The roadmap to reduce university campus emissions by Kas Mohammed, Vice President, Digital Energy, Schneider Electric UK and Ireland
University campuses are some of the most challenging sites to create and implement effective sustainability strategies. With buildings of different ages, physical conditions, and uses, and the extra constraints of dealing with listed buildings added into the mix, this makes tackling sustainability a complex task for facility managers.
However, this complexity must not hinder progress. In 2021, UK institutions emitted more than 18 million tonnes of CO2e, representing around 2.3% of the UK’s overall carbon footprint. Unfortunately, 2024 reports show that not much progress has been made by the higher education sector in recent years. This year, UK universities’ carbon emissions have fallen by just 1%, barely scratching the surface of potential emissions and energy reductions.
As hubs of innovation, education, and R&D, universities are prime locations for new sustainability developments and technologies. So, how do estate managers go about decarbonising campuses and where should they direct their investment and efforts? The secret is to strategise, digitise, and decarbonise to soar towards net-zero targets.
Step 1: Strategise
Delivering a smart, sustainable campus for students should be top of the agenda for building managers. The key to creating effective net-zero strategies on campus is finding innovative ways to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency. Not only is this essential for hitting environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets, but also for driving down costs in a time when university budgets are tighter than ever.
First, plotting a clear mission for campus sustainability is crucial. Factors such as digital transformation of operations, transforming buildings into fully connected, smart sites, and using data and technology to bring together people, processes, and services are core to success. Whether it is retrofitting existing buildings to cut construction greenhouse gases, reduce embodied carbon, and minimise costs, or ensuring that the technology is installed at the time of construction for new builds, a robust strategy at this stage will act as a roadmap for campus-wide innovation and sustainability gains. It is imperative that building managers get this step right. And with many UK campuses categorised by such a diverse portfolio of buildings, creating a solid foundation for digitisation and decarbonisation means that sustainability works can happen faster.
However, facility managers must also keep the user front of mind in their strategies. Whether it is staff, students, or visitors, their comfort and experience must remain a priority. Flexible lighting, heating and cooling is an integral part of a smart campus strategy. Especially post-Covid, students are accustomed to working in an environment that suits their needs. Facility managers must look to create the ultimate learning, working, or studying experience - whether that be through darker or lighter, warmer or colder, or noisier and quieter spaces. This strategy stage lays the groundwork for meeting both user needs and sustainability goals.
Step 2: Digitise
Ultimately, sustainability strategy and digital transformation should go hand-in-hand. Digitising campus energy relies on smart sensors, IoT technologies and cloud-based analytics to create a fully-connected network. By integrating with systems such as BEMS (Building Energy Management System), NFC (Near Field Communication), Computer-Aided Facility Management (CAFM), and Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS), building managers can reap the most rewards from their digital investments.
For instance, by using smart sensors and an integrated, data-driven BEMS, facility managers can monitor occupancy, air quality, CO2 emissions and ambient factors, and implement automated room control. With dynamic monitoring of building conditions and automated management, students, staff, and visitors can enjoy the comfort benefits of a smart campus environment. This estate management software grants universities insight into energy usage and power quality in real time. This powers more informed decisions that improve building performance and drive campuses towards sustainability goals.
Facility managers can also use this data to proactively identify areas for increased building performance and reliability. For instance, digitisation gives facilities managers the tools to avoid unplanned downtime. Thanks to the evolved connectivity of smart campuses with 24/7 remote monitoring, experts can remotely monitor, troubleshoot and analyse connected assets to help maximise uptime, improve maintenance and reduce energy usage and costs.
Step 3: Decarbonise
The final step is to use this strategy and digitisation to power a data-led approach to decarbonisation. Working smarter to reduce energy consumption and therefore minimise carbon emissions is one of the quickest and most effective ways to reach net-zero targets. What’s more, these data-backed insights could even lead to new ways of producing energy on-campus, or the creation of a prosumer hub. The ability to effectively pinpoint where innovations could be made is invaluable, such as the electrification of campus buildings, and introduction of renewable on-site energy sources.
For example, leading the way in sustainable, smart campus design is the University of Birmingham. Its new, ultramodern School of Engineering monitors over 200 building assets across more than 1,200 connected points, enabling the University to quickly analyse building performance across comfort, energy, and maintenance metrics. With the technology and support of the Schneider Electric team, the University of Birmingham achieved a 20% reduction in CO2 four years ahead of target, now generating 75% of its own energy via on-site combined heat and power plants, and continues to reduce its carbon footprint by 3,000 tonnes per year on average. This project highlights what can be achieved thanks to a proactive, data-led approach to facilities management.
Empowering the next generation
As we look to the future of smart, sustainable buildings, this data can be used to teach the next generation of facility managers and energy innovators. For example, campus energy data should become a key part of teaching and learning for engineering students, enabling them to access real-time data to study building management and sustainable solutions. And when sustainability and net-zero commitments are now a factor affecting student applications, it is not just the environment that will benefit from this sustainability roadmap – it is university’s bottom line too. In fact, 87% of students agree they want their chosen institution to take sustainability seriously, so the time to act is now.
From admissions to emissions, sustainability action is vital. Data-driven, smart strategies enable proactive energy management, and these advanced technologies deliver enriched, personalised experiences, whilst achieving net-zero carbon emissions. This innovation will create a roadmap to sustainability that can be replicated across a university’s entire estate, and even give the next generation of engineers the experience, insights, and tools they need to develop sustainability strategies for the future.