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Zero Carbon Action Builder

There are 30,000 schools and educational facilities in England and Wales — the vast majority of which need carefully planned actions and building retrofits to become zero-carbon.

Action Builder is a platform developed to help schools take these steps for themselves.

Project

Zero Carbon Action Builder

2025Interactive web applicationProject Development & Delivery / Bureau Burman

A decarbonisation platform helping UK schools plan, prioritise and act on the retrofit of their estates

Built with RAFT (Retrofit Action For Tomorrow), funded by Ashden and Let's Go Zero

The Zero Carbon Action Builder is a platform for schools across the UK. It helps them understand their buildings and plan a retrofit — taking the complexity out of getting to net zero.

The project grew out of an Ashden climate action grant, developed alongside Let's Go Zero and led by Retrofit Action for Tomorrow (RAFT). The aim was a tool any school in the country could actually use to plan, organise and act on its own decarbonisation.

Each school's dashboard — its whole zero-carbon journey in one place.
Each school's dashboard — its whole zero-carbon journey in one place.
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Sites and blocks, set up once — the foundation everything else hangs off.
Sites and blocks, set up once — the foundation everything else hangs off.

It brings together guides, resources and tools that let a school rapidly self-survey its own buildings and get tailored advice on the best route to net zero. At its centre are building tools for quickly identifying building typologies and blocks, their materials, and the operational and environmental measures open to them — then turning all of that into a zero-carbon action plan the whole school can share.

Every system — heat networks, PV arrays, meters, boilers — modelled as a building entity.
Every system — heat networks, PV arrays, meters, boilers — modelled as a building entity.
Adding one — a school can add, photograph and detail each element as it goes.
Adding one — a school can add, photograph and detail each element as it goes.

The builder covers more than 130 actions a school can take. From the survey, it works out which of those make the most sense for each school, across both the short and long term.

From the survey, the builder works out the key actions that make the most sense for each school.
From the survey, the builder works out the key actions that make the most sense for each school.
Filter the catalogue to quick wins and low- or no-cost actions — Ashden's Let's Go Zero campaign sits right in the list.
Filter the catalogue to quick wins and low- or no-cost actions — Ashden's Let's Go Zero campaign sits right in the list.
Finding Funding — matching a school to live grants like the GLA Greener Schools Fund.
Finding Funding — matching a school to live grants like the GLA Greener Schools Fund.
The action — description, category, cost and timeframe.
The action — description, category, cost and timeframe.
What it needs — surveys, permissions, specialist input.
What it needs — surveys, permissions, specialist input.
What it's worth — scored across bills, carbon, comfort and air quality.
What it's worth — scored across bills, carbon, comfort and air quality.
Zero Carbon Action Builder
Visit the live platformZero Carbon Action BuilderPlan, prioritise and act on your school's retrofit — every tool, in one place.actionbuilder.co.uk

Zero Carbon Action Builder

A decarbonisation platform helping UK schools plan, prioritise and act on the retrofit of their estates.

Year
2025
Type
Digital Platform
Project Development & Delivery
Bureau Burman
Collaborators
  • RAFT: Retrofit Action For TomorrowLead Organisation
  • AshdenFunder
  • Let's Go ZeroCampaign partner

Tags

infrastructure,platform,pilot,decarbonisation,education

Bureau Burman

We work with great organisations to make better spaces, places and tools for the built environment.

Clients & Partners

We work with institutions, local authorities, research organisations, nonprofits, and cultural bodies across the UK and Europe.

Our collaborators span public sector agencies, universities, housing associations, and engineering consultancies — organisations committed to climate action and spatial innovation.

Zero Carbon Action Builder

A decarbonisation platform helping UK schools plan, prioritise and act on the retrofit of their estates.

A shared workspace for schools to understand their buildings, choose retrofit actions and turn a zero-carbon plan into practical steps.

Year
2024–2025
Type
Interactive web application
With
RAFT: Retrofit Action For Tomorrow
Supported by
Ashden & Let's Go Zero