VOICES | AARON GILLICH Time to accelerate net zero learning Improving climate literacy among building services engineers is essential to meeting emissions targets, and new government short courses will help close the learning gap, says LSBUs Aaron Gillich T he target of creating a net zero world by 2050 is based on limiting climate change to 1.5C of warming. To have any hope of achieving this, we must reduce global emissions by half in the next seven years. The UK has laudable climate goals; however, a chorus of studies agree that we have nowhere near the level of green skills needed to make these goals a reality. This is particularly true for the built environment, where we have long struggled to deliver change quickly. Experts agree that were likely to see the emergence of new green jobs, and a stronger infusion of climate literacy across all sectors, which should take place at every education and career level. This presents two key challenges for the UK: scale and pace. How do we transform the way we teach and train nearly everyone including those who have left formal education at a pace that keeps alive the hope of a 1.5C future? We are already seeing a range of actions and programmes that target new learners, focusing on continuing education for those already in employment. Among these is the recent announcement by the Department for Education (DfE) of a new mode of learning in higher education through Short Courses. This will be accompanied by a new student loan scheme, called a Lifelong Learning Entitlement, that people can dip into throughout their lives. The programme aims to be nationwide by 2025, and the DfE has selected around 20 universities to run pilot courses, starting this academic year. London South Bank University (LSBU) will run four pilot courses from January to May 2023, under the theme of net zero buildings. It is recruiting the first cohorts now. Each course consists of two standard LSBU undergraduate modules. Upon completion of these, students will be awarded a certificate, and can apply earned credits towards further study. The Short Courses make use of existing course content, which has been significantly updated to teach net zero buildings in a fresh way, informed by industry best practice. The courses were created alongside industry partners, including the Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA), and the Climate Framework, both active members in the advancement of climate education in the built environment. LSBU worked with BSRIA and the Climate Framework to create a series of industry engagement workshops. Based on these workshops, four short courses were created to target urgent industry needs: Designing net zero buildings: Many collaborators felt the demand for net zero buildings was beginning to exceed supply. This course is for people already familiar with buildings at a general level, and teaches the principles of forward-looking designs that dont rely on fossil fuels. Operating net zero buildings: It is not enough to simply design zero carbon buildings; they must be zero carbon throughout their lifetimes. This course is for facilities managers and similar roles that require an operational knowledge of buildings, with less formal education in building performance. Procuring net zero buildings: This course is aimed at planners and sustainability officers, or similar, in councils or social housing. It aims to support those in decision-making roles to procure and deliver more sustainable project portfolios. Leadership and management in net zero buildings: Many industry collaborators were seeking ways to elevate promising employees to team leadership roles, with a focus on advancing net zero within their organisations. Designed to empower future leaders, this course equips learners to inspire others on their net zero journeys. Each of these short courses has been structured to provide an optimal mix for todays net zero challenges, starting with the established fundamentals for which LSBU is renowned. The delivery mode will include in-person teaching at LSBUs London campus, site visits, leading industry speakers, and flexible remote learning for parts of the semester. LSBU is very excited for this new mode of learning to expand access to higher education, offer a flexible format for a wide range of learners, and help drive the scale and pace of the green skills developments that we need so vitally. How do we transform the way we train nearly everyone at a pace that keeps the hope of a 1.5C future alive? DR AARON GILLICH is a professor of building decarbonisation and director of the BSRIA LSBU Net Zero Building Centre 22 September 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Sept 22 pp22 Net zero Gillich.indd 22 26/08/2022 14:54