As Britain marks Earth Day 2025, we turn to the lead on a nationwide project to bring down education campus emissions to understand how local authorities can help drive this necessary change.
The BBC’s investigation into the deteriorating condition of England’s school buildings, published in 2023, may have faded from headlines, but it remains sharply relevant for those managing education estates today. The story revealed safety concerns linked to RAAC concrete, ceilings at risk of collapse, windows that won’t open, and buildings patched together with tarpaulin.
For local authority officers and education directors grappling with stretched capital budgets, those stories weren’t sensational — they were familiar. The question now isn’t whether there’s a school buildings crisis. It’s how we use this moment to resolve it in a way that supports safety, education, and climate action all at once.
Schools are the frontline of net zero
Through our Let’s Go Zero programme at Ashden, we work with over 5,870 schools across the UK, supporting them to cut emissions and become zero carbon by 2030. What we’re seeing is both inspiring and sobering.
Thousands of schools are making real progress — installing solar panels, creating climate action plans, switching to LED lighting, engaging students in energy saving and biodiversity projects. Our newly published Impact Report shows that schools in our network have so far saved over 97,600 tonnes of CO₂, engaged over 2 million students, and secured more than £315,700 in additional sustainability grants outside of core government funding.
But these are often small-scale wins in the face of a much larger challenge: the UK’s school estate is ageing, inefficient, and in desperate need of retrofit. Education buildings account for over a third of public sector emissions, and many of them leak heat as fast as we can replace the boilers.
Local authorities understand this. You’re being asked to meet your own climate targets, reduce operational budgets, and support rising numbers of pupils — all while maintaining buildings that aren’t fit for purpose. It’s a near-impossible balancing act. But what we’ve seen is that schools can also be part of the solution.
Real change, led by schools and councils
Take Central Park Primary School in Newham, a Let’s Go Zero school now benefiting from the Mayor of London’s £10 million Greener Schools Fund. Working with one of our expert Climate Action Advisors, the school has developed a phased climate action plan and is already seeing change:
- Nine trees planted in their urban playground
- A Healthy School Street developed with council support
- Plans progressing for 44 solar panels on their roof
- Pupils and staff leading on sustainability, learning and wellbeing projects
Sustainability lead Shannon Griffin describes the process as ‘an absolute game changer’. For schools that don’t have in-house estates teams or sustainability officers, support like this makes the difference between climate ambition and actual delivery.
Central Park is one of five Let’s Go Zero schools selected for the Mayor’s Fund, and this kind of joint working between schools, local authorities, and national campaigns is exactly what we need to see replicated across the UK.
Why this isn’t just ‘green good news’
For education departments and sustainability leads, it’s tempting to see school decarbonisation as a nice-to-have — something to tackle when budgets ease or emergencies stop appearing. But that thinking is outdated.
Let’s Go Zero schools are demonstrating that climate action is not a bolt-on — it’s part of building a better, more resilient education system. Greener schools:
- Reduce energy bills (one school saved £6,800 in a single year using energy tracking)
- Improve indoor air quality and thermal comfort — supporting attendance and attainment
- Teach real-world skills that connect students to the green economy
- Build resilience to extreme weather, flooding and overheating
And for local authorities, this is a matter of both cost avoidance and opportunity creation. Every pound not spent on wasted energy is a pound that can go into staffing, support or teaching. Every child who sees climate action embedded into school life becomes a potential ambassador for their community.
Supporting policy change — and system change
The good news is that the Department for Education (DfE) is beginning to shift. Let’s Go Zero is a delivery partner on the Net Zero Accelerator, and recent policy developments mean that all schools are now expected to:
- Create a climate action plan
- Appoint a sustainability lead
- Engage with wider community and curriculum opportunities
But the biggest gap remains funding for retrofit. Schools simply can’t decarbonise their buildings without investment, and for the most part, that investment still hasn’t come.
That’s where local government can lead.
What councils and MATs can do next
If you’re working in a local education or climate role, here are four actions that can support both your own net zero goals and your schools’ capacity to deliver change:
- Integrate schools into Local Climate Plans and Local Area Energy Plans
Schools are community anchors. Position them as hubs for energy, engagement, and learning.
- Create a schools-focused retrofit pathway
Work with Let’s Go Zero (or other trusted partners) to assess which of your schools could benefit most from fabric-first retrofit or solar roll-out, and bundle schools together to make projects more attractive to funders. Schools can sign up to free Let’s Go Zero support here.
- Support climate literacy and green skills
We’re helping schools link sustainability to future careers — especially in retrofit, land use, and clean energy. Local authorities can amplify this with connections to employers and local training schemes.
- Build in partnership funding
Schemes like the Greener Schools Fund show the power of matching technical support with capital investment. Don’t wait for national government — start local where you can.
The cost of inaction is rising
Retrofit and decarbonisation may feel too ambitious at a time of funding crisis. But we know that emergency maintenance is more expensive than planned retrofit. We know that leaky roofs, draughty classrooms and overheating buildings harm both wellbeing and performance. And we know that schools — more than almost any other public buildings — have the power to inspire community change.
As the DfE prepares to release a refreshed Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy later this year, now is the time to push for alignment between education, energy and infrastructure. And now is the time for councils and trusts to work together on real, long-term solutions.
We’re ready to help. Let’s Go Zero offers free support for schools, access to experts, and tools to build whole-school action plans. But what we need now is systemic support from local leaders who see schools not as crumbling liabilities, but as net zero assets waiting to be unlocked.
Alex Green is Head of Ashden’s Let’s Go Zero campaign.
Image: JonSpaull / Ashden
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