Building strong foundations to support the net zero journey

East Sussex County Council completes 235 energy efficiency projects thanks to historic government scheme

Located in the south east of England, East Sussex County Council supports a population of more than half a million residents. 

The council estate is large and widely spread across the county. There are 84 schools, 5 council offices, 17 libraries, 21 residential care homes and more amongst its maintained facilities.

With an overarching target to reach net zero ‘as soon as possible’, the council has been completing decarbonisation projects in its buildings in a bid to bring down its emissions for nearly two decades.

Many of these projects were supported, in part, through government funding offered via the England Recycling Fund. We deliver funding for this scheme on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. 

Since the council first opened its recycling fund in 2007, it has completed an astonishing 235 energy efficiency projects ranging from street lighting, LED upgrades, insulation, heating systems, renewable energy and more. 

Schools account for the largest portion of the council’s own carbon emissions. To address this, around three quarters of the projects focused on upgrades implemented at schools across the county. This provides benefits in not only carbon and cost savings, but also for the pupils, staff and students that use the spaces. 

Paul Hardman, energy efficiency manager, said: “Working with schools is very rewarding, young people are concerned about the environment. They will also be most impacted by climate change.

“School budgets are tight so being able to show a school that year on year their kWh energy consumption has dropped is very rewarding and the feedback can be fantastic.”

Lower energy bills have also been directly attributed to enabling schools to focus their budgets on other priorities that directly benefit children’s learning and development. Lighting projects have also received praise for improving the environment for the children and reducing maintenance time and costs.

Ian Fines, Priory School business manager, commented: “I have been delighted with the results. Not only has there been a reduction in energy consumption, but we have uniform lighting throughout the school. And the premises staff do not have to spend time changing light tubes!"

Since fund inception, the council has invested a total value of £9.2 million in energy efficiency works, with £4.1 million of this investment met through recycling fund loans. With an original recycling fund investment value of £1 million, this means that the council has recycled the full value of the fund four times over. 

Mitch Thomas, our Salix client support officer who has been working with the council, said: “The number of times that East Sussex County Council has managed to recycle its fund is inspiring.”

“It offers an incredibly successful example of the overarching purpose and intention of the recycling fund as a scheme, with funding applied in a cyclic manner to prompt continuous investment into energy efficiency works.”

When combined, the council estimates that the 235 projects are saving it £880,000 on annual energy bills and more than 4,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year. A 4,000-tonne reduction in carbon emissions is equivalent to two million air travel miles per passenger or the carbon absorption capability of 181,818 trees*.

With the fund coming to a close in March 2025, the council is now looking ahead to next steps to continue to progress against its net zero agenda. Operating in a tight financial environment, continued government investment in this area is noted as a key element to net zero success.

Janette Ackroyd, council energy and carbon reduction manager who managed the recycling fund with Salix, said: “Paul and the team have made impressive savings. New government funding is essential if we are to continue at pace to drive down our energy bills and carbon emissions.”

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. 

*Carbon calculations have been generated through a tool created by our carbon and technical experts here at Salix. The intention is to provide carbon savings estimates to aid with a common understanding of emission data and statistics. These estimates are approximate; it is not recommended to use this tool for formal carbon emissions analysis. The tool uses UK government conversion factors alongside emissions estimates sourced from various studies, but it is possible a margin of error may exist. For more information about the formulas and methodology used in this tool, please contact us at [email protected]. E&OE.