Reducing operational carbon on commercial and educational campuses

From reducing energy costs to meeting net zero targets, there are many drivers behind the need to make commercial and educational campuses more energy efficient. To decarbonise cost-effectively, institutions and companies should have a comprehensive plan to reduce operational carbon on campus, says built environment sustainability expert Michael Enstone.

Organisations, educational institutions, and companies with large campuses must decarbonise their real estate. In many cases, this is a complex challenge as each individual building – whether recently-built or 100 years’ old – must be made more energy efficient to reduce the amount of operational carbon used.

Historically, this might have been done on a project-by-project basis. To meet publicly stated climate emergency declarations and net zero carbon commitments however, organisations, institutions and companies will need to take a different approach, or risk reputational damage.

In this article, we argue the case for the adoption of a comprehensive decarbonisation plan on commercial and institutional campuses as the best way to reduce operational carbon in the most time and cost-efficient way. Furthermore, a comprehensive plan can also reduce reliance on increasingly expensive and bureaucratic carbon offsetting schemes.

1/ A piecemeal approach won’t cut it

Currently, there is a common knowledge gap between setting net zero targets and understanding what role decarbonisation plays on that journey, and how it can be achieved. Decarbonisation is not as simple as replacing gas boilers with heat pumps (as doing so greatly increases running costs). Instead, we strongly advocate that any action to reduce operational carbon by moving away from fossil fuels should be considered in the context of all ongoing maintenance and must touch all capital works.

2/ If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it

Establishing a baseline for how well an estate is performing is the first step, along with general condition of the plant and fabric. If not already available (as part of either planned maintenance or maintenance backlog information), then an extensive survey will be required. Our Operational Carbon & Energy ANalysis tool (or OCEAN for short) gathers data on carbon and energy performance of individual buildings so that holders of large asset portfolios can understand how their entire portfolio is performing.

If not already installed, adequate metering is a good investment as it is essential to understand how an estate is performing to determine where or when to make interventions. Furthermore, once a solution has been implemented, it is equally important to then monitor performance.

3/ Make better use of space

Once a baseline has been established, the buildings and systems should be evaluated to determine whether space could be better used and/or operational hours consolidated.

In universities for example, where the pandemic has accelerated the trend to online study at home complemented by collaborative in-person sessions, the way space is used on campus has altered dramatically. Managed correctly, this is an opportunity to reduce energy demand by delivering learning in selected spaces that are shared between departments and faculties, and thus used more intensively. Similarly, the creation of night hubs allows parts of an estate to remain open out-of-hours while the majority closes.

4/ Develop a decarbonisation plan

The next step is to develop a decarbonisation plan for each building that considers fabric, lighting, controls, and plugged-in load. The plan should consider the opportunities for reducing operating temperatures to allow heat pumps to be used, and the possibility of using thermal storage. A decarbonisation plan needs to be built into the planned maintenance and plant replacement schedule along with an adequate budget commitment over the identified decarbonisation period.

Finally, each project needs to be delivered in sequence to ensure an institution can decarbonise in line with its publicly stated goal. Having switched to a lower energy approach with all electric services, organisations should subscribe to a certified zero carbon electricity tariff to complete the process.

Essential and achievable

Adopting a comprehensive plan to reduce operational carbon on a commercial or educational campus is essential – and achievable. In our experience decarbonising commercial and public real estate across the region, the most effective campus-level plans are informed by an organisational-level net zero transition plan. It’s the best way for firms and educational institutions to identify opportunities that save carbon, time, and money in the short and longer term, while providing assurance to stakeholders, customers and students.