Greener Schools programme

The Mayor of London wants to help schools in London reach net zero as part of his ambition for a zero carbon London by 2030.

Building on other funding, our Greener Schools pilot scheme is trialling different approaches to decarbonising London schools through work with boroughs, schools, young Londoners and local communities.

The pilot is exploring how schools can:

• save on their energy bills, allowing them to spend more money on their core education mission
• become a big source of renewable energy generation in London. Taken together, the rooftops of London’s schools could produce as much energy as a new power station
• become more energy efficient and resilient to climate change, helping to prevent lost days of schooling.

London boroughs applied to this pilot scheme on behalf of their maintained schools. Grants are supporting the roll out of heat pumps, solar panels and retrofit measures in school buildings. The pilot has awarded a total of £3.5million to 48 schools, including £550,000 from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Mayoral Renewables Fund.

We’re delivering this pilot with support from Retrofit Action for Tomorrow (RAFT), a social enterprise that shares the Mayor’s goal of addressing the climate emergency. RAFT is working closely with each school to understand the unique support they need to make their decarbonisation installations a success.

A key part of the pilot is empowering children and young people to become the climate leaders of the future. Through workshops delivered by RAFT and Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK), students are learning about the importance of reducing carbon emissions, saving energy and taking action on climate change. These workshops help young Londoners understand the impact of sustainability in their own schools and communities, inspiring them to lead positive change both now and in the future.

The pilot is funding energy saving measures at the schools listed below. The types of measures funded include:

• solar panels
• LED lighting
• heat pumps
• double or secondary window glazing
• wall and roof insulation
• and building management system (BMS) upgrades.