Energy and carbon

The University is committed to achieving net zero carbon in its scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030. We currently use over 80 million kilowatt hours of energy annually. Our focus is on reducing our demand for energy, whilst increasing the proportion generated by renewables. The University is also seeking to further understand and reduce its scope 3 'indirect' emissions by 2050, for which it has developed a specific 'Scope 3 Plan'.

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.

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 NZC 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, with the planning application for a 12MW solar farm at Blackwell nearing a planning decision and roof top solar projects, such as a 500KW array on Surrey Sports Park, nearing construction phase. Further solar projects on car parks and rooftops are going through feasibility studies.
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.

Scope 3 emissions

In 2023 the University released a Scope 3 Report (docx), mapping out our scope 3 carbon emissions. To deliver a range of actions, a Scope 3 Action Plan (docx) has been developed.

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.