Energy saving – the real bottom line
Why should your school save energy? When budgets are tight and to-do lists are a mile long, it’s easy to focus on the bottom line – energy bills. But here is the real bottom line: cutting carbon is as fundamental to the future of young people as a good education.
The science is clear: we are in the midst of a climate crisis. Collectively, we need to take urgent and radical action to cut carbon emissions if we are to avoid the worst-case climate scenarios.
Food security, economic stability, health and wellbeing, thriving ecosystems. All are on the line.
So, with COP30* starting today, we wanted to take a moment to remind ourselves of why we are really here.
Why school climate action matters
At Energy Sparks, we believe that schools have a vital role to play in tackling the climate emergency. That’s because:
- Schools have the potential to make huge energy and carbon savings – our best performing schools cut their annual energy use by 40% in 2023/24.
- Action by individual schools really adds up – last year our schools collectively saved 8,400 tonnes CO2 – That’s the same amount of carbon dioxide as flying 1,400 times around the world. Just imagine what we could achieve if every school followed their lead!
- Young people are crying out for action on climate change – cutting energy in schools can help your pupils see how small changes can make a real difference. They can then pass this knowledge to their families and communities, and they will carry it with them throughout their lives.
The good news is that reducing your energy use will not only help you cut carbon – it will also help you save money.
Sustainability doesn’t need to be expensive – the actions we suggest below are either low-or no-cost, and while they are most focused on carbon savings, they should also have a positive impact on your finances.
OK, so what can I do?
Our #CutHeatingWaste campaign is all about helping schools to make significant carbon savings through simple changes. By following along, it is highly likely that you can make significant cuts to your school’s carbon emissions.
TIP: if your school is signed up with Energy Sparks, you can use our tool to help you report progress against your Climate Action Plan.
But we know it’s hard (see aforementioned to-do lists!). So here are some high-priority tasks you can complete that are most likely to have a big impact on carbon…
All schools can:
- Read and follow our recommendations for getting your heating set up correctly.
- Create holiday and classroom switch-off lists and protocols to minimise your energy use overnight, at weekends and during the holidays. Why not ask your eco-team to lead on this?
Did you know: The average school uses more than 60%
of their energy when the school is closed to pupils,
and about a quarter of this is during holidays.
- Experiment with changing your central heating operating times. Our analysis has shown that at many schools the heating comes on too early and stays on too long. We have also found that optimum start time settings often do not work as expected – learn more.
- Experiment with reducing your temperature: more info here.
- Follow our #CutHeatingWaste campaign on social media for ideas and inspiration.
- Take part in Layer Up, Power Down day this Friday 14th November.
In addition, Energy Sparks schools can:
- Read our blog: How to spot problems now your heating is on.
- Look at your school’s energy saving opportunities (you can sort the table by carbon emissions to find your biggest potential savings in this area).
- Look at your out-of-hours use and ensure that this is minimised (find out how).
- Read your alerts (and make sure facilities staff and other key staff members are signed up to receive these!)
Climate change action at home
If you want to encourage your pupils to continue their learning and action at home, why not take a look at Eco-Schools’ Cut Your Carbon campaign, which is running throughout November. Young people can take part by completing six simple actions at home with their friends and families that reduce emissions.
* COP30 refers to the UN’s 30th climate change conference (COP stands for Conference of the Parties), where world leaders will meet to discuss progress towards climate targets and agree international climate policies and actions. COP30 will take place in Belém, Brazil, from 10th to 21st November 2025.
Main image courtesy of: Dominic Wunderlich/Pixabay.
