27 September 2024 
Joni Rhodes, BUFDG Project Manager
Planned maintenance has been carried out on the Cost of Net Zero calculator to ensure the figures underpinning the tool remain current. A number of enhancements have also been made in response to user feedback, including the splitting out of the water and travel pathways, greater flexibility on the cost uplift percentage limit, and different options for gas decarbonisation.
You can download the calculator here.
Details on how the updates impact existing users who have already populated the calculator were shared at the final technical surgery on Thursday 26 September 2024, which marked the successful completion of the one-year support contract put in place with Energise following the launch of the 'Cost of Net Zero' report and calculator tool in 2023.
Slides and a recording of the session can be viewed here, and a recording will be made available soon.
Over half of BUFDG member institutions have engaged with the calculator since launch, with more than 700 bookings for calculator related webinars across the three membership organisations since July 2023. Around 60% of engagement has been with sustainability teams, 30% estates teams, and 10% finance teams.
The top five ways the calculator has helped users are:
Early-stage/high-level financial planning, and calculating residual emissions were also highlighted in user feedback.
Although many have made use of the calculator already, we recognise that some Higher Education Providers are coming to the report/calculator for the first time as net zero planning and implementation stages vary widely across the sector. Various resources are available for new users, including introductory webinars and detailed FAQs. The recent updates to the tool, instigated by the release of revised Future Energy Scenarios in July 2024, ensure the figures underpinning the calculator remain valid until future FES updates occur, expected to be at least another year.
