‘Accelerating towards Net Zero’ report published

Scaling up knowledge and solutions across the entire tertiary education sector

CUBO welcomes today’s publication of ‘‘Accelerating towards Net Zero’ by The Royal Anniversary Trust and the EAUC.  We are pleased to join sister PHES organisations BUFDG, AUDE and HESPA and all of our members who have contributed to this work, and recommend it to all members.

Subtitled ‘A sector-led proposal for action and co-ordinated thinking,’ the report is supported by the Department for Education, which describes it as “a welcome blueprint for innovation across the sector on our journey to Net Zero.” We encourage all UK universities to engage with the report at the most senior level and to use the CUBO network to contact colleagues at the universities that have been involved in this project.

The report’s production is rooted in the Platinum Jubilee Challenge to universities, a vehicle to help the entire tertiary education sector share knowledge and build the skills base needed by organisations to deliver low carbon operations. Twelve CUBO member universities are featured in the report, which has three main objectives: to share knowledge, to propose a Standardised Emissions Reporting Framework and to make policy recommendations to government. Its mission is for UK tertiary education to be “a global leader in accelerating the climate emergency response.”

As the Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan MP says in her response to the report, the whole of the tertiary education sector, working together, have considerable ability to scale solutions and lead the public sector response to climate change: “The UK’s world-leading tertiary education sector has a vital role to play in our national response to the global climate emergency. The Platinum Jubilee Challenge report ’Accelerating towards Net Zero’ is an inspiring example of institutions from across the UK working together towards a common goal, and I’d like to thank all those who took part for sharing their knowledge and expertise. The proposed reporting framework provides an excellent model for the sector to measure and take action on their emissions. We thank the authors for their recommendations to both the sector and government. These will be carefully considered and we look forward to responding formally in March.”

An important focus of the report is to make recommendations to government, in a context where the sector can plan, collaborate and share as much as it wishes, but the conditions in which those plans are enacted need to be suitable. Among the recommendations to government are the need to extend 0% VAT relief to incentivise the retrofitting of existing buildings, the need to transform the National Grid to remove barriers to the adoption of renewable technologies and the need for BEIS to incorporate sustainability and carbon modules within its SME growth schemes.

We are pleased that the Platinum Jubilee Challenge report has recommendations in common with Mission Zero, a recent report by former Universities Minister, Chris Skidmore. Among many recommendations, he makes the case for universities to play a central role in efforts to limit global warming and deliver economic growth. “The UK must take advantage of its world-leading university and research sectors to deliver the technologies of the future and capture growth.”

While the report and work accompanying it warrant a close reading in every member institution, it is worth highlighting some of the key aspects and conclusions:

• Although specific to tertiary education the proposed Standardised Emissions Reporting Framework covers scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions and is based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Once established, the SCEF has the potential to be rolled out to schools, drawing on the work and experience of the tertiary education sector at no further cost;
• The SCEF is the most detailed plan in the UK public sector. It aims to deliver consistency and transparency around emissions data collection, and to enable better decision-making as a result;
• There is an emphasis on collaboration within the sector, and with others such as local authorities, regional governments and the private sector;
• While adoption of the SCEF is not intended to be mandatory, the report states that “it would go a long way to help us focus our actions, if adopted.” There is an implicit ambition that those organisations who do not use the framework will be the exception;
• The aim of those involved in the report’s production is that the SCEF should be in place by 2024.

The report is also clear in highlighting specific short-term priorities that we think are of use to every member institution:

• Continuing to focus on adaptation of the build environment and of retrofits ahead of new builds;
• A shift to a more ‘purposeful travel’ policy;
• Emphasis on a sustainable supply chain with sustainability an increasingly important factor in purchasing decisions; and on internal skills and resourcing, to ensure we have the people we need to steer this entire agenda;
• A long-term investment approach to unlock greater investment from the public, private and third sectors, and as adopt sustainable finance principles and products, including “green bonds.”

We share member concerns around duplication of activity. AUDE have published a set of common FAQs relating to the publication of ‘Accelerating towards Net Zero,’ the SCEF and the future of EMR sustainability information, and will keep this FAQs document updated in the coming months. We acknowledge the need to collect the right data in a format that works for all parties, and allows consistent, high-quality decisions to be made. If you currently report EMR data please continue to do so. With the intention that the SCEF should be in place by 2024, any transition period to the new state needs to be swiftly managed.

CUBO Chair Kirsty Woodward, Director of Campus Services at the University of Leicester, said: “While members will have initial concerns about potential duplication of effort around data collection, this report and framework give us a path forward with clear recommendations for institutions and government. The standardised reporting, collaborative approach to sharing knowledge across HE and FE and government support make this an initiative we must embrace. It is great to see CUBO member institutions playing a key role in shaping this whole sector approach.”