ISBA

29 @the_isba Autumn 2021 | Environmental sustainability I was talking recently to the sponsor of a project to remove the use of fossil fuels from a cluster of schools in one corner of a town. The term now generally in use for this process is ‘decarbonisation’. As I was describing the work entailed in decarbonising the provision of heat, she remarked that nobody else she’d discussed it with had been quite so negative about it. The same thing happened a few months ago when I was discussing the same topic with the bursar of one of the leading independent schools in the UK: “You’re not selling it very well, Nigel!” I’m not trying to. What I am trying to do is paint a picture for schools of the impact of the required work on their estates. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not trying to put people off either. I work in a company that is dedicated to encouraging schools to get going with the transition away from fossil fuels and towards becoming net zero carbon. But I do think it’s important that schools understand the extent of work required to get there, because if they don’t – if they think it’s all going to be a doddle – then they are likely to make the task that much more difficult and expensive in the long run, by dint of being forced into decisions and actions at short notice. Lots of schools are already on the way to net zero. My concern is that others may not have thought about it yet. If they haven’t, it’s time to get it firmly on the agenda. Draw up a formal decarbonisation plan I don’t mean that schools around the UK need to rush to convert to all things low carbon; actually, quite the reverse – don’t be hasty in terms of actions. But they do need to draw up a plan for the conversion – covering the transition from the present system all the way to ‘job done’, whenever that might be. The plan might end up being to decide to do nothing at all, or not very much, for a few more years yet; or it might be to progress at a steady pace over several years; or to become an ‘early adopter’. Whichever route is chosen, it needs to be chosen in the light of all the information and nuances available at the time. I think four factors have a particular bearing on this issue at the moment and serve to illustrate why it would be helpful for schools to draw up a formal decarbonisation plan, if they don’t already have one: • Unfamiliar technology and supply base. For the past few decades, the technologies in use for the provision of power, heat and transport on school estates have been familiar territory for the school support staff. In contrast, how many school estate teams know how to spot a well specified heat pump or biomass project when they see one? How many people in the wider school community, including the governors, have a clear understanding of what these projects entail? Probably not many. For sure, most schools in the independent sector have some experience of smaller decarbonisation projects, often in the shape of solar arrays on various roofs; but relatively few have yet to address the task of decarbonising the entire estate, i.e. the conversion of all of the provision and use of power, heat and transport across the estate. I’m not aware of a single school in the independent sector that has done this yet. If there is one, I’d dearly love to have a chat with the bursar, as there would be lots of useful lessons to be learned. • Diverse technology. Not that long ago, the energy-related choices on a school tended to be binary, such as: on or off the gas main for heating; petrol or diesel for transport; and does that new-build need an upgrade to the local grid supply or not? No longer though.