Having declared a climate emergency in July 2019 and adopted net zero carbon targets by 2030 in September 2020 we are now actively working with Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, Worcestershire County Council and Worcester City council to develop decarbonisation strategies.

Our Heat Decarbonisation Plan sets out our desires to look at collaborative district heating opportunities and possible heat sources.  Our energy and water strategy sets out our approach and we invested £362,088 in insulation and double glazing to improve the building fabric  in March 2021 and have a further £1m investment planned for 2022. We have fully costed carbon reduction plans for all our buildings and an Energy Committee chaired by the Director of Finance to establish priorities, finance and the strategic implementation of what is needed to meet our targets. This reports directly to the University Executive Board.

The Future Heat Programme has the potential to join with other heat networks in the city of Worcester and save 35,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions prevented over the system lifetime, a techno-economic study is looking at the feasibility of this approach. We installed three major PV solar systems across the estate during 2021, with a combined generation potential of 295 kWp.  We have been awarded £1m PEEP funding to significantly increase the PV generation capacity, increase LED lighting and improve Building Management Systems. 

Our Display Energy Certificates (DECs) can be viewed here

Energy Management System (ISO 50001)

The University has had an Energy Management System (EnMS) certified to ISO 50001 since 2020. The EnMS provides a framework for energy management at the University and ensures that actions are taken to reduce energy consumption, and that energy efficiency is considered during our procurement and design processes.

Our EnMS was recertified in October 2023, with our next surveillance audit taking place in October 2024.

Energy SMART Targets

Our current targets and some examples of how we are going to achieve them can be accessed through the sustainability targets document.

A large array of solar panels

 

The university measures the carbon for Scopes 1 and 2 attributes these across all our estate. 27.6% of our carbon is attributed to our residential accommodation, and 72.4% to our academic estate. The University houses the vast majority of students in its own on campus Halls. Occasionally additional houses are rented if demand exceeds supply.

 

The SDG logo for 7. Affordable and Clean Energy, 9. Industry Innovation and Infrastructure and 12.Responsible Consumption and Production