A packed room of education, finance, and sustainability leaders gathered at the Ashden offices during London Climate Action Week for a critical conversation: how do we unlock the funding needed to decarbonise the UK’s school estate?
Ashden’s Let’s Go Zero campaign was proud to co-host the evening with the Green Finance Institute, marking the launch of a powerful new report, Financing the Decarbonisation of Schools. The event brought together cross-sector voices to explore bold, practical solutions to fund the retrofit of school buildings — and to build momentum around the campaign for zero carbon schools.
We were especially honoured to be joined by Minister for Early Education, Stephen Morgan MP, who shared his reflections on the Department for Education’s climate goals and the urgency of coordinated action.
“We recognise both the scale of the retrofit challenge and the complexities with the current system,” the Minister told attendees. “While we’ve made important progress through a range of pilots and pathfinders… we are ambitious to go further, build on this momentum and accelerate meaningful, system-wide change.”
The need for action could not be clearer. The GFI/Ashden report revealed a £16.3 billion funding gap to decarbonise the school estate, with schools currently responsible for 37% of public sector building emissions in England. Yet current funding streams are fragmented and insufficient. Treasury accounting rules and borrowing restrictions prevent most schools — especially maintained schools — from accessing repayable finance, while complex application processes and unequal access deepen the challenge.
Schools are ready to act, but they’re being held back by systems that don’t yet work for them.
The report lays out a roadmap to change that, including:
- Reforming borrowing rules for proven technologies like solar PV and LED lighting
- Creating a trusted intermediary to simplify access to finance and shield schools from risk
- Using government guarantees to unlock private capital
- Aligning funding with school conditions data to ensure the greatest impact
- Reducing administrative barriers so schools of all sizes can participate
As one attendee put it: “This isn’t about more grants — it’s about smarter finance, scaled for the challenge.”
Government commitment
Minister Morgan’s contribution offered a welcome signal of government commitment — not just to environmental action, but to doing things differently. He praised innovation in the sector and emphasised the importance of aligning retrofit with wider departmental goals:
“These innovations are not only helping to reduce carbon emissions, but they’re also creating a healthier, more inspiring learning environment where children and young people can thrive.”
He also referenced several ongoing DfE initiatives, including:
- The Resilient Schools Pathfinder (a £4.2 million pilot in four schools trialling improvements to air quality, flood resilience and biodiversity)
- The National Education Nature Park, now expanded to reach 1,000 additional schools, many in underserved areas
- New net-zero standards for all new school buildings
- A climate risk assessment for the education estate, which found that 38% of secondary school buildings are at high risk of surface water flooding, and that overheating could lead to the equivalent of 12 lost learning days per year by 2100
These sobering figures reinforced why events like this matter. As Minister Morgan noted, “Tackling climate change is a shared responsibility,” and “we need fresh thinking, stronger collaboration and practical action that unlocks investment.”
What’s next?
This event was just the beginning. Let’s Go Zero will continue working with government, finance experts, and our 7,000+ member schools to push for finance models that work at scale — and for all types of schools.
We know this isn’t just about buildings. It’s about creating places where young people can thrive — places that are climate-resilient, energy-efficient, inspiring and fair.
“This event showed what’s possible when schools, finance leaders and policymakers come together with a shared goal,” said Alex Green, Head of Let’s Go Zero. “The appetite for action is there — now we need to match it with the right financial tools to turn ambition into reality.”
Because every school deserves the chance to be part of the climate solution.
Download the full report:
Financing the Decarbonisation of Schools – GFI, Ashden, Let’s Go Zero (PDF)
Want to get involved? Find out how your school can join the Let’s Go Zero campaign at letsgozero.org