In its Factor 10 Visions project, the (UK) Open University is investigating the potential for 60% to 90% reductions in resource consumption and environmental impacts in three sectors - housing, personal transport and higher education. Housing and transport are responsible for about half the energy demands and CO2 emissions from UK households, while higher education is a growing service sector with the potential for significant dematerialization through distance learning and electronic delivery. In the future, increased expenditure of time and money on educational activities might absorb some of the rebound effects of reduced consumer expenditure on energy and transport.

This paper will focus on the education sector study. This is assessing the resource demands and environmental impacts of three contrasting systems for delivering higher education in the UK, namely:

• Conventional campus-based courses;
• An Open University print-based, distance learning course: Working with Our Environment;
• An Open University electronically delivered and tutored, distance learning course: You, your computer and the Net.

The aim is to discover whether dematerialised methods of course delivery (e.g. via the Internet) offer the potential for up to Factor 10 (90%) reductions in resource demand, CO2 emissions and other environmental impacts.

In order to answer this question we are auditing the travel, the energy consumption (for computing, heating and lighting), and the consumption of paper and other materials involved in preparing, presenting and studying the courses.

In addition we are examining the effects of the courses on student activities and attitudes towards the environment, e.g. changes in travel behaviour. Such learning and 'platform' rebound effects could prove more significant in the long term than direct savings of energy and resources from dematerialisation.

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Last updated: 13 November, 2008