal college operational practices; for example increased ventilation will inevitably lead to increased gas and electrical consumption during the winter of 2020-21, while removal of air hand-dryers has led to the re-introduction of paper towels in college toilet facilities. The removal of shared cutlery and crockery in canteens has increased the use of single-use containers, albeit that these are now compostable and not plastic.

    

3. Energy Use

   Annual Electricity consumption
   1. The table below set out the past four years of annual electricity consumption. The data is taken from the historic half-hourly meter readings on each of the College’s campus sites. 
      
      

      Electricity Academic Year	Campus
      	London Road	English Bridge	Welsh Bridge	Total	Total
      	KWh used	KWh used	KWh used	KWh used	CO2e emissions (t)
      15/16	1,594,738.80	306,514.15	363,549.00	2,264,801.95	1046
      16/17	1,558,571.80	250,178.00	354,863.00	2,163,612.80	891
      17/18	1,501,099.70	295,692.77	303,782.20	2,100,574.67	739
      18/19	1,470,657.00	286,709.00	287,380.75	2,044,746.75	575
      19/20	1,055,099.40	223,931.90	234,605.43	1,513,636.73	387
      GIA	17924	8236	5204
      	KWh per m2 used
      15/16	89	37	70
      16/17	87	30	68
      17/18	84	36	58
      18/19	82	35	55
      19/20	59	27	45

      GIA = Gross Internal Area m2
      
      
   2. Electricity consumption is measured on a half-hourly basis. Consumption is people-driven with substantial increases in consumption during hours when staff, students and visitors are present. A significant “base load” remains during periods where people are not present
   3. In 2019-20 we:
      1. Reduced Electricity consumption in 2019/20 through the implementation of improved energy-efficient lighting at the London Road Campus by the end of calendar year 2019.
      2. Reviewed and identified the sources of, and where practicable took action to reduce, baseload electricity consumption at our London Road site by improving management and monitoring of air extraction and ventilation systems.
      3. From 23 March 2020 campus buildings which were not required to support provision for vulnerable students were closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and energy use minimised during this period.
         
         Annual Gas Consumption
   4. Gas is used to supply heating and hot water at all three campuses. Gas demand is driven primarily by outside temperatures. The differing thermal efficiencies of the buildings at each campus primarily drive the amount of heating and gas consumption required. The London Road campus has a Building Energy Management system designed to control manage and monitor heating in several buildings. Use of such BEM systems is estimated to reduce overall gas usage. The age and condition of existing heating systems at the English Bridge and Welsh Bridge mean that installation of equivalent systems at these campuses is not currently considered practical. Alternative mechanisms for enabling improved regulation of heating will be kept under review and implemented as practicable.
   5. The table below set out the past four years of annual gas consumption. The data is taken from the historic half-hourly meter readings on each of the College’s campus sites.
      
      

      Gas Academic Year	Campus
      	London Road	English Bridge	Welsh Bridge	Total	Total
      	KWh used	KWh used	KWh used	KWh used	CO2e emissions (t)
      15/16	1,897,040	555,390	549,002	3,001,432	552
      16/17	1,868,148	526,039	475,659	2,869,846	528
      17/18	2,023,711	602,633	458,134	3,084,478	568
      18/19	2,162,152	631,907	445,588	3,239,647	596
      19/20	1,990,690	568,203	414,003	2,972,896	547
      GIA	17924	8236	5204
      	KWh per m2 used
      15/16	106	67	105
      16/17	104	64	91
      17/18	113	73	88
      18/19	121	77	86
      19/20	111	69	80

   6. From 22 March 2020 campus buildings which were not required to support provision for vulnerable students were closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and energy use minimised during this period. The impact of this is lower than for electricity as use of gas-based heating systems are normally reduced or able to be switched-off from mid-April through the summer months.
4. Water Use
   1. Water is a precious resource and clean, drinking water is both energy and chemical-intensive in its production and supply. Water use is primarily people related with most water being used in toilet and cooking facilities. At the London Road campus, water is also consumed by the Sports Centre changing facilities and other curriculum areas such as sports, hair and beauty and brickwork. At the English and Welsh Bridge campuses water is only used primarily for toilet and cooking facilities.
   2. The table below set out the past four years of annual water consumption. The data is taken from the historic readings on each of the College’s campus sites.
      
      

      Water	Campus
      	London Road	English Bridge	Welsh Bridge	Total	Total
      Academic Year	M3 used	M3 used	M3 used	M3 used	CO2e emissions (t)
      15/16	4664	2724	-	7388*	2.54*
      16/17	6803	2809	-	9612*	3.31*
      17/18	5585	2340	1138	9063	3.12
      18/19	5761	2410	1067	9238	3.18
      19/20	4379	2050	691	7120	2.45

      * - Welsh Bridge meter readings data for 15/16 an 16/17 is not reliable or consistent and have been excluded. 
      
