Zerogram: use a decarbonisation roadmap to tackle big projects
“A decarbonisation roadmap can help you use your capital expenditure to get the best carbon returns.”
Our Alliance is made up of 17 leaders in sustainability who are supporting organisations on their journey to net zero. We’re introducing each alliance member, sharing more about their unique and special skillset, and how they are enabling organisations across London to reach net zero through the Zero Carbon Accelerator.
In this blog, Zerogram shares how a decarbonisation roadmap can translate a big decarbonisation project into effective, bitesize chunks.
Meet alliance member Prash Kidiyoor, Managing Director at Zerogram
How can you help organisations requesting support from the Zero Carbon Accelerator?
Prash: There are a few ways that Zerogram supports the Zero Carbon Accelerator.
Our team is mainly focused on engineering solutions in the built environment, so we use this knowledge to produce decarbonisation roadmaps. Take a school, for example: we would look at the carbon baseline and see where the energy is going within the school, then create a bespoke plan and pathway to net zero. That involves looking at energy efficiency and optimisation, renewable generation options and heat decarbonisation (which is a big challenge). If there are still carbon emissions that cannot be removed through these three options (energy optimisation, renewables and heat decarbonisation), we find responsible offsetting opportunities.
I have also taken on the role as a Technical Support Manager, supporting a few of the organisations that are interested in accessing free technical support from the Zero Carbon Accelerator. I meet with the organisation to better understand their needs, translate their Self-assessment form into a support package, and engage with other Alliance members to see how we can deliver that support.
Can you tell me about some of things you’ve done so far for Accelerator projects?
Prash: We’re working with Enfield Council to create decarbonisation roadmaps for a number of schools, that will then be used to support other schools across the borough. The information from this is being fed into an archetype model for other schools in London to learn and benefit from, as it will be shared on our Knowledge Hub. It will help school business managers or other councils that operate or maintain schools decide which areas to focus on in a school’s estate.
As a Technical Support Manager, I’m engaging with the London Borough of Islington on two projects, one of which involves supporting them with procurement advice for heat networks across south Islington.
I’m also involved with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea as a Technical Support Manager. They have a heat network project in progress – through the Zero Carbon Accelerator, we are providing technical assurance and a review of their measurement and verification plan.
What is the biggest challenge you see organisations facing in their decarbonisation journey?
Prash: The number one challenge is funding; there’s no doubt about it. There are other challenges around missing technical capabilities, as well as commercial, legal and procurement support – especially with the smaller local authorities. But the main challenge in funding. Our Green Funding & Finance Finder can help with that – have a look at the open funding and finance streams we have featured.
For organisations that do have funding, the challenge is around how best to utilise the capital expenditure to get the best carbon returns – which is where a decarbonisation roadmap can help.
“For organisations that do have funding, the challenge is around how best to utilise the capital expenditure to get the best carbon returns – which is where a decarbonisation roadmap can help.“
We use a stepped approach with a timeline that breaks the available funding down into bitesize chunks depending on the organisation’s goals. Energy efficiency measures can be done immediately and offer fast cost savings, whereas renewables and heat decarbonisation need to be timed with the right market conditions. We lay all this out to help organisations make decisions about where and when to use their funding.
Are there any resources or tools that you think are most important to organisations as they decarbonise their buildings?
Prash: The Energy Systems Catapult framework around decarbonising public sector buildings has a good toolkit of reference documents. This is especially helpful for public sector organisations that want to develop their own in-house framework for their decarbonisation journey, from data preparation to developing site survey checklists to understanding procurement routes.
Energy Sparks is another helpful resource: this tool gives local authorities and premises managers real-time, data-driven insights to help monitor and reduce energy use across school estates. This helps them identify waste and track progress toward decarbonisation goals. It supports both operational savings and long-term planning, while also engaging students and staff to build climate literacy and drive behavioural change. This low-cost tool enables smarter investment decisions and strengthens climate strategy, reporting, and compliance. If you share your data, it lets you see how your school is performing against similar schools.
What excites you most about the journey to net zero?
Prash: I love the people aspect of our work. When we work with schools, I really enjoy helping students understand our work and the outcomes. We try to get the next generation excited about sustainability and decarbonisation, to hopefully inspire and draw new people and skills into the industry. This applies to any non-domestic situation where there is a large group of people that we can inspire and enlighten.
I’m also excited about how energy systems can be made smart to help us tackle net zero: smart buildings, transport, interconnectivity with the grid, and how load shifts can be implemented based on time of use tariffs, and instantaneous grid carbon intensity.
Lastly, peer-to-peer energy trading. The theory is, if you have excess energy (for example, from solar panels), you could use a blockchain app to trade or sell the extra power to other people or companies. Tools like this would create more active engagement. People can look at a projection and choose to use less power or get a solar panel to then make a certain amount of money. There’s an incentive for people beyond just doing the right thing that can inspire action.
For any organisation working towards net zero: what’s one piece of advice you want to share?
Prash: Have a good set of baseline data. Put some thought into where and how you store the data as it sets the foundation for everything else. That doesn’t just help us do what we do – it helps everyone in the sequence of events on your decarbonisation journey, including post installation monitoring. Aim to gather at least 12 months of granular, ideally half hourly, utilities data, including floor plans and an asset list. If you have historical data beyond that, great – save it to an online file system if you don’t have a dedicated platform.
Taking small steps is important too. You don’t have to wait for someone to come and set up an elaborate plan. Some things are easy and fundamental such as switching off lights, ICT and other small power equipment at the end of the day to avoid waste. You can do this before looking at complex and costly interventions.
The Mayor of London is delivering the Zero Carbon Accelerator in collaboration with Mott MacDonald, Energy Saving Trust and an alliance of experts: ACA Studios, Altair, Ambue, Arthian, ClimateView, COWI, EEVS, Energiesprong UK, ERM, IES, Pascall+Watson Architects, Pollard Thomas Edwards, Retrofit Academy, S&J Consulting and Zerogram.
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