How to plan a decarbonisation strategy for your estate

These days, students and staff want to learn and work at schools that adhere to sustainable practices and take their environmental responsibilities seriously. That’s one reason why there has never been a better time to put decarbonisation at the top of your school’s priority list. 

Research suggests UK schools can reduce their energy costs by over 40% and prevent 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere by switching to cleaner, greener energy. By 2025, the Department for Education will introduce emission reduction targets for all UK schools and academies, so there’s no time to waste. And the first step is to put a decarbonisation strategy in place.   

What is a decarbonisation strategy?

A decarbonisation strategy is a plan for lowering the environmental impact of your school estate by reducing your carbon output and generating more clean energy. The size and age of many schools means they can’t become sustainable overnight. A decarbonisation strategy sets clear goals and outlines the changes you will make, including a timeline, to ensure you get there. 

There are two core approaches to decarbonisation that should lie at the heart of your strategy:

• Conserving energy – How you’ll reduce energy usage by improving insulation, switching to LED lighting and using smart energy-management technologies.
• Generating clean energy – The steps you’ll take to produce clean energy for your estate from wind, solar panels and biomass, for example.

Decarbonisation is an investment in the future of your estate, enabling you to reduce your operating costs and boost your eco-credentials. However, the upfront cost of retrofitting decarbonisation can be significant. That’s why your strategy should also consider the available funding and the most cost-effective route for achieving your sustainability goals.   

Why is a decarbonisation strategy important? 

As part of the 2015 Paris Agreement, many international governments made commitments to reduce their carbon emissions. The UK set a target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Net zero means the country takes as much harmful gas out of the atmosphere as it puts in. 

To meet these ambitious targets, the government aims to reduce harmful emissions in the public sector by 75% by 2037. Educational facilities are responsible for a third of those emissions, so things have to change. From 2025, schools will be required to put a climate action plan in place and nominate a sustainability lead responsible for implementing it. 

However, it’s not just these imposed targets that are motivating schools to change. Young people, parents, teachers and other stakeholders are increasingly committed to living, working and learning in sustainable buildings. By adopting a decarbonisation strategy, you can reduce your carbon footprint and enhance your reputation and appeal among students and the wider community.  

What steps should you include in your decarbonisation strategy?

When creating a school decarbonisation strategy, you must do it in stages and take a whole-building approach. In practice, that means you can’t install a heat pump if you have leaking pipes, no insulation and old radiators, as they won’t be able to support the new technology and you could struggle to heat your school buildings effectively. 

Instead, you must take a step-by-step approach, ideally starting with the building fabric first. That will enhance the efficiency and impact of your decarbonisation strategy and allow you to spread the cost over several years. 

Step 1: Identify your energy consumption

The first step in your decarbonisation strategy is to understand your building’s energy consumption. An energy efficiency survey can help with that. A surveyor will conduct a site visit, analyse your energy bills and assess the performance of your buildings and systems (heating, lighting, etc.) to determine your energy efficiency and identify where it’s being used. The primary sources of school energy consumption include heating and cooling, hot water and electrical loads. 

Step 2: Identify energy waste

Once you understand your patterns of consumption, you can then look at the systems and the buildings that are wasting energy. The age and condition of many schools means there can be multiple inefficient areas. Draughts, uninsulated roofs and walls, single-glazed windows, inefficient lighting, old heating systems and a lack of control over those systems are some of the worst offenders.

Step 3: Improve efficiency and reduce wastage  

The final step of your decarbonisation strategy is to determine the most appropriate projects to undertake based on your priorities, their impact, your budget and the availability of funding. First, consider the different ways you can conserve energy, then look at the measures you can take to generate clean energy.

• Conserve energy – Examples include Improving the insulation, replacing the roof, installing new windows, switching to LED lighting, automating light and heating controls, and replacing inefficient, fossil-fuelled heating systems.
• Generate energy – The next step is to decarbonise your energy supply. You can do that by investing in renewable energy sources such as ground-source heat pumps, solar panels, biomass boilers and wind turbines.      

What decarbonisation funding is available?

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) is a central government grant that helps local authority nurseries, maintained schools, academies and multi-academy trusts make their buildings more energy-efficient and reduce their fossil-fuel emissions from heating. 

Importantly, and as we’ve described above, funding is available to schools that take a whole-building approach to their decarbonisation strategy. That means your funding application may be refused if your building fabric cannot support your decarbonisation measures. 

According to the PSDS funding rules, schools and multi-academy trusts can apply for one-year, two-year and three-year projects. That includes improvements such as building fabric upgrades, LED lighting, solar panel installation, heating system decarbonisation and other eligible measures.

Applying for Public Sector Decarbonisation Funding can be complex. The good news is that the Low Carbon Skills Fund provides grants for public sector organisations, including schools, to engage the specialist advice required to create a comprehensive decarbonisation strategy. You can then use the strategy as the basis for your PSDS funding application. 

How we can help

At Eddisons Education, we can help you create a comprehensive decarbonisation strategy that outlines measures to improve your sustainability and supports your PSDS funding application. We can also help you obtain funding via the PSDS so you can take fully funded steps towards net zero. Get in touch to discuss your requirements with our team.