Cutting Carbon Footprint

Barnfield College is launching a two-pronged campaign to drastically reduce its carbon footprint and save taxpayers' money.

The pilot scheme could be applied to colleges and other institutions across the country. Already preliminary discussions have been held between Barnfield College and the Association of Colleges.

The plan involves switching the college's vehicle fleet to energy-efficient smart cars. The move will make the college more responsive to employers' needs:

• The college's 500 apprentices are assessed in the workplace three times a year. The annual travel of about 25,000 miles will be effectively halved with smart cars' fuel efficiency double that of an ordinary car.
• Like most tertiary institutions, Barnfield College has several campuses. Hundreds of miles are driven each week on inter-campus deliveries. In effect, this will be halved.

Pete Birkett, Barnfield's Chief Executive, said: "This is a key plann to our employer and environmental responsiveness agenda.

"In one move, we are halving our carbon footprint and our fuel bills. We are also creating jobs by investing in new smart cars. It is a win-win situation.
"I've put forward a scheme to the Association of Colleges that it acts as a central broker for buying smart cars for colleges across Britain. It will encourage their use and obtain volume discounts from the manufacturer. That's more value for the taxpayer.

"I am hoping this win-win scheme will be launched nationally at the Association of Colleges' annual conference in November."