The college has won the coveted ‘Carbon Reduction’ category at the 2017 UK and Ireland Green Gown Awards. As the only college shortlisted in our category of eight finalists, we are immensely proud of our achievement. We were joint winners, as a Small Institution, with the University of Reading who won the Large Institution sub-category. This award recognises the incredible work of the college and, in particular, property services in reducing our carbon footprint since 2009/10 through a programme of investing in new state-of-the-art buildings, refurbishments, solar panels, an electric car, biomass boilers, air-source heat pumps and LED lighting, to name but a few. In 2015/16 we made an enormous 15% reduction in one year, and reached a total carbon reduction of 51%. Energy and environment officer Katherine Middleton, vice principal Paul Harrison and head of property services Catherine Kimmet attended the glitzy award ceremony at The Monastery in Manchester. The ceremony was a sustainable event, including a menu with organic locally sourced food. Even the trophy was made from waste cuts of plate window glass.               Katherine Middleton said: “As the only college shortlisted in our category of eight finalists, we are immensely proud of our achievement. It showcases the investment and hard work that has been put into improving the college’s estate over the past few years and puts us at the forefront of the education sector.” David Pomfret, added: “This highly prestigious award recognises that, in just six years, we have halved our carbon footprint, transformed our learning and working environment and significantly reduced our ongoing energy usage and costs.” The Green Gown Awards recognise the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges across the UK and Ireland. Its ethos is to celebrate, share and promote the outstanding sustainability leadership, management and best practice initiatives from tertiary education. The Awards are administered by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) and are governed by a cross agency steering group.