The Unexpected Benefits of Reducing Emissions for Universities

If universities reduce their carbon emissions to reduce their contribution to climate change and lower their operational costs, it comes with another advantage for their future prosperity: they will become more attractive to prospective students. As 40% of UK universities are expected to run at a deficit this year, having the opportunity to attract new students at the same time as reducing their energy spend are excellent news.

Universities throughout the UK are suffering financially. A decrease in international students over the last few years has hit the sector as have rising costs to run buildings amidst increasing energy costs. Institutions throughout the country have had to cut staff. While the recently announced rise in tuition fees for undergraduate courses in England will help, the long-term funding crisis will remain and it is predicted that 40% of universities will run at a deficit this year, according to the National Centre for Universities and Business.

Green Credentials Essential to Attract Students

In this challenging environment, it is a crucial moment to attract more students. Those who are starting university have always faced a tough choice of where to go, taking into account multiple factors to ensure that they make the right decision. But in recent years, an additional factor has been added to the mix: 79% of students have reported considering a university’s green credentials when making their decision on where to study.

In this context, being able to report a reduction in carbon footprint will be beneficial for recruitment efforts. Heating and cooling buildings, including those that are centuries old, is responsible for a large part of the campus’s emissions.

Renewable Energy Projects to Meet Net Zero Goals

Many universities have already started to make sustainable changes such as introducing solar panels or using heat pump technology. But those upgrades can cost millions of pounds and most universities rely on government grants to carry out the project. The investment is necessary to help the institutions reach their net zero targets.  

Reducing Energy Use & Improving Sustainable Practices

Millions of pounds are needed to install clean energy technology. While this will be the ultimate goal for all institutions, what happens until these can be installed? Are there other ways to lower the carbon footprint to reduce the impact on the environment, decrease operational costs, and attract more students? And what about other sources of carbon emissions and unsustainable practices?

If universities don’t have funding approved yet, there are options to increase the energy efficiency of the existing buildings with a quick return on investment. Upgrading HVAC controls and implementing new strategies can reduce energy use in a variety of building types. Refined strategies paired with a centralised control and monitoring system can ensure that a building’s HVAC infrastructure runs as efficiently as possible. This cost-effective solution provides a good option for universities to reduce their energy and carbon footprint, increase their green credentials, while reducing operational costs.

It is also important to not just consider the buildings on campus when looking to reduce emissions, but how staff and students operate within them. In dining halls, the University of Cambridge tackled its carbon emissions and raised its sustainability credentials by replacing ruminant meat options on its menus with plant-based food.

Using a community-led approach, involving the chefs in the creation of new food, and combined with a clever approach in presenting the new food options on the menu, the changes were well received. These changes, together with offering biodegradable containers, eliminating single-use plastic bottles, and a new system for demand forecasting to reduce food waste, led to an estimated reduction of 500 tonnes of CO₂.

Overall, it’s important to take a holistic approach when tackling this challenge and while big projects such as installing renewable energy sources will deliver a big impact, it is still necessary to look at the smaller details, and the processes of the building occupants.