Net Zero

Scotland’s colleges published their Statement of Commitment to the Climate Emergency in 2021. It sets out how colleges will integrate learning for sustainability into all taught areas, cut emissions and embed the climate response into their operations. Scotland’s colleges aim to reach net zero by 2040.

Universities are committed to similar institution-wide action, with a collective target for Scottish universities of 2045 under this UK framework.

SFC continues to work with Skills Development Scotland and other key stakeholders on all relevant Net Zero policies, to ensure a whole-system approach to skills planning to support Net Zero policy aims. We actively work with colleges, universities and industry to ensure the post-school education sector can respond to emerging and future skills to support a Just Transition to Net Zero.

Our funding for the Energy Skills Partnership allows them to bring together colleges and industry partners, ensuring that the college sector is ready to seize the opportunities associated with skills for the green economy, supporting supply chains in Scotland across energy, transport, construction and other areas. Through our innovation centre funding BE-ST and NMIS also work closely with industry to deliver the skills needed in the built environment and manufacturing to support the Just Transition to Net Zero.

Through our Regional Tertiary Pathfinders pilot projects, SFC is engaged with partners in different parts of Scotland investigating the alignment of course provision, learner choice and employer need, in order to enhance agility and responsiveness in the skills system. This includes curriculum planning in colleges and universities and the ways in which SFC supports provision planning in the sector. One of the pilot projects is the Energy Skills Interactive Pathway led by the National Energy Skills Accelerator (NESA).

SFC’s new Outcomes Framework and Assurance Model outlines SFC’s expectations of the sector. Net zero is embedded across the 9 themes included in the framework. SFC will consider how well institutions have embedded approaches to just transition, green growth and net zero transformation across their strategic functions.

Our funding for research and innovation supports environmental sustainability through the development of expertise in colleges and universities aimed at reducing carbon emissions and progressing technologies to reduce emissions and safeguard the environment. Our investments into Alliances for Research Challenges and Scotland’s innovation centres deliver on key climate emergency challenges including heat in buildings, the built environment, food systems, biotechnology and energy.

We launched our College Infrastructure Strategy in November 2022. We worked with the college sector to map out a national approach for developing a plan to guide future investments in college buildings and infrastructure. More broadly, we are prioritising and implementing carbon reduction capital investment programmes to meet the Climate Change Act targets.