29 September 2023 
Joni Rhodes, BUFDG Project Manager
In July 2023, AUDE (the Association of Higher Education Directors of Estates), BUFDG and the EAUC (the Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education), with additional funding from the Department for Education, launched a flagship Cost of Net Zero Calculator tool, together with a report ‘The Cost of Net Zero’, which sets the new tool in context. You can read more about the launch here.
The Cost of Net Zero Calculator aims to give a standard means of answering the crucial question “What is achieving a net zero carbon state going to cost?”, and in doing so unlock investment funding for the many actions that are needed. This is urgent if the sector is to play its part in the national and international effort to halt climate change.
This work has been delivered by Energise (a sustainability consultancy supporting organisations and sectors to collaboratively address their carbon footprint by providing expertise and tools),
The following resources are available:
1. The report 'The Cost of Net Zero'
2. The tool (in an Excel spreadsheet form) - 'Cost of Net Zero Calculator'
3. A worked example of the calculator in an HE setting
4. Launch webinar hosted by AUDE in July 2023, which introduced the tool and focused on the estates and sustainability aspects
5. Training webinar, hosted by BUFDG in September 2023, where delivery partners Energise shared a live demonstration of how to use the Cost of Net Zero calculator for financial planning, and a Q&A
While this tool is a starting point, and will be improved in ongoing iterations, it will provide clear information that organisations need to adopt a long-term investment approach and arrange sustainable and reliable funding. Working with stakeholders including the Department for Education and devolved governments to unlock investment from the widest possible range of sources is one of the desired outcomes of this project.
