SUSTAINABILITY
Environment and Sustainability Advisory Group The College has established an Environment and Sustainability Advisory Group ( ESAG ) to advise the Governing Body on setting and delivering the sustainability goals for the College . ESAG focuses on 4 areas :
1 . Financial assets portfolio – consisting of the equity , fixed income and fund holdings of the College . Over 60 % of our financial investments are allocated to managers with Environmental , Social and Governance strategies .
2 . Real estate investment portfolio – the rural property holdings and residential properties of the College . We manage environmental and historical landscapes in excess of 4,000 acres to a high level , including national parks , ancient woodland , sites of special scientific interest and environmentally sensitive areas .
We continue to invest in energy-saving schemes across the estate , including additional insulation , ongoing roll-out of building management systems , and upgrading lighting to energy-efficient LEDs .
3 . Operational areas of the School – the grounds , immediate school buildings , boarding and staff houses and facilities operated by the school for educational purposes . In the year the College took a number of important initiatives to improve sustainability across the campus , including :
• 100 % of school ’ s electricity is certified as sourced from renewable sources ( from October 2021 ).
• Air-sourced heat pump in one of the girls ’ day houses .
• New draught excluders being rolled out to windows in our listed buildings , starting with the two girls ’ day houses .
• New roof insulation in the new Health and Wellbeing centre .
• Improved glazing and boiler efficiency upgrade in the music school .
• Expansion of the electric vehicle fleet , now comprising the laundry van and 2 works vans ; we are trialling electric minibuses .
• Kitchen upgrades to two boarding houses , replacing elderly gas ovens with more efficient “ smart ” ovens estimated to deliver 30-40 % energy savings .
We continue to invest in energy-saving schemes across the estate , including additional insulation , ongoing roll-out of building management systems , and upgrading lighting to energy-efficient LEDs . 49 % of all lighting across the estate is now LED . As a result , electricity consumption has fallen approximately 11 % and gas consumption by 33 % vs 2019 levels .
4 . Curriculum – the engagement of pupils and teachers , so that we both learn and contribute to ways to enhance our environment . These include :
• Ongoing planting on St Elizabeth Meads supported by the South Downs National Park ‘ Trees for the Downs ’, including a number of disease resistant elms .
• Earth Prize : Run by the Sustainability Society , saw 50 pupils engaged in the competition with our Bioplastics team finishing in second place in the Global competition .
• Ongoing participation in UK Schools Sustainability Network with pupils leading Hampshire branch meetings and regularly joining national meetings .
26 | Winchester College - Annual Report 2023