In 2020 General Synod set the whole Church of England an ambitious challenge to be Net Zero Carbon by 2030. The focus is currently very much on reducing the carbon emissions which come from running our buildings. Did you know that schools account for nearly 50% of the Church of England’s carbon emissions?
The scale of the task is huge, so…
Where to start…
The ABC (Attitudes, Behaviours and Cultures) provide a free or low-cost way to start your school’s Net Zero Carbon journey. Your school might:
- create an Eco Council, using the Eco Schools Green Flag programme perhaps. This well-established, structured, child-led initiative covers various topics such as biodiversity, global citizenship, and energy. At the end of each academic year your school can apply for the Green Flag award.
- engage with an energy monitoring platform such as Energy Sparks. By providing real-time data on energy usage and practical suggestions to staff and pupils for reducing consumption, it can help the whole school community make informed decisions and take meaningful actions to lower their carbon footprint. “The average Energy Sparks primary saved at least £3,000 off their energy bill over the 2022/2023 school year and 12.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the average secondary saved at least £12,000 and 48 tonnes of CO2”.
- join Let’s Go Zero and receive support on setting your zero carbon targets and developing roadmaps for delivery. Your school will become part of a community of ambitious, forward-thinking schools, proving that pupils, parents, teachers and governors are united in calling for change.
- complete the Practical Path to Net Zero for Schools checklist. With over 30 ideas for ‘quick wins’ (little or low cost), and over 30 further actions too, this document contains a treasure-trove of suggestions for you; a tool you can use as an ongoing annual checklist or perhaps to use as a lever to start your school’s Climate Action Plan.
- use Count Your Carbon. This tool is a free carbon emissions calculator, developed especially for schools. By answering a series of questions, you enable the tool to calculate your school’s carbon footprint and make 10 recommendations for actions to reduce your emissions. These can help you to help you make informed, sustainable decisions and identify ‘quick wins’ that you can do immediately and plan for harder capital works.
- carry out an Energy and Buildings Self Audit. Children can take part in this audit process, but have your site manager close to hand as they learn about roof, floor and window types, wall and roof insulation, heat sources, lighting and energy management, and ultimately identify opportunities for fabric improvements and energy savings. Having the information from this Self Audit is powerful, helping your school to identify opportunities to your local authority and using these as the basis for your Climate Action Plan.
- create a Heating Resilience Plan. If you have an older boiler on site you will want to plan ahead, so you are ready should your boiler fail.
- use the Zero Carbon Execution Plan to create your programme of action. This planning overview shows that starting with the low- and no-cost actions now can genuinely launch your journey to Net Zero, helping you to prepare for the harder capital works ahead.
All the above evidence-based planning will get you action ready!
Even better, it will get you “Funding-ready”.
Sacha Watson - Net Zero Carbon Officer
- Email: sacha.watson@elydiocese.org
- Telephone: 07301 29856