How does it work?

CO2 emissions from buildings relate to the construction of the buildings rather than their use. For school grounds, the emissions refer to the potential to absorb carbon through trees planted by the school.

Your school building and grounds have four effects on the carbon footprint..

Materials

More CO2 is produced making bricks for a masonry building, than a wooden building. Obviously the bigger your school building the larger the amount of what is called 'embodied CO2' in the building.

Lifespan

The second impact depends on how long your school buildings are expected to last. By ensuring buildings last longer their ‘impact per year’ is reduced. The carbon calculator uses annual data so the lifespan is important.

Design

This is harder to quantify because a well-designed school which results in reduced in CO2 emissions will be reflected in your energy and water results, rather than the construction of the school. It might even be the case that designing a school with good insulation and double glazing will actually increase the footprint of the buildings due to increased materials, but be more than compensated for by a vastly reduced energy footprint over time.

Planting

Vegetation absorbs CO2 and therefore reduces your school footprint. Some people question planting trees as a solution to climate change and they are probably right on a global scale. At a school scale, however, planting trees can be one part of the bigger strategy to reduce the impact of the school. Planting 50 new trees in a 12-month period will reduce the school’s carbon footprint by 7.3 kg per tree. Of course, planting trees is good for a whole range of other reasons too.

Having said all this, the impact of the actual building and its materials is relatively small, perhaps around 1 per cent of your overall school carbon footprint. However, the design and construction of the school has a huge impact on other areas of the school footprint, especially energy.

The school grounds also have a relatively small part to play in your carbon footprint. Planting trees is one way to help reduce your carbon footprint, but trees do have to be cared for and maintained for their whole lifetime to be of benefit. A small sapling planted one year that dies the next will not absorb much CO2.

What data is needed?

To calculate the CO2 emissions related to buildings and grounds the Carbon Detectives Team will need to collect four pieces of information:

  1. The ground area of the school buildings in square metres.
  2. The main materials used in building the school.
  3. The expected lifespan of the school buildings.
  4. The number of trees planted in the school grounds over the last 12 months.

Once the data has been entered it is multiplied by carbon conversion factors to give the impact in kilograms of CO2.

Buildings facts and figures

  • The Building Schools of the Future programme aims to rebuild and refurbish schools across the country. The programme is backed by the Building and Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method for schools. To be really adventurous aim for Passive House Standards.
  • Ensure that your school builds in flexibility from the start of the design process. This may cost more, but increasing insulation or considering thermal mass properties will more than pay off over the lifetime of the building. Also think about how the school can become a resource for the whole community, which can be used beyond the school day.

What individual pupils can do

  • Take an interest in any building development work happening at the school and ask questions about the design and use of green building materials.
  • Be active in any projects that look at developing the school grounds.

What a school community can do

  • Develop plans for enhancing the school’s sustainable design features and environmental management practices.
  • Use green building technologies and sustainable materials when undertaking refurbishment and rebuild projects.
  • Explore how the energy footprint can be reduced by refurbishing school buildings. For example, by installing lighting timers and control switches, by insulating walls and roof spaces, and by fitting double glazing.
  • Work with conservation organisations to plant more trees within your school grounds
  • Ensure that smart meters are installed that tell you more about where the buildings are wasting energy and water.

To influence government thinking and policy-making, pupils can:

  • Promote the school’s efforts to become a model of sustainable school design, build and management within the local authority, and link with other schools and partners to share ideas and strategies.
  • Contact the local council to see what support they can offer to improve school building performance.
  • Write to the local MP/MEP and ask if the use of green building technologies is a priority in the Building Schools for the Future programme and whether schools can access funding to help them to reduce the carbon footprint of any school redevelopment, whatever the scale of their project.