Case Study: Caufield Grammar School
Learn how independent Melbourne school, Caulfield Grammar, is using carbon accounting software to manage its environmental footprint and become a leader in sustainable education.
Company size
3000+ students
Industry
Education
Location
Melbourne, Australia
About Caulfield Grammar
Caulfield Grammar School (CGS), is a leading independent co-educational school in Melbourne known for its academic excellence and vibrant community. Founded in 1881, CGS has more than 3000 students across four campuses featuring state-of-the-art facilities, including aquatic and sports complexes, auditoriums and physical education centres.
Before Working with Climate Zero
The education sector faces increasing pressure to adopt sustainable practices and reduce its carbon footprint. Schools, especially those with older infrastructure, struggle with inefficient energy use, waste management and accurate emissions measurement.
Many of CGS’s buildings were designed before Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) principles were well understood. This meant that accurately measuring emissions across its four campuses presented a significant challenge. In turn, this held the school back from developing a clear pathway to net zero emissions, with a baseline and data-driven approach to identify and prioritise emission reduction opportunities.
Why CGS Looked for Carbon Accounting Software
Recognising the growing urgency for climate action, CGS is also keenly aware of its obligation to lead by example in educating students on sustainability, and views it as an opportunity to become a leader in sustainable education.
To achieve this, the school needed a robust sustainability strategy and an accurate, easy way to measure emissions now and throughout its journey to net zero.
More specifically, CGS needed to:
- Assess ESG performance and establish a baseline
- Develop emissions reduction strategies and set a net zero target
- Evaluate project feasibility and impact
The school needed a clear, data-driven approach to identify and prioritise emission reduction opportunities – and the right carbon accounting software was essential to this.
CGS’s Decision-Making Criteria
CGS needed carbon accounting software it could trust, long term. Decision-making criteria included:
- Robust accurate software configured to CGS’s unique emissions profile
- A local team to make set up and support quick and seamless
- Intuitive and easy for staff to use
- Clear and easy to access reports
- A close partnership with sustainability consultants to conduct a sustainability audit and develop an emissions reduction strategy
After Working with Climate Zero
CGS initially worked with our partner agency, Rewild, to conduct a comprehensive audit of its operations and facilities. This established a baseline emissions footprint and identified key areas for improvement, which informed a sustainability strategy towards net zero.
With the strategy setting the direction, CGS is tracking and reporting on its progress with Climate Zero’s software.
It has achieved key cost savings and emission reductions through LED lighting upgrades, better waste management practices and solar power installation and continues to implement the sustainability strategy to reduce costs and emissions from waste, water and energy.
With Climate Zero, CGS is able to clearly see its real-time progress, motivating the team to stay on track towards their goals and making it easy to share positive news with its community and stakeholders.
With increasing regulatory and stakeholder demands for transparent climate reporting, CGS is not only meeting these expectations but showing its leadership in sustainable education, enhancing credibility and setting a strong example for students and the education sector.
“We developed a great partnership with Rewild Agency and Climate Zero working with them to help calculate our baseline emissions and formulate a plan to reach net zero. Always going above and beyond for us and adapting to our changing brief when it came to final reporting. In this rapidly developing and changing area of sustainability, the team were highly knowledgeable and helped guide us. They were an absolute pleasure to work with.”