Sustainability In Action

Our Progress So Far

Across the college, we've comimitted to reducing our carbon footprint through small and steady transformations.

Feeding our own crimped barley/pea mix to dairy cows to cut down on carbon emissions (308 round trip miles saved)
Selling our beef to a local producer, for sale in Brighton butcher shops, cutting down food miles
Researching staff boxes for Christmas meat and selling meat produce in the Dining Room and at our Stamner Campus, One Garden Brighton

Planted most of our wheat with minimum tillage techniques, less diesel usage than conventional ploughing, and saving approximately three tonnes a hectare of C02 emissions
Planted 24Ha for home milling and feeding to the cows
All maize stubbles have been undersown with westerwold grass; this will minimise soil erosion during winter
Planting trees and wildflowers beside the piggery
Researching grant funding options for rainwater harvesting will allow us to reuse the rainwater that lands on our roofs, limiting the amount that ends up in streams

Huge decrease in Resident students throwing away Vegware takeaway boxes in the common room and bedroom bins
Plumpton Preloved in October 2023 at lunch times with emphasis on 'take what you need' and clothes, PPE and equipment donated from cross college

Plumpton 'Car Sharing' Scheme introduced reducing number of cars at busy times and reducing carbon emissions
Two electric vehicle charging points at AgriFood Centre and outside Sports Hall

The Grounds and Garden team have been mulching the borders around campus using rotted-down green waste from arisings created on the College grounds Approximately 20m3 of compost has been generated, saving 50% of CO2 emissions had the waste been disposed of alternatively, locking the carbon in the soil. Saving carbon transport miles and £800 from otherwise buying in
Areas of long grass and spent wildflowers aren't being cut down purposely, to provide over wintering habitat for invertebrates and small mammals.
63x standard trees planted within the new AgriFood Centre car park. The planting made available to curriculum groups where it is most relevant to their syllabus
Following on from the tree planting will be the sowing of wildflower meadows beneath and around the trees
Completion of native hedge planting along Wales Farm Lane, sequestering carbon and providing a natural corridor for wildlife through nectar, berries, nesting site and protection from predation