Transforming Higher Education Estates

As the impacts of climate change become more acute, higher education estates have an opportunity not only to adapt to new environmental realities but also transform their estates into more efficient, resilient, and financially sustainable assets. Climate adaptation is no longer something on the horizon, but it is here today with current policies projecting about 2.7°C warming above pre industrial levels (Climate Analytics & New Climate Institute, 2024). Being proactive rather than reactive can unlock significant value for institutions. At the heart of this transformation is the opportunity to identify and address stranded assets – buildings that are underused, inefficient, or no longer fit for purpose.

Through estate consolidation, universities can streamline their physical footprint, reduce operational costs, and lower emissions, while creating more compact, connected, and climate resilient campuses.

Crucially, we advocate for a holistic approach to climate adaptation – one that avoids unintended ecological consequences. Too often, adaptation efforts rely on material heavy infrastructure to protect us from extreme events, without fully considering the embodied impacts of this construction. For example, extracting sand from beaches or riverbeds – natural coastal defences – to build artificial flood barriers elsewhere may protect one community while degrading another. This kind of ecological displacement undermines the very resilience we aim to build. Ryder’s landscape and placemaking teams prioritise passive strategies and nature based solutions – such as green corridors, restored wetlands, and permeable surfaces – that work with natural systems to enhance biodiversity, reduce emissions, and avoid simply shifting climate risk from one place to another.

This philosophy aligns closely with the UK Government’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy for Education (DfE, 2023), which outlines a transformative vision for the education estate – one that is green, digitally enabled, and resilient to climate change. Within the strategy there is an emphasis on improving both the physical and digital infrastructure across educational institutions to reduce emissions, enhance wellbeing, and inspire sustainable behaviours. Education buildings account for 36% of UK public sector building emissions (DfE, 2023), representing a significant environmental and financial burden. From 2025 onwards, all new school buildings must be designed to withstand a 2°C rise in global temperatures, and be future proofed for a 4°C rise – a standard that universities will likely need to meet or exceed.

This quote encapsulates the ethos of our approach. Through collaboration, innovation, and a whole life design philosophy, Okana and Ryder are helping to deliver the government’s ambition for a climate resilient, digitally enabled education estate – one that supports learning, wellbeing, and long term environmental stewardship.

In this report, we take you through a series of perspectives from our specialists, beginning with the need for careful engagement and visioning at the start of a project, then considering the value of harnessing existing and future data, followed by a look at the impact of nature based solutions, and finally exploring how the University of Hong Kong balanced its approach to climate risk with safety and funding pressures.

References

Climate Analytics, & New Climate Institute. (2024, 13 November). Climate Action Tracker: Global Mean Temperature time series.

DfE. (2023, 20 December). Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children’s services systems. Department for Education.

Elsevier. (2025). Welcome to SciVal.

PlanBEE. (2025). PlanBEE. Gateshead College.

UKGBC. (2022, 8 February). A Framework for Measuring and Reporting of Climate-related Physical Risks to Built Assets.