LED projects light the path to net zero at southwest university
Energy efficiency projects at Bournemouth University forecast to reduce organisational carbon footprint by 1,192 tonnes a year.
A popular university in the southwest of England is celebrating continued progress toward net zero thanks to sustainability projects made possible through a government scheme.
Bournemouth University is working to reach net zero emissions across all measured activities by 2030/31.
To support these ambitions, they set up an England Recycling Fund in 2010. Since inception, this fund has so far supported the delivery of 99 projects that, when combined, are expected to reduce their emissions by 1,192 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
Projects largely centred on LED lighting upgrades, which the university is crediting for heavily reducing their maintenance budget, alongside energy bills and emissions. LED lighting products produce light up to 90% more efficiently than incandescent light bulbs.
Dave Archer, energy manager at Bournemouth University, said: “The projects have helped us by reducing consumption, reducing carbon emissions and financial cost, but also making a big difference to the maintenance department.
“By standardising the fittings, the maintenance team know what they’re using, the fittings have a longer life span and we’re seeing a positive impact on the maintenance budget as a result.”
The projects have helped us by reducing consumption, reducing carbon emissions and financial cost, but also making a big difference to the maintenance department.
Projects funded through this scheme are repaid using energy savings that directly result from the works which, for Bournemouth, is expected in the realm of £281,865 every single year.
As a result of this model the university has utilised a total loan value of £1,117,347 from their England Recycling Fund by reinvesting the savings from each project. This is more than a four-fold investment value from the £250,000 loan value available to them at any one time.
Dave added: “The Recycling Fund was perfect for the day-to-day ‘low hanging fruit’ projects.
“It helped with those smaller projects that slip through the net of large capital works and filled the gap between maintenance and capital upgrade.”
The Recycling Fund was perfect for the day-to-day ‘low hanging fruit’ projects.
It helped with those smaller projects that slip through the net of large capital works and filled the gap between maintenance and capital upgrade.
He said the LED upgrades also made a notable difference to the look and feel of the spaces in which they were installed, ensuring learning and spaces across the campus were best suited for subjects taught and work done in any given space.
The number of fittings required for this form of lighting was also significantly less than their dated counterparts, which helped to lessen the electricity required to light a space.
Dave said: “I can remember doing one of the first LED projects on one of our buildings which was severely under-lit in regard to today’s standards.
“This brought up the light levels in those areas and was a big win.
“It was designed to have the right levels that were needed, and staff noticed an immediate difference.”
Other projects funded from the scheme include replacement UPS for comms rooms, Cooling upgrades, heating valve insulation covers and hot water improvements.
The university has a strong focus on sustainability and is ranked number 11 in the UK for their contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action for Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024. This scale ranks universities worldwide for their work towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Globally, Bournemouth University is ranked at joint number 39 in 2024.
Meabh Poultney, client support officer at Salix, said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Bournemouth University and see how energy efficiency projects are supporting their progression toward net zero.
“The way they use the works to not only reduce emissions but also improve the spaces and make sure they are best suited for their use really shows that both people and the planet are at the heart of all they do.
“I look forward to seeing what they do next!”
To sustain momentum toward their net zero goal, the university have supplemented Recycling Fund works with funding received for planning and heat decarbonisation work in Phase 2 of the Low Carbon Skills Fund and Phase 3b of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
The way they use the works to not only reduce emissions but also improve the spaces and make sure they are best suited for their use really shows that both people and the planet are at the heart of all they do.
About the England Recycling Fund
The England Recycling Fund is a loan-based, ring-fenced fund, created with capital provided on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero through Salix, and matched by the public sector organisation. It encourages organisations to re-invest financial savings that result from projects into further decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects, thus operating in a cyclic “recycled” manner.
The scheme has been closed to new applications since 2010. However, since that time we have continued to support organisations with open funds to complete thousands of projects worth more than £267 million through the scheme.
The average fund has been recycled more than three times, and, when combined, our recycling fund projects save over 296,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every single year.
The fund is closing at the end of the 2024/25 financial year, with any projects funded through the scheme required to complete by 31 March 2025.
