Opinion: “If education is serious about climate leadership, it must mirror the disciplines already embedded in the private sector”
“When leadership is real, progress follows; when leadership is symbolic, nothing changes”. In this article Paul Edmond, Chief Finance and Sustainability Officer at HEART Academies Trust and co‑Chair of the UK Schools Sustainability Network (UKSSN) challenges senior education staff to show real climate leadership, and learn from the successes and failures of the private sector.
Short on time? Skip ahead to Paul’s key recommendations.
Climate leadership is no longer a niche concern. In the UK private sector, it has become a core test of executive credibility, organisational resilience, and strategic competence.
Yet in education, climate leadership is too often treated as an optional add‑on – important but not properly led.
If schools and trusts are to respond effectively to climate risk, rising costs, regulatory pressures and public expectations, we can learn a great deal from what works in UK business, and crucially from what fails when leadership is poorly designed.
What UK business learned the hard way
Over the past decade, UK businesses have moved from symbolic climate commitments to much more demanding forms of leadership.
Research from Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL) shows that effective sustainability leadership is now characterised by:
- Explicit authority
- Defined competencies
- Accountability at board level
- Integration into core decision‑making
…not delegation to enthusiastic individuals without power or resources.
Similarly, We Mean Business Coalition’s ‘4 A’s of Climate Leadership’ framework – Ambition, Action, Advocacy and Accountability – has become widely used because it forces leaders to move beyond intent to delivery and governance.
Notably, businesses that perform best on climate do not rely on goodwill or personal passion; they design leadership roles properly.
Harvard Business Review’s recent research on authentic leadership under pressure reinforces this point: leaders are most credible when they make trade‑offs explicit, share responsibility, and align decisions to clearly articulated values, particularly when resources are constrained.
The problematic leadership model in education
In contrast, climate leadership in education is often structurally set up to fail. Across schools and trusts, we repeatedly see the same patterns:
- No clear role description – sustainability is bolted onto an estates, operations or teaching role with no mandate to influence strategy and no incentives to succeed.
- No training or development – leaders are expected to navigate highly complex climate, curriculum, energy and procurement decisions without formal preparation.
- No authority – responsibility sits below executive or board level, with limited access to decision‑makers.
- No time – climate leadership is treated as extracurricular rather than core leadership work.
- No budget – expectations are set without resources, reinforcing the myth that climate action is cost‑neutral or purely behavioural.
UK business learned years ago that this model produces frustration, burnout and under‑delivery. CISL’s behavioural competency model shows that effective sustainability leaders need legitimacy, influence, and institutional backing to operate across systems, not within silos.
Without this, even the most committed individuals become symbolic rather than effective.
Effective climate leadership in education
If education is serious about climate leadership, it must mirror the disciplines already embedded in the private sector:
- Climate leadership must sit at Executive/SLT level
In business, climate risk is now widely treated as a strategic and financial risk, overseen by boards and executive teams. Schools and trusts should treat it no differently. Ownership must sit with headteachers, CEOs and trustees; not be delegated away.
- Roles must be properly designed
Where schools and trusts appoint sustainability leaders, roles should be explicit about authority, scope and outcomes. Private‑sector evidence shows that leaders succeed when their remit spans strategy, governance, procurement, estates and culture, not isolated projects.
- Leaders must be trained, not left to improvise
Business invests heavily in leadership capability. CISL’s programmes exist precisely because sustainability leadership involves system thinking, stakeholder engagement and difficult trade‑offs. Education leaders deserve the same investment.
- Accountability must be visible
The most effective companies report progress publicly, link delivery to performance reviews, and align climate goals with financial and operational planning. In education, climate action should be visible in board papers, risk registers, capital planning, strategic development plans, and websites; not hidden in unpublished Climate Action Plans.
- Systemic research and evidence
System leaders and regulators need to commission and undertake research to strengthen the evidence-base for effective sustainability leadership in education.
We don’t need to wait for perfect policy
There is a legitimate role for the DfE. Private‑sector experience suggests three interventions would be most helpful:
- Clear expectations, not just encouragement, on governance, reporting and leadership.
- Consistency and stability, allowing schools and trusts to plan long‑term rather than chase shifting initiatives.
- Alignment across policy, so national curriculum, student careers, estates strategy, capital funding, digital, catering and procurement policies mutually reinforce each other.
However – and this matters – business has also learned not to wait for perfect policy. Many UK companies have advanced in spite of, not because of, government clarity.
Education must take the same stance. Some of the UK’s most effective climate leadership has emerged where organisations acted first and shaped policy later. Business leaders increasingly advocate for stronger regulation precisely because they have already embedded climate leadership internally.
Schools and trusts do not need permission to treat climate risk as a leadership responsibility; invest in leadership capability; align values, strategy and resources; or learn from proven private‑sector practice.
Climate leadership in education will not be solved by another strategy document. It will be solved when leaders design the role properly, resource it adequately, and own it collectively.
The lesson from UK business is clear: when leadership is real, progress follows; when leadership is symbolic, nothing changes.
How Energy Sparks can help
Editorial note: the following section has been written by the Energy Sparks team, with permission from Paul.
- Setting clear, actionable goals is one of the keys to success – we offer advice on this in our blog post ‘How to set an energy saving target’. Energy Sparks schools can also set and track targets on their account.
- The Energy Sparks tool is designed to make it easier to understand where your energy saving opportunities are, and – crucially – what actions you can take to make a difference. This means that anyone can work to reduce carbon emissions, even if it is not their specialism. If you’d like to learn more, you can watch a demo to see how our tool works.
- One of the key benefits of our tool is that it makes it easier to report on both the impact of the action you have already taken, and your potential savings (with figures given in both £ and CO2 across the site). This can aid accountability, and also makes it easier for you to report against climate action plans and complete Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR).
- Energy Sparks schools can access our free online training – with a range of sessions on offer, including how to engage pupils in energy saving as well as sessions designed for school leaders, business managers, sustainability leads, facilities staff and central MAT teams.
- Energy Sparks schools can book a bespoke energy audit for a detailed insight into their energy consumption and priority actions. We offer both on-site audits and desktop review options to suit your needs and budget.
We also offer over 140 free pupil activities and staff actions to help you take action on climate change. If you’re not sure where to get started, we recommend looking at:
- This blog post, which shares inspiration and insights from Horsford Primary – Holt Road, who have followed a methodical approach to achieve some great savings.
- This article, which is ideal for over-stretched staff and offers a simple framework for weaving energy saving into your school year.
- This short video, on how to prioritise your energy saving efforts.
About the author
Paul Edmond is Chief Finance and Sustainability Officer at HEART Academies Trust, based in Bedford. He is a Fellow of the Institute of School Business Leaders (ISBL) and ThoughtBox Education, with experience in financial and operational leadership, sustainability, and climate action.
In 2021, Paul became co‑Chair of the UK Schools Sustainability Network (UKSSN), supporting schools, Trusts and the Department for Education in our transition to a more sustainable future. Paul also represents HEART on the Climate Adapted Pathways for Education (CAPE) Alliance Advisory Group and collaborates with the Science Hub running regional sustainability conferences. Alongside his strategic leadership roles, Paul is a facilitator for Carbon Literacy training and Climate Fresk, helping educators build climate confidence and practical capability across their organisations.
If you would like to read more like this, we encourage you to sign up to UKSSN Operations Group. On their website, you can also read back-copies of their weekly briefings, from which this article was adapted, with permission.
