Net zero and the future learning estate: Embedding GenZero principles through CF25 delivery

For contractors, local authority education teams, academy trusts and consultant partners now working within CF25, net zero has moved from aspiration to everyday reality for school design.

It is part of the live delivery environment, shaping specifications, tender evaluation and how schools are expected to perform in use.

Why net zero is now a delivery issue, not a design aspiration

Rising energy costs, increasing scrutiny of school conditions and national climate commitments have fundamentally changed the risk profile of education buildings. Schools are long-life assets. We know inefficient buildings place long-term pressure on budgets and facilities teams

Clients are now asking a more difficult question. Can this building be operated and adapted over 30 to 60 years? Can it be progressively decarbonised, not just delivered on time and budget?

This shift sits behind the direction taken by the Department for Education, through the School Rebuilding Programme and the live CF25 framework, where sustainability, whole-life value, digital capability and collaboration are now embedded expectations rather than optional extras.

What GenZero has demonstrated in practice

The GenZero Schools programme has been instrumental in testing how ultra-low-carbon schools can be delivered within the realities of public procurement, standardisation and cost control.

We are currently delivering two of the five GenZero pilot projects for the Department for Education, Wellfield Academy and Woodside Primary School, working directly with the constraints that contractors and consultant teams now recognise as typical: tight programmes, fixed value bands, complex sites and the need for repeatable solutions.

The key lesson emerging is not about technology, but about alignment. Net zero performance depends on:

• compact, fabric-first building forms

• clear strategies for daylight, ventilation and overheating control

• simple, robust servicing solutions that facilities teams can operate

• layouts that reflect how schools are actually used, not theoretical occupancy

When these fundamentals are coordinated from the outset, carbon performance supports, rather than competes with, educational quality and inclusion.

Performance evidence and closing the gap

As expectations increase, so does the need for credible performance evidence. Our contribution to the pilot testing programme supporting the development of the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard, using real data from Woodmill and St Columba’s RC High School (WSC), has reinforced a critical message for English delivery teams.

While WSC is a Scottish project and the world’s largest Passivhaus certified education building, its relevance lies in what it reveals about performance risk: predicted outcomes only translate into reality when design intent, construction quality, commissioning and operation are aligned.

For contractors operating under CF25, this elevates the importance of build quality, testing, commissioning and soft landings - not simply achieving compliance at handover.

CF25: Raising expectations across the delivery chain

Now live, CF25 is the primary route to market for major education capital works across England. Its structure places increased emphasis on:

• early contractor involvement

• collaboration between client, consultant and contractor teams

• sustainability and whole-life value

• digital information management

• demonstrable continuous improvement and social value

For contractors, this represents a shift away from transactional delivery towards partnership-led outcomes. For consultant teams, it reinforces the need to integrate surveying, feasibility, design and delivery advice - particularly where condition, safeguarding, planning and decarbonisation pressures intersect.

Whole-life value beyond capital cost

Net-zero-aligned schools often challenge traditional cost-led thinking. Higher-performing envelopes and simpler systems can increase initial capital spend, but typically reduce operational cost, maintenance risk and future retrofit burden.

Whole-life modelling over extended periods allows clients and delivery teams to make informed trade-offs, particularly where projects must remain affordable long after capital funding has been spent. Under CF25, this longer-term view is increasingly shaping decision-making.

Retrofit, extension and estate-wide thinking

New build alone will not address England’s estate challenges. Many schools are structurally sound but poorly performing, with layouts that no longer support contemporary teaching or inclusion.

Our work on projects such as Leeds Maths School demonstrates how refurbishment, remodelling and targeted extension can transform learning environments while managing carbon, cost and disruption. The principles of phased delivery, adaptable space, clear circulation and improved environmental performance are key.

Inclusion, safety and operational clarity

Net zero must work alongside safeguarding, SEND provision and everyday school operation. Over-engineered buildings that perform well in energy models but struggle to support calm circulation, supervision or inclusive use undermine educational outcomes.

At Willows High School, we acted as technical advisor, leading the multidisciplinary team in establishing design principles for a relocated secondary school with a co-located Special Resource Base. The project demonstrates how inclusive provision, operational clarity and long-term adaptability can be planned together - lessons that resonate strongly with English delivery teams navigating CF25 requirements.

Data, digital and landscape as enablers

Reliable data underpins effective decision-making. Accurate surveys, geomatic information and digital models support better early options appraisal, reduce risk and enable more predictable outcomes.

Landscape design has evolved from a secondary amenity into a central pillar of school infrastructure, essential for both pedagogical success and climate resilience. Beyond providing optimum learning spaces and increased wellbeing, landscape now functions as vital climate infrastructure.

By integrating shading, sustainable drainage and biodiversity, these spaces and their visual connection to the interior move beyond aesthetics to provide the comfort and resilience necessary as climate conditions become more extreme.

From pilot learning to everyday delivery

GenZero has shown what is possible. CF25 now provides the mechanism to make those lessons routine.

For contractors, local authorities, academies and consultant teams, the challenge is no longer whether net zero can be achieved, but how consistently it can be delivered - across new build, refurbishment and extension projects, and across thousands of schools.

When carbon performance, inclusion, safety and operational reality are addressed together, the learning estate can move beyond recovery and towards a new, more resilient normal.

Whether you’re planning a new build, refurbishment or estate improvements, we’d welcome a conversation. Get in touch