Boards are charged with safeguarding the long-term well-being of their organisations and delivering value to all stakeholders, including to society. The further education (FE) and training sector has far-reaching environmental, social and economic impacts both positive and negative. Boards that embrace this will be in a far stronger position to be at the forefront of change as well as attract students and investment as society becomes ever more sustainability-conscious.

Climate change is perhaps the greatest challenge the human race has ever had to tackle. As the World Economic Forum (WEF) recently said: “of all risks, it is in relation to the environment that the world is most clearly sleepwalking into catastrophe”. The UK government’s response is gaining momentum in advance of its presidency of COP-26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, in the autumn of this year. The prime minister’s ten point post-Coronavirus recovery contains a skills guarantee for those needing to retrain and prioritises the transition to low-carbon technology - “the green industrial revolution”.

Climate change: How to become a ‘net-zero’ college

Opinion: Why climate change is at the heart of our curriculum

Background: Colleges and universities to launch climate commission

This is not purely a challenge for industry. The recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change to the Department for Education include reducing the carbon emissions of the sector (including zero carbon buildings), using education to support the transition to a net-zero economy and ensuring a ‘just transition’ for workers transitioning from high-carbon to low-carbon or climate-resilient jobs. Climate action will increasingly be relevant to the education sector and to FE providers.  

Last year the Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education, convened by the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges, published its FE Climate Action Roadmap, which has been championed for the sector by the Association of Colleges. The role of leadership and governance is clear. Governors have the potential to make a huge contribution in addressing these challenges as well as a duty to ensure their boards are fulfilling their legal obligations in this area. The scale of the risks and opportunities which climate change poses to organisations are simply too great to ignore.   

Governors play a pivotal role in helping boards fulfil their obligations to all stakeholders by ensuring these risks and opportunities are properly recognised and adequately managed. A board pretending it does not have to make decisions on big topics such as EdTech, diversity, and climate change will end up being controlled by them. 

The board’s role in defining their organisational intention or purpose can kick-start what’s needed to increase the focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns and manage their organisation for long-term success. Every FE provider should have a clear and compelling mission at its heart to enhance its positive impact on the environment and society. Without such a purpose, it is unlikely to have a sustainable strategy. The ultimate responsibility for defining that purpose must rest with the board because it has a duty to take an intergenerational perspective that extends beyond the tenure of any management team. 

Every board should be watchful of the values of the organisation and whether they are being lived and sustained. Organisational values drive ethical behaviour and are already evidently linked to sustainability in many FE providers. It is for the board to demonstrate and push these sustainability and related values consistently from the top down, to ensure everyone truly understands the organisation’s commitment to sustainability, and the risks, opportunities, and ultimate returns this commitment entails. By creating the right infrastructure and encouraging an innovative culture, boards open the way for employees to contribute to the organisation’s journey towards sustainability. 

A substantial body of research suggests that there is significant positive effect on the economic performance of organisations that give attention to sustainability. Many initiatives under the banner of “sustainability” save money quickly - for example, projects that improve efficiency, save energy, or reduce waste. Of course, some changes, such as the resource required to fully embed sustainability in your curriculum, might cost more. But these initiatives, whether offering a quick payback or longer-term value, should be seen as investments, not costs.  

Unlike traditional forms of organisational risk, social and environmental risks manifest themselves over a longer-term and can be outside of the organisation’s control. Governing for sustainability therefore requires making decisions today for longer-term capacity building and developing a resilient and adaptive organisation.  

It is now up to the boards themselves to recognise their potential and mobilise their organisations to take greater advantage of sustainability opportunities.

Here, we suggest ten ways your Board can get started.  

1. Board action plan 

Get it on the agenda and establish the need (through a business and social case) to change looking holistically at your organisation’s work and what the opportunities are. The FE Climate Action Roadmap suggests focusing on leadership and governance; learning, teaching, and research; estates and operations; and partnerships and engagement. Ensure that the journey for change is clearly defined and you have identified mechanisms to monitor and improve performance.  

2. Board accountability 

The board is ultimately accountable to stakeholders for the long-term stewardship of the organisation. Therefore, the board should be accountable for the organisation’s long-term resilience concerning changing operating landscapes i.e. from climate change. Failure to do so may constitute a breach of trustees’ duties.  

3. Board composition 

The board should ensure that its composition is sufficiently diverse in knowledge, skills, experience, and background to effectively debate and take decisions informed by an awareness and understanding of climate-related risks and opportunities. At the Education and Training Foundation we are embedding education for sustainable development content across our workforce development including our governance development portfolio.  

4. Board structure  

As the stewards for long-term performance and sustainability, the board should determine the most effective way to integrate climate considerations into its structure and committees, to ensure adequate strategic involvement and oversight. 

5. Material risk and opportunity assessment 

The board should ensure that management assesses the short, medium and long-term materiality of climate-related risks and opportunities for the organisation on an ongoing basis. The board should further ensure that the organisation’s actions and responses to sustainability challenges are the right ones for their organisation. If you have a historic estate, reaching net-zero emissions are going to be more challenging than if you have a recently built BREEAM outstanding rated campus. If your curriculum specialises in areas that are linked to high carbon-emitting industries, your educational response is going to need updating to best equip learners with the skills, knowledge and agency to work in a rapidly changing environment. The organisational response needs to be fit for purpose.  

6. Strategic alignment and integration 

The board should ensure that the climate change strategy informs strategic investment planning and decision-making processes and is embedded into the management of risk and opportunities across the organisation including in their overarching strategic plan. Like your action plan, this should cover the breadth of your work across leadership and governance; learning, teaching, and research; estates and operations; and partnerships and engagement. 

7. Incentivisation 

The board should ensure that executive incentives are aligned to promote the long-term prosperity of the organisation. The board may want to consider including climate-related targets and indicators in their executive performance targets and incentive schemes, where appropriate.   

8. Reporting and disclosure 

In addition to receiving management information measuring performance against KPIs, the board should ensure that material climate-related risks, opportunities and strategic decisions are consistently and transparently disclosed to all stakeholders. Such disclosures should be made in financial filings, such as annual reports and accounts, and be subject to the same disclosure governance as financial reporting. One example is the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s new non-statutory guidance for FE colleges on how to report their energy and carbon impacts. Scottish institutions are already mandated to not only report but reduce these impacts year-on-year in their outcome agreements. 

9. Collaboration 

The board should maintain regular exchanges and dialogues with peers, policymakers, funders, and other stakeholders to encourage the sharing of methodologies and to stay informed about the latest climate-relevant risks, regulatory requirements etc. There are great examples of FE providers working in partnership with local partners as part of regional responses to sustainability challenges, particularly in the field of renewable energy. This approach aligns well with the agenda laid out in the recent Skills for Jobs White Paper with industry, education and public sectors working collaboratively to maximise employment opportunities.  

10. Training and development  

The board should ensure there is evidence of effective communication and engagement across all key stakeholder groups underpinned by training, education and support they needed to make the change happen, including addressing capacity at all levels. 

Charlotte Bonner is national head of education for sustainable development at the Education and Training Foundation. Fiona Chalk is national head of governance development at the Education and Training Foundation.