While politicians debate which party is greenest, the Pershore Group of Colleges has been voted the greenest college in Britain.

With stiff competition from Britain’s leading universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and Warwick, the Pershore Group headed the winners list in the Higher Education ‘Green Gown’ awards as Britain’s greenest college.

The College was judged on its ‘infusion of sustainable development and organic principles into all aspects of the College’s activities, including the curriculum, the estates and the farm, nursery and fruit unit.’

In everyday language, that means it does more than teach environmental ideas in the classroom - it puts the theories into practice. Conscious of how many food miles are clocked up as food is air-freighted around the world, the College grows a large percentage of the food eaten by staff and students on the College farm and most of the remainder is sourced locally from local farmers and growers. Conscious also that water shouldn’t be taken for granted, the College recycles rainwater falling on its buildings and stores it in a large reservoir until it is needed to water plants on its commercial nursery units. It also recycles 65,000 flowerpots each year and advocates these practices to growers in the Evesham area and beyond.

Pollution and fuel shortages have also prompted the College to turn to biodiesel in its vehicles and an electric vehicle has replaced a diesel tractor used on its nursery.

Appreciating the demand for organic food, the College’s farm at Holme Lacy went organic several years ago and now sells organic beef and lamb under the Pound Farm brand from both the Pershore and Holme Lacy campuses. Always aware of environmental issues, the meat is advertised via the internet and email for local collection. Apple juice is also bottled at Pershore where some of the nursery is organic and the rest is managed in an environmentally sensitive manner.