Agenda item

The Schools Annual Environmental Management Report 2012/13 is attached for consideration.

The Panel considered the Schools Annual Environmental Management Report 2012/2013.

It was the tenth year that this report had been produced and it had evolved over the years. The report was widely circulated and headteachers and bursars analysed the report before making changes in their schools. Sandy Lane Primary School was the first school to receive the Green Flag award. The eco schools programme needed a champion in each school to drive it forward; this could be a teacher, governor or parent.

Electricity usage in schools was increasing year on year, this was mainly due to the increasing use of technology in schools, such as computers, and extended services keeping schools open for longer hours. Gas usage was fluctuating and oil usage was decreasing. Fossil fuel use was declining. Electricity was a high cost for schools at present and had a higher emission factor, but overall the trend was positive for schools.

Schools were ranked in terms of performance, for example, in relation to costs, consumption and CO₂ levels. Some school buildings were older than others which affected their ranking. Data in relation to water usage was incomplete because some water meters were inaccessible and could not be read. A proportion of water meters could be read and readings had been taken from those sites, with the aim of upgrading the water meters at the sites which currently could not be read. There was a water cost per pupil.

The Chairman congratulated everyone involved on their achievement in this area and hoped that more schools would follow the eco programme in future. It was requested that the Director of Children, Young People and Learning be asked to re-establish the former environmental focus group consisting of education and environment officers. Councillor Mrs Hayes offered to help work with schools regarding environmental management.

A tax of £12 per ton of carbon emissions had been imposed to drive down carbon emissions and a lump sum payment had been taken from the school’s fund. However, schools were no longer part of the Council’s liability so the Borough Council had fallen below the registration threshold and it now no longer needed to pay the £12 per ton of carbon emissions. Schools had been excluded from this on a blanket basis by the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) and carbon emissions from schools would be dealt with by another means. The Borough Council could come back under CRC registration in future if the threshold for registration changed.

In response to Members’ questions, the following points were made:

• Encouraging schools in relation to environmental management was thought to be a good example for future generations but schools also needed to use their own initiative.
• It would be useful to have champions in schools who could drive environmental management forward.
• The Department for Education (DfE) had made funds available for schools to spend on energy efficiency to be repaid interest free.
• Garth Hill College had a high electricity usage. Most schools would be prime candidates for solar photovoltaic systems and it would be a good investment in the long term.
• Heating was fuelled by a combination of gas and biomass. Carbon emissions from gas had decreased and carbon emissions from electricity had increased.
• The reason for Jennett’s Park School’s energy costs and usage trends increasing over the previous year was thought to be that the earlier figures were based on an incomplete year and that an additional classroom at the school had opened increasing the number of pupils there.