Oxfordshire schools benefit from 16 years of sustainability works led by local council

140 energy efficiency projects completed by Oxfordshire County Council thanks to England Recycling Fund.

A green scheme lead by Oxfordshire County Council has seen dozens of schools and community buildings across the region benefit from years of energy efficiency upgrades.

The projects are being praised for their role in generating long-lasting value through reduced energy and gas bills and for enhancing the learning environment for staff and children. Projects have mostly centred on insulation measures and LED lighting and have been attributed to making classrooms a warmer, brighter and nicer place to be for staff and students. 

Sam Thomas, decarbonisation manager at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “It has really helped the schools and improved the quality of the student experience.”

Oxfordshire County Council support around 725,000 residents and have set the goal to reach net zero by 2030. 

To support this ambition, they have been undertaking energy efficiency and decarbonisation works across their estate for more than 16 years. The progress against this agenda has been attributed, in part, to their England Recycling Fund, which has been active since 2007.

Sam added: “The funding has been really useful to provide a pot of money which has enabled us to move our sustainability agenda forwards. 

“The loan was essential to taking action, particularly in those early days in 2007/08.”

Since inception, their recycling fund has been used to help fund 140 projects worth a total loan value of £2,336,311.

When combined, the works are expected to bring £565,200 in annual financial savings and reduce the council’s carbon emissions by 2,553 tonnes every year. 

The England Recycling Fund has been closed to new applicants since 2010 and is coming to an end this financial year, with all funded works required to complete by 31 March 2025. 

Despite continued challenges, the council are determined to sustain momentum towards their targets. As a part of this, the council have plans to utilise their own funding, operated in a similar manner to their existing recycling fund, so they can continue to invest in energy efficiency and decarbonisation measures, particularly across the schools within their estate. 

Sam said: “This will give us a legacy that extends beyond Salix.”

The council have also utilised funding available through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, having been successful in Phase 1, Phase 3a and Phase 3c. They have also utilised funding through the Low Carbon Skills Fund to inform the creation of well-purposed decarbonisation plans.

Meabh Poultney, client support officer at Salix, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Oxfordshire County Council.

“The scale of their works across their estate, coupled with the passion their staff have for sustainability and the positive impacts of works on their community, is simply inspirational.”

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.

Recycling funds have financed over 11,000 projects worth more than £267 million. The average fund has been recycled over three times, and, when combined, our recycling fund projects save over 296,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every single year.