Supporting K-12 School and Community College Districts to Achieve Zero Operating Carbon Emissions

This pilot ran from late 2019 to mid-2020. Greenbank Associates delivered a literature review of recent research and best practices of programmatic solutions for school districts modernizing existing school and college buildings towards zero-carbon operating emissions. The literature review found that key strategies for planning zero carbon operating emissions in schools included plans for future building electrification, deep energy retrofits of existing buildings, and making investments in school campus clean energy production, including on-site solar and battery storage. Schools that have undertaken actions to go zero carbon from these formulated strategies have realized adjoining benefits that include:

• Reduce utility expenses and increase general funds
• Increase student health and attendance, broaden environmental education opportunities
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Leverage bond funding
• Help provide resilience to districts and their communities

The pilot was closed early due to challenges in securing commitments from K-12 school and community college districts in the SVCE service territory to participate. If your district is interested in more information about the strategies and benefits of zero-carbon schools, please contact SVCE at innovation@svcleanenergy.org.