Nowon-gu Distributes 'Carbon Zero School Practice Guide'

Average Electricity Usage Reduced by 9.18% and Electricity Costs Cut by 17.8 Million KRW Through Joint Operation of the "2024 Carbon Zero School" With Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education
Step-by-Step Practical Measures for Everyday Implementation Based on Last Year’s Carbon Emission Reduction Success

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is distributing the 'Carbon Zero School Practice Guide,' jointly produced with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

The carbon emissions from schools in Seoul account for 25% of the total emissions from all public buildings in the city and are steadily increasing. In particular, carbon emissions per unit area are higher compared to Seoul’s high energy-consuming buildings, with the ‘electricity usage’ portion being especially significant.

To address this, Nowon-gu collaborated with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education last year to operate the ‘2024 Carbon Zero Practice School’ program. Over four months from September to December last year, 10 schools participated and achieved a reduction of 151,950 kWh (9.18%) compared to the previous year during the same period. This corresponds to a greenhouse gas reduction of 75.3 tons and electricity cost savings of 17.8 million KRW. Additionally, through peak power management, the program is expected to save about 39 million KRW in basic electricity charges by 2025.

Based on these achievements, the guide contains concrete step-by-step practical measures to reduce electricity usage and cut greenhouse gas emissions within schools.

The step-by-step measures consist of six stages: ▲Building consensus among school members ▲Assessing the school’s energy usage status ▲Setting practical goals ▲Role allocation and education ▲Implementing school carbon reduction practices ▲Reviewing results and sharing achievements. Each stage includes key information tailored to the characteristics of schools to effectively reduce carbon emissions.

A particularly important aspect is building consensus among school members. For successful carbon emission reduction within schools, it is essential that the entire school community?including students, faculty, and parents?shares an understanding of the necessity of greenhouse gas reduction, which leads to actual practice.

Assessment of the school’s energy usage status is based on ‘school-specific electricity usage data’ provided by the ‘KEPCO Power Planner.’ Since electricity consumption varies between weekdays and weekends, as well as between summer and winter, the program analyzes each school’s electricity usage patterns and proposes reduction measures suited to the school’s characteristics.

Practical goals are established with the participation of the entire school community. To achieve these goals, responsible parties are assigned according to necessary roles, and monthly focused actions are selected and taught.

Subsequently, monthly practice activities are reviewed, monthly energy usage is monitored, effectiveness is analyzed, and improvements are made to continuously reduce electricity consumption.

Hong Yoon-jong, the officer in charge at Noil Middle School, which achieved the highest electricity reduction rate (35%) among schools participating in the ‘2024 Carbon Zero Practice School’ project, said, “We had tried various efforts for carbon zero practice before, but it was difficult to achieve good results. By participating in this project, which united the faculty and established practical measures for carbon neutrality, we were able to achieve results. I hope many more schools will participate in carbon neutrality practices going forward.”

Nowon-gu is accelerating the establishment of concrete plans after being selected as a ‘Carbon Neutral Leading City’ jointly hosted by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in January. As the only leading city selected in the metropolitan area, the district plans to focus investments on buildings and infrastructure applicable to urban settings to create a carbon-neutral leading model that responds to the climate crisis and expand it nationwide.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, stated, “It was important to experience that direct practice and participation by students through carbon zero schools bring us closer to carbon neutrality,” adding, “Starting with this guide, which reflects the district’s experience, we will fulfill the role of a carbon-neutral leading city.”