Go Green Tools - Hillside Environmental Services

The Hillside Environmental Services Go Green Tools resource library guides you through the stages to become a low-carbon school, college or university. The tools help you to understand why you should reduce your carbon emissions and footprint, including the commercial, economic and societal benefits. Then, they explain what you need to do and how to do it.

There are 4 groups of tools - The Basics, Planning, Delivery, and Verification.

The Basics

​Becoming an eco-friendly, low-carbon school, college or university can be complicated to navigate. In The Basics, Hillside Environmental Services have provided resources to explain the sustainable sector and carbon transition in simple-to-understand terms. This includes a jargon buster to learn common sustainability terms and carbon literacy videos to help you bust the main myths about climate change, learn the basics of the climate system and climate policy.

Low-Carbon Jargon Buster - a glossary-style guide to technical terms often used in the low-carbon sector. Hillside Environmental Services explain the niche phrases you may have heard and not understood, so you're fully up-to-speed on environmental terminology.

Planning

Taking your school, college or university from brown (lots of emissions) to green (net-zero emissions) requires careful planning. There are many variables to consider from private and public funding, abiding by legislation, to calculating your current emissions and setting targets.

Not to worry, Hillside Environmental have the tools to help you build an effective plan.

Green Finance Guide - concerned about budget when it comes to making environmental changes? Let Hillside Environmental Services help. In this guide, they explain Green Finance and how public and private funding options can help you to afford and benefit economically from a low-carbon plan.

The short video talks you through the various types of grant and investor options, how to prepare an application, and secure investment.

ISO 14001 & ISO 50001 - Hillside Environmental Services have developed a guide to two standards, commonly used in low-carbon transitions. The guide explains what they mean, why they are of benefit to organisations, how you can adopt them, and the support available to do so. 

​Consider this tool a handbook which demonstrates how ISO 14001 & ISO 50001 can help you to implement an effective environmental management system.

​Delivery

Once you have a solid plan in place, it’s time to start delivering it so you can achieve the benefits of becoming low-carbon. Hillside Environmental Services have developed tools to help you implement the plan effectively. From finding the right third party support, to the stages of an effective roadmap.

Accreditations - if you’re considering working with an environmental consultant on your low-carbon journey, it’s important to understand their level of expertise. The following accreditations are well-recognised in the environmental sector and highlight consultants or firms whose work is of a high standard.

Not only that, some of them are vital for ensuring work is completed in line with legislation or to meet government requirements. Hillside Environmental Services have summarised the ones you should be looking out for, take a read of the guide or watch the accompanying videos.

Brown to Green in 14 Roadmap - considering a low carbon transition and wondering where to start?

Hillside Environmental Services’ roadmap will clarify the steps involved in an emissions-reduction project, including how to progress through each stage of the path. It is aligned to the EAUC FE Climate Action Roadmap and ISO14001 environmental & ISO50001 energy management standards.

Verification

​Following the Education & Skills Funding Agency recommendation that College Corporations and Academy Trusts in England should submit their carbon reporting through the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR), it's important that colleges feel comfortable in disclosing their carbon emissions.

Hillside Environmental Services has summarised and clarified all of the reporting requirements you need to meet and protocols you need to adopt in baselining, evaluating, and disclosing your carbon footprint. 

In this tool, they demonstrate how you can meet the Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting (SECR) specifications and use the GRI Standards and GHG protocols in your reporting.'