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PROCURING A GREEN FUTURE


How two of the North East’s largest MATs teamed up to create savings of nearly £6million through new LED lighting. Plus, overleaf, our quick guide to sustainable procurement


I


t’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the threat of global warming, but when schools work together they can make a substantial difference to cutting


carbon emissions. That’s the lesson from a joint initiative developed by two Catholic education trusts, which between them oversee a total of 58 schools. The Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust (BCCET) currently


comprises 21 primary and secondary schools across South Tyneside, Sunderland and the east of Durham, and will expand to 34 schools by mid 2022. The Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust (BWCET) includes more than 40 schools across Gateshead, Northumberland and County Durham. Both Trusts are within the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and share the same procurement manager,


so it made sense for them to work in partnership on a large-scale energy efficiency programme. A major part of this initiative has been


the £1.85million joint investment in an LED lighting replacement programme, which will reduce the trusts’ combined carbon footprint by 1,100 tonnes every year. Working with WN1 Lighting Solutions, the trusts will also see savings of nearly £6million over the 20-year life span of the programme. Brendan Tapping, the CEO at BCCET,


says that the speed of efficiency improvements in lighting technology means there is huge potential for cost savings, even in relatively new schools. And with energy prices rising, the switch from inefficient lighting to LED will increase these savings even further. ‘These savings can be reinvested in our


FundEd SPRING 2022 37


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