Energy and carbon

Net zero carbon

In 2020, the University committed to reaching net zero in its scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030. A net zero carbon plan for scope 1 & 2 has been developed, aiming to reduce the University's total energy demand whilst transitioning over to renewable energy. The plan sets out our baseline emissions for scopes 1, 2 & 3 of carbon, the target we have for all scopes, the actions we are taking, percentage contributions to carbon reduction, timescales for delivery, how the program of works is to be funded, who is responsible, how progress is reported and how the plan is to be reviewed. 

The University is providing some direct funding for the delivery of carbon reduction. This is primarily via staffing with an energy reduction team, but also capital including £300,000 per annum, plus a £40K to £50k annual budget for engagement activity including carbon reduction.

The net zero carbon plan sets out that delivery will cost upwards of £100 to £200 million. Most of this funding will come via an energy partner - SSE. The first projects to be funded in this way is a 500kw solar array on the Surrey Sports Park. Next will be a 3MW solar array on a car park and a 12MW solar farm on university land to the west of the campus.

Our plan

Taking action

We have been actioning our plan on a number of fronts: 

• Completing audits of space utilisation.
• Creating a design guide for the integration of net zero carbon criteria into all construction projects.
• Utilising an investment of £300,000 in energy efficiency projects.
• Setting up a new engineering team reducing demand by improving building service controls with initial demand reduction of 30% within buildings like the Innovation for Health building.
• Investigating the potential to join a carbon offsetting scheme with other universities.
• Progressing on the delivery of renewable energy projects, including a 12MW solar farm at Blackwell which is nearing a planning decision.
• Planning permission was also approved for a new energy centre, with the aim of replacing old gas boilers with heat pumps, electro boilers and energy storage systems to decarbonise heat.

Carbon & Energy Auditing

The Sustainability Team records energy consumption and carbon emissions for all its buildings within our campuses and uses this data to drive action within the 8-point plan.

The data has identified 20 key buildings that emit about 70% of our carbon. An Energy Reduction Team has been set up to undertake good housekeeping actions, changing control schedules, improving heating and cooling BEMs strategies and to audit for energy efficiency measures addressing point 2 of the 8-point plan (Efficient Operational Control) and point 3 (Energy Efficiency Investment). These fall generally in controls improvements to Building Energy Management (BEMs) and standalone systems, as well as lighting, heating, ventilation and cooling upgrades, improvements to building fabric and plant room insulation as well as replacement of inefficient lab (and other) equipment.

The Energy Reduction Team has a plan for auditing its buildings, having started with Surrey Sports Park, halls of residence and some of our key laboratory buildings. The audit plan will run for 2 years.

Scope 3 Emissions, Baseline & Auditing

In 2023 the University released a Scope 3 Report, which audited our Scope 3 carbon emissions. On the back of this audit, a Scope 3 Action Plan (docx) has been developed to address emissions. 

The University of Surrey’s baseline for scope 3 emissions, taken in 2018/2019, is 83,110tco2e. In 2021/2022, scope 3 emissions totalled 68,964tco2e.

The University aims to reduce scope 3 carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.