A partnership between Salix Finance and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is successfully cutting universities’ emissions and energy costs, a new evaluation shows.

Launched in August 2008, the Revolving Green Fund supports universities in radically transforming their approaches to energy consumption and reducing emissions.

The HEFCE sponsored evaluation of the fund shows current projects are saving over 2 per cent of carbon emissions each year, and if projects continue at current levels and frequency the fund could lead to 8.6 per cent carbon emissions savings at universities each year by 2020.

Alastair Keir, Chief Executive of Salix Finance, said:

'It's vital that higher education institutions, like all public sector bodies, take action now to reduce energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions. The Revolving Green Fund's Institutional Small Projects Fund is continuing to demonstrate that basic energy efficiency measures – such as improved insulation, lighting upgrades and heating improvement – get quick results with long-lasting cost benefits.

'I'm delighted with the impressive level of progress to date, with huge opportunities for further improvement. The evaluation published by HEFCE demonstrates to policymakers that future support for invest-to-save schemes of this type is a vital component in meeting efficiency and emissions targets.'