Sustainability in Further & Higher Education

The Department for Education (DfE) has set targets of reducing the emissions produced by the education estate by three-quarters by 2037 and achieving net zero by 2050; however the most recent estimates are that 80% of the existing education estate won’t be net-zero by this date and as the education estate represents 37% of the UK public sector building emissions, there is clearly a lot of work that needs doing retrofitting existing buildings to reach this target.

The Government had stated that it would publish a detailed roadmap in Autumn 2024 detailing how DfE goals would be met after admitting that its school rebuilding programme won’t be sufficient in making the education estate net zero. However, as will become evident, given the scale of the task, there are concerns over the amount of funding available and how it will be allocated: it is estimated that it will cost £2 billion per annum to retrofit existing schools in time for the 2050 deadline.

LocatED, the government’s education property experts, have launched the Net Zero Accelerator scheme to help facilitate the rapid rollout of decarbonisation initiatives across the education estate by funding and providing specialist teams who will help e.g. councils and academy trusts assess the condition of their buildings and advise on and oversee the implementation of initiatives to reduce running costs and achieve net zero targets. This scheme is currently in the Pathfinder stage (Phase 2) and applications to be part of the two batches of 25 schools which will be the first to be decarbonised have just closed (on 17th June). Any future stages will depend on the outcome of this phase.   

The scale of the challenge becomes evident, when looking for example at lighting retrofitting works which need carrying out. Research has found that around 70% of UK schools are still using outdated lighting and it is estimated that Britain’s 29,000 schools will need up to £5.4 billion, equivalent to 5% of all government spending on education last year, invested in lighting upgrades and solar power generation alone if net-zero targets are to be achieved. By switching to LED devices lighting bills can be reduced by over 90%.

Whilst an increasing number of educational institutions are using solar panels to generate their own energy there are estimates that around 30% of all energy generated is wasted during holidays or weekends; the installation of batteries to store energy is needed to help resolve this. Suitable batteries are becoming cheaper but this represents another expense for educational buildings.

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) has awarded 34 Academy Trusts a share of £37 million to be spent on projects such as installation of heat pumps, solar panels, insulation, and low-energy lighting. Launched in 2020 £2.5 billion has already been provided via the PSDS and funding provided for over 1000 public sector projects, including Council projects which may include school improvements. The Government has announced that phase 4 of the scheme will take a new approach placing additional emphasis on projects where the most-direct carbon emissions will be saved and guidance for this Phase is due to be published soon.

Additionally, over £30 million worth of funding has been awarded through the Government’s Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) to upgrade heating networks in a number of private and public-sector organisations including a number of educational institutions.

Whilst schemes such as the PSDS can help upgrades and investment in clean energy technology, bidders greatly outnumber the number of recipients and there is competition with other public premises such as those managed by the NHS or Councils.

Despite a shift towards more modern and purpose-built student accommodation, the recent National Student Accommodation Survey found that over 33% properties had issues with damp and 29% had experienced a lack of heating and water. Not only are some properties not providing students with safe accommodation but often they can also be unaffordable, with 64% of respondents stating that they often struggle with paying rent.

Given the net zero targets, all housing providers are now having to consider the environmental impact of their property portfolio. As owners of large estate portfolios, higher education institutions can play a significant role in achieving the country’s net zero targets, of which heating is a significant element. There are numerous alternative low-carbon heating options available such as electric convection systems, heat pumps and infrared heat panels.  It will be for housing providers to consider which option provides the most benefit for their properties to lower energy consumption and costs.

Research has discovered that two thirds of architects are now calculating the environmental impact of building projects more than ever before by assessing the energy demands of a project, the CO2 emitted during construction, the lifecycle of building products and choosing environmentally friendly products. Whilst more and more new buildings are being constructed to what is known as Passivhaus sustainability standards making them highly energy efficient and net zero carbon, this does not help with retrofitting existing educational buildings which is a much more considerable challenge that will need resolving to achieve net zero.

Increasing sustainability has clear benefits beyond the environmental considerations.  Reducing energy bills will lighten this burden, although funding assistance with the initial capital expenditure is clearly needed. There is a lot of focus on increasing the sustainability of the education estate but, given the scale of the problem and the ambitious targets set by the Government plenty more still needs doing. Many are hoping that once more guidance is available clear advice and assistance can be provided to help them achieve net zero targets.