      

5. Waste & Waste Minimisation

   1. The College recognises the importance of the UK Government’s waste hierarchy, namely ‘reduce, reuse, and recycle’. The College is committed to disposing of materials in an environmentally sensitive manner and encouraging the reuse and recycling of waste materials where possible. However, the minimisation of wastes produced is the first priority.
   2. The College has two waste disposal contracts:
      1. For English Bridge (EB) and Welsh Bridge (WB) campuses waste is disposed of by Veolia
      2. For the London Road Campus waste is disposed of by Cartwrights
   3. Mixed waste at WB & EB campuses contributes to around 40% of the total waste produced from these sites. Veolia transports solid waste to specialized sorting centres. Waste resulting from the selective collection of commercial waste and non-hazardous industrial and commercial waste is sent to high-performance sorting centres managed by Veolia. Specialised processes, such as auto-adaptive sequential sorting (TS2A), are used to achieve recovery rates of up to 95%. The recovered waste then becomes secondary raw materials for industry. Veolia also separates and recycles complex waste, such as batteries and electronic cards.
   4. Non-recyclable non-hazardous waste is estimated to be 60% of the waste stream from WB & EB and is transported to incineration plants or landfills. The incineration process produces energy in the form of steam which is converted into electricity and fed into the national grid distribution network. Veolia also captures gas generated by the fermentation of organic waste in its landfills. This biogas is then be directly delivered to a distribution network, used to produce electricity through turbines or engines, or used as fuel for vehicles.
   5. Other than catering food waste, waste from the London Road campus is not separated at source but is separated into relevant recycling streams at the waste disposal plant operated by Cartwrights. Catering waste is separated at source at London Road and collected and disposed of by Cartwrights separately through anaerobic digestion at Harper Adams University. Specialist wastes (e.g. building waste, metals etc.) are stored and disposed of separately through appropriate routes. e.g. Metal waste is sold to scrap metal merchants for re-use. Waste streams from London Road campus are measured and reported by Cartwrights. The table below shows the total waste by type for London Road.
   6. During 2019-20 construction waste
      
      

      Material	Proportion	Sum of Weight: Tonnes
      Commercial	37.4%	41.8
      General Construction Waste	41.0%	45.9
      Paper & Cardboard	3.3%	3.7
      Food Waste	5.3%	5.9
      General Waste	6.2%	6.9
      Plasterboard	6.9%	7.7
      Glass	<1.0%	0.7
      Paint & adhesives	0%	0.0
      Grand Total	100.00%	112.6

      
      
      
   7. Waste streams from English Bridge Campus are measured and reported by Veolia. The table below shows the total waste by type for English Bridge. As a significant proportion of the General Construction waste generated in 2019-20 relates to the removal of damaged furniture & fixtures as a result of the severe flooding in February 2020 leading to water damage in the basement area.
      
      

      Material	Proportion	Sum of Weight: Tonnes
      General Waste	19.2%	3.3
      Mixed Recycling	<1.0%	0.8
      General Construction Waste	65.3%	11.2
      Paint & Adhesives	15.5%	2.7
      Grand Total	100.00%	18.0

   8. Waste streams from Welsh Bridge Campus are measured and reported by Veolia. The table below shows the total waste by type for Welsh Bridge.
      
      

      Material	Proportion	Sum of Weight: Tonnes
      General Waste	75.5%	3.1
      Mixed Recycling	24.5%	1.0
      Grand Total	100.00%	4.1

6. Transport

   In 2019-20 staff travelled 17211 miles on college business and College minibuses and other vehicles travelled 30,343 miles. This equates to the following CO2 emissions.

   	CO2e emissions (t)
   Business travel in employee-owned vehicles	4.83
   Owned transport	7.84

7. Streamlined energy and carbon reporting for college corporations

   The following table summarises the College’s annual UK energy use (in KWh) relating to gas, purchased electricity and transport fuel and the associated greenhouse gas emissions (in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e))
   
   

   Greenhouse gas emissions and energy use data for the period 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020 – UK	2019/20
   Energy consumption used to calculate emissions (kWh)	4,522,782
   Energy consumption break down (kWh) (optional):
   Gas	2,972,896
   Electricity	1,513,636
   Transport fuel	36,250
   Scope 1 emissions in metric tonnes CO2e
   Gas consumption	547
   Owned transport	7.84
   Total scope 1	554
   Scope 2 emissions in metric tonnes CO2e
   Purchased electricity	353
   Scope 3 emissions in metric tonnes CO2e
   Business travel in employee-owned vehicles	4.83
   Total gross emissions in metric tonnes CO2e	912
   Intensity ratio
   Tonnes CO2e per member of staff	1.66

We have followed the 2019 HM Government Environmental Reporting Guidelines. We have also used the GHG Reporting Protocol – Corporate Standard and have used the 2020 UK Government’s Conversion Factors for Company Reporting.

Intensity measurement

The chosen intensity measurement ratio is total gross emissions in metric tonnes CO2e per staff member, the recommended ratio for the sector. Measures taken to improve energy efficiency during the year have been set out in section 2 above.