South Devon College

Our unbroken green thread – the first 15 years

Sustainability is truly at the heart of South Devon College. This is not new, we have been working on this for 15 years, making sure we take seriously our environment, the climate crisis and future sustainability of our local, regional, national, and global community with real action that has demonstrable impact.

Our goal is that every student completes their learner journey with a clear understanding of what sustainability is, that they have a part to play and know how to play it!

Our ambition is to seamlessly weave sustainability into everything we do, in all its forms: Social; Environmental and Economic. We are committed to bringing sustainable thinking to life, informing our students, developing knowledge, skills, and behaviours, and understanding so they know how to lead sustainable lives now and, in the future, becoming great global citizens with meaning and impact. 

What the Judges Thought

For several years South Devon College has championed sustainability using a truly whole institution approach and the judges were incredibly impressed by their unwavering commitment to action. They appreciated the evolution of their approach to all areas of sustainability in the college and found that their integrated approach, from strategy to implementation and beyond, meant that their work not only positively affected those directly connected to the college but their impact extended throughout their region as well globally.

A worthy winner who exudes their sustainable values in all of the work they do.

What it Means to Win

"Winning this Green Gown Award is a gamechanger! To be recognised as the Sustainability Institution of the Year is a celebration of all the significant work that the College has been doing for the last 15 years. To win a Green Gown Award is a prestigious achievement but this is special. This is the culmination of the hard work of colleagues and students over the last 15 years and across the whole institution. This is not the end but another milestone on what is a long but vital journey. We know there is more to do but we are proud of what we have achieved and are achieving and hope that we are a beacon for others!"

Laurence Frewin, Principal and CEO

Top 3 Learnings

1. Sustainability runs through everything that we do at South Devon College and touches everything. We are now really seeing a significant and meaningful positive impact on our students thinking and awareness of sustainability in its widest sense.
2. We all can and need to be doing this. Others are keen for us to share what we have done and learned, so let us collaborate and share! Colleges and education organisations want to learn from us, both our successes and our mistakes, and we want to help!
3. We recognised that so much is already happening across our college and when we started linking and engaging with our wider community the collaboration and impact was astounding!