Reaching Zero
Plotting a route to sustainable learning
For many universities, the path to net zero carbon can feel daunting. Campuses are complex live environments. Busy buildings must remain in-use whilst at the same time undergo significant upgrade. How can heritage assets meet 21st century energy efficiency guidelines?
Set against challenging institutional deadlines and a constrained funding environment, it can be difficult to know where to begin. The good news is that new approaches and technologies are enabling universities to develop data driven pragmatic solutions tailored to the specifics of an estate.
Our approach focuses on understanding where you are now with your estate, what can be achieved and then developing a strategy of how to get there. We can support you with a comprehensive set of services all geared towards practical delivery – sustainability and net zero planning with cost, asset surveying, M&E, strategy and funding support.
KNOWLEDGE
Where are we now?
Understanding the baseline carbon performance of your estate and carbon hotspots is the first critical step in plotting a route to sustainable learning. We specialise in blending strategic, asset-level and data-led approaches to achieve this. Estate GHG assessment along with building surveying and data driven solutions like building a 3D ‘Digital Twin’ of your campus, all provide crucial information to inform decision-making.
Aggregating data on individual buildings provides you with a holistic view of the estate’s current carbon footprint, but also provides a starting point for a decarbonisation pathway, identifying asset-level hotspots that contribute significantly to carbon emissions. This supports scenario and pathway testing that can be quantified and assessed for cost-effectiveness and ROI.
Where there are gaps or information is out of date, additional bespoke surveys can complete the data, or industry standard benchmarks can be applied where applicable. This detailed information can be used to prioritise interventions and create practical plans for action, as well as a framework for monitoring the impact of each intervention against your whole estate.
OUTCOMES
What can we achieve?
To build a compelling business case for decarbonisation investment and gain a deeper understanding of your estate, you need a clear, pragmatic strategy.
Estate-wide net zero planning must link a detailed understanding of specific decarbonisation interventions at a building level with an aggregated impact across the whole campus. This ‘bottom up / top down’ approach facilitates the identification and testing of estate-wide scenarios to optimise carbon reduction strategies and support effective decision-making. Increasingly, we use a campus level 3D Digital Twin to achieve this by rapidly modelling and optioneering different building level interventions and identifying their impact at a campus level.
We adopt a fabric first approach to appraise the impact of interventions, including glazing replacement, insulation enhancements, but also specialise in the difficult M&E system upgrades and the introduction of renewable technology, enabling the replacement of fossil fuel systems that will be essential for real progress on net zero.
Taking a practical approach to identify specific, physical improvements, rather than generic performance standards, means realistic capital spend, programme and cashflow estimates can be produced. This then enables you to create a detailed decarbonisation plan aligned with the university's budget constraints and with realistic delivery timescales.
DELIVERY
How do we get there?
Having a clear, estate wide decarbonisation plan enables the pragmatic delivery of the strategy to begin. Estate wide programmes of work can be logically and efficiently sequenced, programmed, budgeted and delivered.
Government investment and funding is often predicated on having ‘spade ready’ projects in place when funding is announced. Having a clear, pragmatic decarbonisation plan provides opportunities to accelerate delivery through improved access to decarbonisation funding streams.
Developing a suite of projects and funding applications should happen as a component of phased, long-term plans, rather than an ad-hoc approach. Understanding each asset’s technical requirements, as well as costs, ROI, and co-benefits, all are key for practical delivery, as well as ensuring effective governance and planning decision-making.
The plan can also provide a clear basis for implementing renewable solutions like solar power installation and a basis for sourcing power purchase agreements (PPA) in the market.
Our experience
We support the higher education sector to approach net zero carbon in a number of ways. Our services range from establishing decarbonisation strategies through to delivering low carbon construction support, proving building accreditation and enabling retrofit solutions.
University of Manchester
We are supporting the University of Manchester to embed suitability KPIs and benchmarks into procurement and future projects. Sustainability criteria will be tracked, monitored, reported, and benchmarked against commitments during design, construction, and operation. KPIs include carbon (zero carbon in operation and on a whole-life basis, WLCA), efficient design and responsible consumption, biodiversity and greenspace, climate change adaptation, active and sustainable travel, water efficiency, social value enhancement, and occupant well-being.
Royal Holloway, University of London
We are working with Royal Holloway to develop an estate decarbonisation strategy using an innovative Digital Twin. Encompassing over 90 buildings, the Twin will incorporate data from estate condition surveys delivered by our building and M&E surveyors and RLB Digital team. The Twin will be used to baseline the estate's current carbon performance and facilitate scenario planning to identify building specific interventions to reduce carbon emissions. These insight will provide capital cost, programme and cash flow information to enable the University to plan a realistic and pragmatic path to net zero.
Estate Strategies
University of Reading
We contributed to the development of Reading's 10-year strategy for their three campuses, including development of dashboard cost and programme reporting.
University of Manchester
We developed a 10-year masterplan for the University's Jodrell Bank estate to provide a clear understanding of buildings and infrastructure condition and how maintenance funding could be allocated. RLB is providing a range of services, including BREEAM, net zero, and sustainable procurement.
University of East London
RLB's PMO team of project and cost managers have formed a key part of delivering the University's 'Connected Campus' strategy helping it achieve its commitment to driving sustainable development and positive change.
Low Carbon Construction
2 Trafalgar Way, Student Accommodation
We are part of the team delivering the mixed-use student accommodation scheme - set to become Europe's largest Passivhaus building.
University of Hull
We provided building surveying and sustainability services, for Hull’s Energy and Environment Institute. The project won Yorkshire’s first building SKA gold rating.
In 2023, we also project-led the delivery of its new Centre of Excellence for Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and Modelling - 'A' energy rated and embedded with ESG credentials.
Carbon Retrofit
University of East Anglia
We are currently supporting works to upgrade its iconic grade II* Lasdun Wall buildings.
Kingston University
We supported the University with a complex, multi-phased refurbishment of its 60’s arts campus, including re-fenestration, M&E replacement and fabric improvement to provide upgraded teaching and specialist studio areas - delivered whilst the building was in full occupation. The project achieve a BREEAM 'Outstanding' rating and was awarded BRE 'Public sector Building of the Year'.
University of Liverpool
We are currently providing services to support the University with upgrades and repairs to the existing district heating network throughout its campus.
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