How schools can finally go green in 2025

Following the closing of COP29 and an agreed $300-billion climate deal, what can the education sector do to drive decarbonisation within its estates?

In line with the department for education’s (DfE) sustainability and climate change strategy, each school or educational institution must put in place a sustainability lead and documented climate action plan by 2025. The latter must outline the steps and strategies they will take to address and mitigate climate change.

With the school rebuilding programme getting a boost from the autumn budget, schools can and should prioritise green materials and embrace innovation to accelerate the UK’s journey to net zero.

The DfE’s strategy aims to make the education sector more sustainable and prepare all young people for a world impacted by climate change. It also presents an opportunity to simultaneously address growing concerns over the condition of many school buildings and create future-proofed estates.

Opportunities and support

With the education maintenance backlog currently sitting at approximately £11.4 billion, there is an urgent need for updated buildings to form a key part of any climate action plan.

As a potentially daunting and significant task in terms of both time and cost, a number of organisations now offer support to schools and colleges as they plan their approach to tackling climate change.

This includes the government’s expanded Climate Ambassador scheme, which offers free support and guidance to education providers to improve climate resilience.

Long-term estate planning has always been a necessity for schools, but sustainability has only recently been put at the heart of the education estate as part of the Good Estate Management for Schools guidance.

Upgrading buildings in line with sustainability best practice will enable schools to manage their estates more effectively, save money and ensure a healthy and safe environment for students and staff.

In contrast, school buildings that are past their design life or unfit for purpose can have negative impacts beyond energy inefficiency, often leading to higher absence rates that disproportionately affect the most vulnerable.

This can be clearly seen in state-funded schools for students with additional needs. Here, the persistent absence rate was nearly 40 per cent for the 2023/4 academic year, demonstrating the importance of an appropriately designed and maintained environment.

Getting started

When seeking to begin a climate action plan, the first step should be to understand what the estate needs in a truly holistic approach. Schools should consider what the currently utilised space looks like, the energy efficiency of its buildings and who is accountable for green practices.

While implementing new technologies and materials is important, seeking to change the current behaviours of those who will be using the environment most is an important first step ahead of the 2025 deadline.

Once schools understand the current estate’s carbon footprint and know which areas are priorities for improvement, they can create a proactive climate action plan that takes into account the old and the new.

This robust document will go on to make choosing suppliers and new technology more straightforward. It will also reduce the risk of project overspend as clear needs and aims are outlined from the start.

Additionally, having a documented action plan will enable schools to align their procurement processes with their updated sustainability goals. This ensures that each supplier will meet the new green standard and accelerate the school’s decarbonisation efforts both directly and indirectly.

Thinking beyond the school estate to improve the wider environment in this way is crucial, and sustainability leads should also consider how they can engage with their community as an integral part of the action plan.

Schools play a fundamental role in driving sustainability because they’re the heart of communities, with a large percentage of the population visiting every day.

Encouraging students, parents and communities to come together should be a key consideration in creating a long-term sustainable future with an engaged community behind it.

For example, this could involve hosting workshops for parents on the importance of reducing energy usage or by bringing volunteers together to create school gardens that boost biodiversity and allow pupils to connect with nature.

But understanding the difference and benefits of various sustainable choices could feel overwhelming, even for sustainability leads.

An experienced partner can be vital here. Indeed, there could even be valuable insight among your school community or in schools and trusts you work already with.

Schools are not alone in developing climate action plans and striving towards net zero by 2050. But they can lead the way towards a decarbonised future and a healthier planet in more ways than one.