by Ann Withanee — November 7, 2011—The U.K.-based Carbon Trust has launched a new program to help more than 400 pilot schools in the United Kingdom slash their energy bills, which currently cost £543 annually. Carbon Trust’s Collaborative Low Carbon Schools Service provides guidance to implement inexpensive and simple means by relying on students, teachers and facilities personnel.
Simple measures such as switching off lights and installing more efficient heating could help the average secondary school save £21,500 in energy bills almost equal to the annual salary of a newly qualified teacher. These simple and inexpensive measures could allow schools of all sizes to use less energy, save money on their energy bills and also reduce their carbon emissions.
The Carbon Trust’s experience of driving public sector energy efficiency reveals that U.K. schools account for more than half of local authorities’ carbon emissions, with a total £543 million annual energy bill, of which as much as £135m could be saved through simple cost-effective measures typically paying back in less than 3 years.
Forty-three local authorities have signed up to take part in the pilot, including Camden, Cumbria, Bedford, Buckinghamshire, Walsall, and Wiltshire. The 10-month program will help schools save up to 25 percent on their energy bills through free expert advice, new pupil switch-off initiatives, and cost-effective measures such as installing energy-efficient lighting and heating.
A further nine East Midland authorities are also taking part in the Carbon Trust’s School Collaboration on Resource Efficiency (SCoRE), a tailored program funded by Climate East Midlands which began in March 2011 and will eventually be rolled out to all 2,260 publicly funded schools across the region.
The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit company with the mission to accelerate the move to a low-carbon economy, providing specialist support to business and the public sector to help cut carbon emissions, save energy and commercialize low carbon technologies. By stimulating low-carbon action, the Carbon Trust contributes to key U.K. goals of lower carbon emissions, the development of low carbon businesses, increased energy security, and associated jobs.
