In recent years, we have worked with schools and universities to transform their physical environments into healthier, more sustainable, and safer places to learn and work. In this blog, we share our conclusions and recommendations for implementing IoT and networking technologies to create more sustainable learning environments in educational institutions.
The need for sustainability in schools and universities
Schools and universities around the world occupy vast areas with significant environmental footprints that impact energy, carbon, farmland, forests, soil and freshwater resources. As the focus on climate and environmental issues increases, these issues often influence students’ concerns and decisions even before they enter the classroom or choose an institution. Our case studies show that a well-defined sustainability strategy for schools and universities not only streamlines cost-effective operations, but also enhances the brand perception of the institution, especially when students and families are deciding where to study.
Additionally, integrating sustainability into the curriculum by leveraging school or campus data on CO2 emissions, energy savings, and air quality components has been proven to enrich the curriculum in classes such as math, chemistry, or sociology by providing real-world examples for students to study. More broadly, sustainability strategies can transform schools or campuses into cultural hubs within neighborhoods, helping communities engage in discussions about sustainable behavior change and the future of our planet.
Experience a more sustainable learning environment
A notable example is Wrexham County Borough Council in Wales, UK, where schools have adopted Cisco digital technologies to achieve cost efficiencies while protecting the wellbeing of students and staff.
Other compelling examples of technology adoption to create more sustainable learning environments come from occupations such as construction, hairdressing, catering and automotive. These sectors face unique challenges when it comes to protecting the wellbeing of students and staff, particularly around air quality, noise control, temperature and ventilation. For example, at Sabden Multi Academy Trust in the UK, networked Cisco IoT sensors are critical to protecting the wellbeing of students and staff by detecting sawdust from woodworking, fumes from car maintenance or chemicals from a hairdressing salon.
Identifying the impact of digital infrastructure to promote sustainability
IT and facilities teams can integrate a variety of IoT sensors across the premises into a digital infrastructure for environmental monitoring and control to extract valuable data and make informed decisions. This can help reduce energy costs by moving away from “always on” and minimizing unnecessary nighttime power usage, measuring CO2 emissions, and enabling air quality and temperature to aid learning. It can also assess occupancy and space utilization to effectively optimize.
In today’s data-driven world, proving cause-and-effect relationships is essential, and setting up digital infrastructure with sustainability in mind and creating centralised visibility into data collected from connected IoT sensors for environmental monitoring can help education institutions justify the investment needed to support their sustainability strategy and meet ambitious carbon reduction commitments. The dashboard below from Wrexham Schools, with data collected and analysed from their digital infrastructure, is a great example.
References and Incentives from Government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Governments and NGOs are committed to providing incentives and guidance for education institutions to achieve a net zero economy. There are important guidelines and valuable resources for schools and colleges looking to strengthen their environmental impact, such as UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development, the European Commission’s Education for Climate Coalition, and the UK government’s Net Zero Carbon Vision and Policy in Education.
A recent survey by the UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) found that higher education institutions see sustainability as a top priority, with 45% of respondents already setting net zero targets by 2035 or sooner.
Real-world examples of sustainability use cases in education
Connected IoT platforms provide a continuous stream of data about environmental conditions for real-time analysis and can be applied to real-world use cases such as:
- Energy consumption sensors for real-time data analysis, energy bill calculation and CO2 emissions monitoring.
- An air quality sensor that collects and analyzes data on sawdust, smoke, residual chemicals and pollutants to ensure a healthy environment.
- Temperature sensors tell automation systems like ventilation, air filtration and air conditioning when to turn on, providing a safer environment and significant cost efficiencies.
- Noise control sensor for data analysis to solve acoustic problems in the field of vocational learning
- Cameras, heatmaps and alarm systems provide insight into space occupancy and utilization, and enable rapid problem resolution through mapping, wayfinding and even student behavior analytics.
A holistic perspective to promote sustainability
Sustainability in educational institutions requires an integrated strategy of educators, IT, and facilities managers to implement practical measures to monitor the environment, inform curriculum, protect health, and achieve sustainability goals.
At the heart of this transformation is a trusted, secure, and connected digital infrastructure. Implementing Cisco technologies and certified ecosystem partners has proven to help schools and universities create smarter, more sustainable, and student-centered learning environments with secure, real-time data for insights into environmental conditions, space utilization, and facility services. These efforts deliver tangible benefits for operational improvements and brand reputation, ultimately helping to protect the future of our planet.
Explore the following to learn more about use cases and architectures that are transforming education.
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