Monitoring and reporting for schools
We are here to support your school in reporting your energy data using the M&R system. This will fulfil your obligations and help you towards your 2030 target.
Why schools should report
The School Sector Climate Action Mandate 2023 sets an overall school sector target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% in 2030 and improve energy efficiency by 50% by 2030.
As part of this, schools are required to report annually on their energy usage through the M&R system. Any member of the public can access energy data for all public bodies and schools through our public sector results page.
Benefits of completing your M&R report:
- Means your school fulfils its legal obligations with respect to reporting
- System provides a scorecard that presents a powerful snapshot of the school's progress to date
- Provides online access to your school’s electricity and natural gas consumption data for recent years
- Easy to use system with excellent reports that can be accessed by members of the Green Schools Committee or Teachers to assist in educating about sustainability and reducing energy use in the school
- Provides a performance comparison with the progress of other similar schools and thereby showcases your achievements to date
- The system is now available as Gaeilge for Gaelscoileanna
What to report
Schools need to report
- Your school details including Principal contact details
- Your school size – number of pupils, number of staff and floor area
- Annual energy consumption including electricity, natural gas, heating oil
- Brief commentary on your school’s energy management
- Details of energy-saving projects (if any)
How to report
Use the information below to gather and prepare your data before logging on to the system to report annually. Don't forget to keep records for future reference and verification!
Select your baseline
A baseline is the point in time against which you will measure your progress in saving energy. You only need to select your preferred baseline period once. You will need to report data for all years from your chosen baseline period to the current reporting year.
Gather your data
These are the main data items required from your baseline to the current reporting year:
- MPRNs & GPRNs for your electricity and natural gas. The system then accesses your energy consumption from the meter operators. You can find these on your past bills, usually in the top right-hand corner. Your MPRN will be 11 digits, and your GPRN will be 7 digits or less.
- All other energy types: annual usage of energy (e.g. heating oil, LPG, diesel) by your school in kg, litres, kWh etc. (See Supports section at the end of this page for assistance with measuring heating oil usage.) You must specifically report if your school uses electricity for heating rooms. Most schools only have electricity and natural gas, LPG, kerosene or gasoil for heating. Some schools may own a school bus which consumes road diesel. Staff mileage and staff/student commutes to and from school are currently excluded unless transport is provided by the school.
- Values for pupil numbers, full-time staff and your school's floor area. (For guidance, see downloads and tips at the end of this page.)
- Details of any energy saving projects undertaken and your approach to energy management (see energy management questionnaire in the supports section below).
Click the button below to find out how to access the M&R system as an existing user, new user or as a new school.
Access M&R Access M&R help2025 reporting deadline & key dates
The key cycle dates for 2025 are as follows (note these could be subject to change as the year progresses):
| Key cycle stage | Date |
|---|---|
| M&R 2030 system open for data entry | 16 December 2024 |
| Final data deadline | 11 April 2025 |
| Final scorecard available | 29 August 2025 |
| Annual Report 2025 on Public Sector Energy Efficiency Performance | Q1 2026 |
A survey of school M&R system users found that 86% agreed that once you compile the data it's easy to report using the on-line system. 75% of respondents spent less than 2 hours reporting (42% spent less than an hour). 72% agreed that having online access to energy data will be useful for managing energy use.
School supports
We offer a range of supports to help you complete your report, including answers to the most frequently asked questions. If you cannot find what you need, please contact the M&R Helpdesk at [email protected] or 01 808 2012 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
SEAI also provides curriculum resources for schools to help teach students about renewable energy and climate action. Find out more here.
M&R help wiki
We have prepared a wiki help site to help schools with all aspects of using the M&R system, including software tips, glossary, data input, and data reports.
Access M&R helpAttend a training workshop
SEAI offers M&R training workshops which are held online in March/April each year. Workshops are open to all schools. Trainers are also available for some time at the end of each workshop to provide one-on-one support. Any representative that the school nominates can attend a workshop, such as Board of Management member, staff member, or parent.
The duration of the training workshop is 2.5 hours including comfort breaks, Q&A and optional one-to-one discussion with the trainer at the end of the session.
