This is our College-wide strategy to become truly sustainable – where environmental, social and economic considerations inform all our decision making and service delivery – and achieve our goal of reaching ‘net zero’ by 2035.
We are already actioning changes laid out in this plan and holding events to raise awareness of our focus on sustainability, including:
Earlier this year Oldham College held its first-ever Green Week: an opportunity to highlight the actions we’re taking on climate change and to promote the strategy to staff and students.
This saw activities across a range of themed days including ‘Green Eating Monday’, ‘Travel Green Tuesday’ and ‘Waste Not Wednesday’ which enabled us to showcase key information.
A Sculpture Trail was also created across campus with installations crafted from recycled materials by learners in Creative subjects. Horticulture learners and staff also breathed new life into an area of campus with wildflowers, vegetables and information about eco-systems (pictured top).
We’re already planning ahead for Green Week 2025 where we build even further on our progress and extend the messages to new learners and partner organisations.
Our final Employer Event of the 2023/24 Academic Year focused on sustainability and the ways local businesses can move towards achieving ‘net zero’.
Reaching ‘net zero’ means balancing out greenhouse gases in the atmosphere produced through human activity by implementing methods to tackle emissions.
Cllr Abdul Jabbar, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Sustainability at Oldham Council, explained some of the ways in which the local authority is moving towards this goal before joining a Green Skills panel of local employers – IMS Systems, Pegasus Warehousing & Fulfilment Ltd and SSE Energy Solutions – discussing steps their businesses have taken, and that others can take, towards net zero.
Attendees from across all sectors also learned more about the relevant skills qualifications now offered at Oldham College and University Campus Oldham (UCO) – including a new Low Carbon Technician apprenticeship.
This is the first Green apprenticeship in Oldham and will contribute towards producing a pioneering cohort of workers equipped to pursue sustainable careers on a national scale.
UCO also highlighted their unique professional offer. This includes the HN Flex model of upskilling which allows the completion of individual modules, instead of enrolling for a full HNC/HND qualification.
Interested in learning more about these courses? Please contact the Apprenticeships Team at Oldham College or Adam Connell at University Campus Oldham to find out more.
