Comment

Schools are leading the way to net zero

By Alan Fogarty 2021-08-10T05:00:00

Alan Fogarty, Sustainability Partner at Cundall

Source: McAteer Photograph

The rest of the industry is waking up to designing carbon-neutral buildings, but the education sector has been addressing energy efficiency for decades. Once the motive was cutting costs; now it is all about reducing emissions, Alan Fogarty writes

When it comes to net zero carbon design, the UK’s education sector is well ahead of the market. While other sectors are only just waking up to the drastic change in design approach needed if they are to meet the government’s 2050 net zero carbon goal, the education sector already has several exemplary net zero schools under construction – and many more emerging in the design stages. 

The Department for Education (DfE) has set a net zero carbon requirement for its schools, to which the industry is responding. The department procures its schools through a framework using a standard output specification (OS) which sets out the standards and performance requirements for school buildings.

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