We are deeply concerned that education secretary Michael Gove is considering dropping the current requirement for new and refurbished schools to meet the long accepted BREEAM “very good” standard for sustainable buildings.

In addition to playing their part in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, school buildings have a role to play in helping pupils, their families and local communities understand how sustainability works in practice. If the government is not prepared to make school buildings sustainable, how can it expect other parts of society to follow suit?

The Edge is a cross-industry group of building design professionals, many of whom have long and recognised experience in school design. The Edge calls upon the education secretary to maintain the BREEAM standard for schools and to support and encourage the greening of the school estate.

Robin Nicholson, David Adams, Paddy Conaghan And 16 other signatories; members of the Edge, the built environment thinktank.