Case Studies

HSBC has committed US$188,000 to a pilot initiative to help four UK schools become carbon neutral. The key aims for the project are to:

• Enable schools to 'help themselves' to begin a journey towards carbon neutrality through a process that involves the whole school and can easily be replicated over time and in other schools;
• Inspire pupils and school stakeholders to take responsibility for their actions in the places where they work and live;
• Provide the necessary baseline information for decision making on business and personal sustainable energy measures and for the monitoring of their impacts.

Local support teams, from energy advisory bodies such as Natural England, National Energy Foundation and Renewable Energy for London, have also been a valuable part of this programme in supplying knowledge of micro generation and renewable energy technologies as well as fundraising, planning and project management skills. The project has shown behavioural changes in all participants:

• Teachers: training in day-to-day school operations has allowed them to integrate energy and carbon issues into the curriculum;
• Students: integration of energy and carbon issues into the curriculum has instilled a sense of responsibility for how the school is run;
• Parents: students' increasing knowledge of carbon and energy saving measures has influenced their home environment (eg installing low-energy light bulbs);
• School: improved monitoring and targeting of energy consumption.

The following schools are part of the project, installing technology in specific areas:

• Beaverwood School for Girls – Chislehurst, Kent
  • Solar photovoltaic panels
  • Ground source heat pump
• St Albans' Girls School – St Albans, Hertfordshire
  • Solar photovoltaic panels Small wind turbines
• Hemel Hempstead School – Hertfordshire
  • Solar photovoltaic fountain
  • Quiet revolution turbine
• Landau Forte College – Derby
  • Solar photovoltaic panels
  • Small wind turbines

In addition to reducing the environmental impacts of the schools, the innovations will help teach students and the community about the different measures. The schools will also act as testing and demonstration sites for other schools. This scheme’s focus on carbon emissions and technological improvements is a complementary approach to that used by other programmes. To see other ways in which HSBC is involved with environmental education, click the following links:

• Eco-Schools
• Seeds to Trees, New York City