ISBA

Autumn 2021 | Environmental sustainability www.theisba.org.uk 10 A roadmap for action Last year, the Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education ( www.eauc.org.uk/climate_ commission ) Students and Lea ders met with pupils of various ages, and held open discussions that led to the production of a roadmap ( www. eauc.org.uk/fe_roadmap ). Aimed at educational buildings, it offers a great resource both for those starting their sustainability journey and those who are already leading the way. One of the strengths of the roadmap is how it includes pupils as partners in implementing actions whilst identifying initiatives that require executive input and funding. Creating your own roadmap, something that you may wish to draw on external support for, is the first step towards climate action. It cannot be forgotten that there is less than a decade left in which to take meaningful action. Setting out a strategy for the coming years and reflecting on how changing regulations or the physical impacts of the changing climate might impact your site (for instance removal of gas boilers) will become business critical, particularly as some of these initiatives may well require external funding, which leads to the next reflection. Government funding and school buildings In June 2021, a joint letter by the National Union of Students and collaborators called for increased funding to enable educational buildings to become net-zero by 2030. There is clear evidence that demand exceeds current funding availability. The last Salix funding round (Public Decarbonisation Scheme Fund phase 2), funded by the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, closed after less than a week; having received bids worth £150 million with only £75 million of funds available. Additional funding via the Low Carbon Skills Fund, aimed at funding to engage specialist advisory services to decarbonise heating, opened on 28 July 2021 with a window opening on 13 September 2021 specifically for academies and maintained schools (heating and cooling together with lighting are likely to be where schools’ operational carbon is highest). Also, it is expected that the advisory funding will be followed by a further round aimed at the implementation of projects that may have been identified through the advisory support. Currently, there is no such funding scheme for independent schools. Wellness, nature and COP26 If anything has been hammered home over the past 18 months, it’s the fact that wellness and mental health are not to be neglected. This year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Week was on nature and the environment. This is an area where there are a multitude of low cost initiatives that can be implemented at schools or offsite through community partnerships. Smoke from summer 2021 fires behind the olive trees at Mugla Bodrum Mazi,Turkey Empowering staff and pupils to transition from feeling like passengers on a sinking ship to deck hands and eventually captains able to steer the course, will help combat the sense of helplessness and disconnection that is associated with eco-anxiety.