From Social Value to Real Value: How We’re Using Procurement to Support Schools
Across the sector, there’s a growing expectation that schools and further education colleges should not only invest in their buildings but also in understanding how to make them more efficient and resilient. The Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy makes it clear that by the end of 2025 all education settings in England should have appointed a sustainability lead and put in place a Climate Action Plan to set out how they will reduce emissions and improve energy performance.
At the same time, many schools and further education colleges are struggling to secure funding for the essential strategic work that underpins those plans. Traditional Energy Audits and Heat Decarbonisation Plans have been vital tools for understanding energy use and shaping long-term strategies, but dedicated grant funding for this work has largely dried up in recent years. Without clarity on where emissions are coming from, and how they can realistically be reduced, schools risk making uninformed decisions or delaying action altogether.
This funding gap is precisely where Warneford Consulting believes a different approach is needed, one that links procurement with meaningful strategic support.
We already offer our own Stage 1 Decarbonisation Energy Audit, designed to give schools a clear baseline of their current energy performance, a prioritised list of opportunities and an evidence-based starting point for planning. These audits are pragmatic, tailored to the education sector and focused on delivering clarity rather than complexity.
We also know that data on its own isn’t sufficient. Organisations with a Climate Action Plan and a nominated sustainability lead still struggle if staff lack confidence in interpreting energy data or spotting opportunities to save money and carbon in day-to-day decision-making. This is why Carbon Literacy training – that builds practical understanding of climate impacts, energy use and emissions – should be part of every school’s sustainability toolkit.
“Often such commitments are loosely defined, hard to measure or disconnected from the school’s strategic needs.”
The challenge, as always, is funding. Both Stage 1 Decarbonisation Energy Audits and Carbon Literacy training sit between capital and revenue budgets, so they are often postponed in favour of more immediately visible works.
At the same time, schools, trusts and further education colleges are spending substantial proportions of their budget on construction, refurbishment and maintenance contracts each year. Almost all of these projects will include an element of social value requirements, but too often such commitments are loosely defined, hard to measure or disconnected from the school’s strategic needs.
This is where Warneford Consulting is choosing to act differently. We will be working with our approved network of contractors, that are appointed to projects for our clients, to fund one or both of the following as part of their social and added value commitments:
- A Stage 1 Decarbonisation Energy Audit
- Carbon Literacy training for school staff
This is not about ticking boxes or meeting lowest common denominator targets. It’s about using procurement to deliver real strategic value that supports long-term financial and carbon savings.
Our motivation is simple: schools and further education colleges deserve access to the information and capability that allows them to act with confidence. Too often, schools want to plan and implement sustainability improvements but lack the funded analysis or internal capability to do so effectively. By linking these critical activities to procurement, we’re creating a sustainable funding mechanism that helps schools build understanding as well as infrastructure.
“For contractors, this approach offers clear, relevant and measurable social value”
A Stage 1 Decarbonisation Energy Audit gives schools clarity about where they are now, what options exist and where resources can have the greatest impact. It prevents guesswork and reduces the risk of poorly targeted investment. Carbon Literacy training complements this by equipping staff across a school or further education college, from estates teams to senior leaders, with the language, confidence and context to interpret data, challenge assumptions and spot opportunities for improvement.
For contractors, this approach offers clear, relevant and measurable social value. Their contribution becomes tangible and aligned to the strategic priorities of the school. It demonstrates partnership rather than transaction and shows a genuine commitment to outcomes schools are trying to achieve.
For schools and further education colleges, the benefit is immediate. They receive funded strategic support that might otherwise be unaffordable, enabling them to meet the Department for Education’s expectations on Climate Action Plans with stronger evidence, better internal expertise and a clearer strategy.
This is also where GEMZ (Great Estate Management Zero) becomes central to the story. The outputs from Stage 1 Decarbonisation Energy Audits, Carbon Literacy training and Climate Action Plans do not sit on shelves. Within GEMZ, they sit alongside condition data, energy performance and capital planning, becoming active tools that inform and support future decisions, prioritise investment and align with ongoing procurement strategies. Social value becomes operational value.
Ultimately, this approach reflects how we believe procurement should be used, not just to improve the education estate, but to strengthen the strategic capability of schools and trusts. By asking contractors to support funded audits and training, we’re helping schools build confidence, save money, reduce carbon and manage their estates with greater clarity and control.
In our view, this is what meaningful social and added value should look like… practical, measurable and focused on leaving schools and further education colleges better equipped than they were before the project began.Contact me for more tim@warnefordconsulting.com
