For this Earth Day next Tuesday, April 22, Let’s Go Zero will be celebrating the power of working together to take climate action with schools around the country, boosted by £80million of government money to encourage schools to install solar panels on the roofs of their buildings.
Solar scheme: Let’s Go Zero advisors support schools to explore options for renewable energy
Let’s Go Zero is the national campaign for schools, colleges and nurseries to be zero carbon by 2030. The nationwide campaign has directly supported schools in delivering an estimated 13,610 tonnes of CO2 savings, with planned actions set to save a further 68,867 tonnes. Together, that’s the same impact as 266,464 individual passenger flights between London and New York.
Nearly 6,000 schools are now signed up to the Let’s Go Zero campaign – all committing to be on a journey to zero carbon – involving more than 2million young people and 302,000 members of staff.
Schools have undertaken a variety of eco-friendly projects aimed at reducing the schools’ bills and their carbon footprint, while also helping nature.
One school in Norfolk cut £448 from its monthly heating bill; a primary in Leicester increased cycling and scooting to school by 57%; a school in the West Midlands grew veg, and delivered the produce to older people living nearby; and in Kent, a tech college started its own bee keeping club, adding bee-related science projects to the curriculum.
Let’s Go Zero started in 2020 – a campaign coordinated by climate solutions charity Ashden, with minimal funds but a strong vision. Now, with the support of its main funder Green Future Investments Ltd, it is the country’s largest school sustainability movement.
“The impact of the campaign’s advice, resources and direct support can be seen in classrooms, canteens and playing fields all across the UK,” Let’s Go Zero says.
“It’s been an incredible, fast and inspiring five years,” Alex Green, the head of Let’s Go Zero, said. “When we started with just myself as the one dedicated worker within Ashden, it was a massively ambitious vision to have thousands of schools all working with us to be zero carbon.
“Now we have 32 climate action advisors who are at the heart of schools’ support. These wonderful experts give schools free guidance that’s practical, achievable and tailored to their needs.”
More than 2,400 schools have joined since the beginning of the academic year in September 2024, showing how schools are prioritising climate action, and seeking guidance to do it.
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Schools and universities create 36% of England’s building emissions, so actions in schools can make a big difference to the country’s total emissions and environmental protection. Since 2020, 806 schools involved in Let’s Go Zero have taken action on decarbonisation and energy efficiency and 1,023 intend to do so in 2025 alone.
Importantly, many schools are also looking into how to adapt to climate impacts, such as anti-flooding measures, or cooling in extreme heat – with 441 expecting to act on these during 2025, an increase from the previous year’s 51 schools.
“We work with schools on a range of issues – not just in order to reduce carbon or protect the environment, but to get right down to the issues that affect everyday school life,” Green said.
“Our Climate Action Advisors work with schools to find ways to keep classrooms warmer in winter, cooler in the summer, cheaper to run, and for schools to be healthier and happier places for learning.”
The government wants schools to be in the process of creating climate action plans by September 2025 and to have a dedicated sustainability lead.
Let’s Go Zero: Alex Green is positive that her group is making change
Green is positive about the education sector’s potential for meaningful action, on Earth Day and every day: “In the years ahead we will support schools to prioritise high-impact measures such as modernising buildings, and generating clean energy on site. And we will seize on growing political momentum behind school sustainability to accelerate policy change.”
The government announcement last month of £80million to help put solar on around 200 school building roofs has been well-received, she says, but this needs to be just the beginning of investments of this kind.
“Our country owes it to schools and young people to deliver more support, more progress and more ambition on this important issue – it makes total sense in terms of helping schools make their budgets go further by not having to cover ever-increasing energy bills, cutting the country’s carbon emissions and helping children be proactive in their response to climate change.”
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