A second round of funding worth £5 million for Colleges and sustainability

13th April 2015

In partnership with Salix Finance, the EAUC is delighted to announce the release of a second Fund of £5 million for energy efficiency and carbon reduction projects in Further Education (FE) colleges in England and Wales.

We have faced the challenges to the sector, including further education, with many mergers taking place. The EAUC has stepped up to the challenge to ensure College Members are being supported in the best way possible. After listening to Members we took action by bringing together key partners such as the Association of Colleges for the Further Education Sustainability Summit and Salix Finance with the Salix College Energy Fund. We have proven that we can find new ways to support existing and prospective college members.

The Salix College Energy Fund provides critical funding to colleges to implement carbon reduction investment and we hope to continue working with Salix in future funding rounds. Partnering with the Association of Colleges will enable us to align better the resources and support our Members’ needs.

At the Further Education Sustainability Summit, which formed part of the EAUC Annual Conference 2015, Salix Finance announced the second round of funding following the success of the initial round which closed earlier in the year. The previous round of funding has seen 30 Colleges being awarded funding for 55 projects. These projects are set to save over 77,000 tonnes of CO2 and £15 million over the life time of the projects. A variety of applications were received including BMS, LED lighting and boiler replacements which ranged in value from £12,000 to £336,036.

EAUC CEO Iain Patton said, "Not content with securing £5 million of investment into the Further Education sector, the EAUC is delighted that our carbon reduction partner, Salix Finance, used our recent Further Education Summit to announce a further £5 million. This second round of funding will significantly help many Colleges do the right thing by reducing their carbon emissions and help them achieve critical new financial savings."

This development is also supported by the Association of Colleges; "This is great news for FE Colleges and we are grateful to the Salix team for their continued support and this additional £5M is very welcome. Thirty Colleges secured Salix funding in the last round and we hope many more will take advantage this time. We are pleased to be working in partnership with EAUC on many important initiatives such as this,” Ian Munro, Regional Director.

Any Further Education College in England and Wales that receives a majority of their income directly from the public sector can apply for funding - this includes Sixth Form colleges. Salix are accepting applications until 30 June 2015 and all projects are to be completed by March 2016. Early applications are welcome and projects will be assessed on submission and funding awarded as soon as projects are passed.

Find out more and apply online or view our 'How to apply' podcast with Darlington College for hints and tips on making an application.

The EAUC are committed to our College Members and the launch of this second dedicated Fund demonstrates the influencing power of the EAUC to ensure the needs of all of our Members are listened to and met. Being an EAUC Member puts you at the forefront of this work.