The Green College

Strode College is committed to developing an increasingly sustainable operation and environment and has changed operations, processes and systems to ensure that the college minimises emissions wherever possible.

The on-going building projects within the college have enabled energy conservation to be included in the design of new buildings. The buildings maximise daylight penetration, use low energy pumping systems and low velocity ventilation systems.

Over the past 7 years power consumption has increased by only 4.45% despite the increase in floor space and introduction of new electrical equipment to the campus. The boilers are nearly 70% more efficient than those they replaced. We use extra thick insulation; run outside lights on photo light sensitive cells and use a warm air recycling system to reduce the energy spent on heating buildings. We have installed a building management system to ensure that energy usage for heating is minimised and are considering the introduction of solar panels to assist hot water heating. Our IT infrastructure now uses mainly flat screens and thin clients further reducing the power consumption.

Water consumption is monitored on a daily basis for leakage and all taps, cisterns and toilets are low capacity. We are considering a rain water harvesting system for toilet flushing as part of the next building project.

We re-cycle everything that is possible including glass, batteries, spectacles, light tubes, mobile phones and computers, electrical and data cables. On average, 280 bags of paper and 8 bins of cardboard are recycled every month. We also strive to reduce the waste we create in the first place.

We use eco friendly products where possible including a salt substitute for pavements and non-toxic cleaning materials. Paint is also non-toxic and all CFC and toxic gases have been removed from the air conditioning units.