Grŵp Llandrillo Menai Leading the Way on Net Zero Carbon

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai has been awarded the Level 5 Green Dragon Environmental Standard again this year, in recognition of its effective environmental management.

Audited against a rigorous standard, Level 5 is the highest level of Green Dragon certification that can be awarded to an organisation. The standard is awarded to organisations that can demonstrate effective environmental management and that are taking action to understand, monitor and control their impacts on the environment.

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai is taking several measures to reduce its impact on the environment, and recent capital investments have also had sustainability at the forefront of their development – with Coleg Menai’s new Sports Centre being the group’s first Net-Zero building.

A state-of-the-art renewable energy training centre – in partnership with RWE – will also be housed within Coleg Llandrillo’s new Engineering Centre which is anticipated to open to learners later on in the year.

The College Group has an increasing number of hybrid and electric vehicles for business use, and solar panels are also being rolled out across campuses.

Existing fluorescent and halogen internal, external and car park lighting is being replaced with LED where possible across the thirteen sites, and during the past year 47.8% less paper was used in comparison to the previous year, as the organisation moves towards digitalisation.

Other environmentally-friendly measures that have been implemented include the availability of water fountains at every site, with staff and students encouraged to bring reusable water bottles with them.

Sharon Bowker, Executive Director for Corporate Services at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, said,

“Grŵp Llandrillo Menai is fully committed to sustainability and our sustainability development framework includes ambitious plans for becoming a zero carbon organisation. We are delighted to retain the Green Dragon Level 5 accreditation in recognition of the commitment, engagement and actions that have been taken by colleagues, learners and key partners to help influence our environmental priorities”

“We are confident that we can continue to make reductions in our carbon footprint, working within our local economy, to ensure a positive impact on the environment”.