Member Article

Anesco school ESCO project wins award

A ground breaking ESCO project undertaken by Reading-based energy efficiency company Anesco for independent school St Mary’s Shaftesbury has been recognised with an award.

The project, which has seen St Mary’s reduce its carbon emissions by 70% while generating guaranteed annual energy savings of £130,000, has been given the Green Award as part of the Blackmore Vale Media Business Awards 2015.

The awards recognise excellence and achievements in business, with the winner of the Green Award being an organisation that has shown outstanding commitment to managing its environmental impact.

A range of energy efficiency improvements have been made at St Mary’s, which have transformed it into one of the greenest in the country. They include 1600 new LED lamps, valve insulation and a new air handling unit managing heating for the school’s swimming pool. A 995kWp biomass boiler is providing heating for the school’s multiple buildings and reducing gas and oil costs by up to 70%, while a 220kWp solar PV installation is also generating 20% of the school’s electricity requirements.

The project has been delivered at no cost to the school through Anesco’s innovative ESCO model. The investor-funded, shared savings model means measures are installed at no upfront cost, with the cost recouped for investors through the savings generated.

“Winning this award is fantastic recognition for St Mary’s,” commented Adrian Pike, CEO of Anesco. “This project clearly demonstrates how effective the ESCO model can be and how it can enable organisations to undergo a complete transformation. In the case of St Mary’s, a forty year old antiquated heating system has been replaced and the latest in energy efficiency technologies have been installed, ensuring sustainable, long term improvements,”

Richard James, headmaster, commented, “We are really thrilled to have won this award, it is fantastic recognition of everyone’s hard work and commitment to the environment. We have a responsibility to educate our pupils and the wider school community and this ties in with the ethos of the school, social responsibility and a requirement to demonstrate sustainability going forward.”

He added: “For the school, this project goes beyond the upgrades themselves. We are also working hard to encourage behavioural changes and awareness among the student body, to encourage them to think about their own impact. For example we have introduced a recycling initiative that has already seen the total waste recycled by the school increase to around 95%. As the future generation, it is fantastic to see how interested and enthusiastic pupils are about these issues.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anesco Limited .