Book a Training SessionM&R2030 System Training Tutorials for Schools
Our trainers have recorded a series of training videos to help users complete their M&R report at any stage throughout the cycle. Each video covers the key methodology points and demonstrates how to complete each of the main sections. See description & links to tutorials below:
| Module No. | Description | Link |
| Module 1 | Overview, Targets & Scorecards | https://youtu.be/_KZGFWSMUdU |
| Module 2 | User Management & How the system works | https://youtu.be/G2llEo4lTcQ |
| Module 3 | Demo: Home, School details, Size, Wiki help pages | https://youtu.be/9TtTS03aJhw |
| Module 4 | Demo: Choose energy types, Electricity meters, Gas meters, Energy use | https://youtu.be/fJ709d8N43Q |
| Module 5 | Demo: Energy management, Energy projects | https://youtu.be/gJjM6fHs34E |
| Module 6 | Next Steps: Saving Energy & Teaching Energy | https://youtu.be/Uosc5C9QIsw |
| Meet Eddie | Outline of Education & Youth Programme for teachers | https://youtu.be/LLNHG2FlQdM |
Contact the helpdesk
The M&R Helpdesk is available between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01 808 2012
Frequently Asked Questions
Using the data that you report, the M&R system calculates and tracks the progress of every school towards three energy and climate targets that apply for the schools sector:
- A 2030 fossil CO2 target. Fossil CO2 refers to emissions arising from your school's consumption of fossil fuels, including for heating (thermal) and transport. The system calculates your school's fossil CO2 each year by multiplying the annual consumption values reported by you for fossil fuels by SEAI emission factors. To achieve the 2030 fossil CO2 target, schools must reduce CO2 emissions by 51% by 2030, compared to a GHG baseline period. The baseline period for almost all schools is 2016-2018 (average).
- A 2030 total CO2 target. The system calculates your school's electricity CO2 and adds this to its fossil CO2 to calculate its total CO2. Schools will achieve the total CO2 target the fossil CO2 target is achieved and electricity consumption is maintained at the same level as it was at the GHG baseline period.
- A 2030 energy efficiency target. To achieve this target, schools must improve energy efficiency by 50% by 2030, compared to an energy efficiency baseline, which is 2013 for most schools. Schools can also choose to use earlier baselines, and some have later baselines. Your school’s progress towards the energy efficiency target is calculated by dividing its annual energy consumption by the number of students in that year. This is called an energy performance indicator (EnPI). A decreasing EnPI is an indicator of improving energy efficiency. And vice versa.
The CO2 targets are absolute reduction targets, i.e. there is no adjustment for changes in school size or activity levels. The energy efficiency target accounts for changes in student numbers in your school.
Staff numbers can change over the course of the year and this system operates on a calendar year.
You should account for all full-time and part-time school staff in your calculation, i.e. teaching, administrative, caretaker, etc.
You can calculate the full-time equivalent of a part-time staff member by dividing the total part-time hours worked (by the part-time staff member) by the average annual hours that would be worked on a full-time basis.
There are several ways in which you can determine the floor area of the school.
- You can review the school plans or a previous survey, if either are available.
- You can check your Display Energy Certificate (DEC), if your school has one.
- You can measure it, as accurately as you can.
- Or you can consult with an architect or engineer, if possible.
Remember to account for changes in floor area over time (if any), e.g. extensions. If your school has not added (or removed) new classrooms or facilities it is likely that the floor area has not changed over time.
1 square foot = 0.093 m2.
You can estimate the TUFA of your school using the distance/area tool on www.maps.ie.
- Click on 'Distance/Area' on the green bar at the top of the home page.
- Select the 'Satellite' view on the top right hand corner of the map, and the 'Area' function on the left.
- Enter the address of the school and locate it on the map.
- Zoom in and use your cursor to measure the area in m2 by drawing around the outline of the school building(s) and pressing 'calculate'. The result is shown above the map.
- Start by measuring the parts of the school that are single storey. Then measure any parts of the school that have more than one storey and multiply the m2 by the number of storeys, e.g. if any parts of the school are two storey, measure those parts and multiply the m2 by two.
- Be sure not to include outdoor areas, including courtyard spaces. If appropriate, measure these and subtract from the overall measurement.
- If your school has had an extension recently it may not appear on the map, so consult the architect or the school plans to find out the area.
Important notes:
- This method provides an estimate of TUFA for the purposes of submitting data through SEAI's monitoring and reporting (M&R) system only. It should only be used when it is not possible to obtain an accurate measurement. SEAI reserves the right to request an accurate measurement in the future if more robust data is needed for calculations within the M&R system.
- This guidance is provided 'as is'. SEAI does not stand over the accuracy of the calculation by this third-party area calculation tool and cannot guarantee the ongoing availability of the tool. Furthermore, SEAI does not endorse this particular tool, which has been chosen for purpose of example only. There are other similar tools available online which operate in a similar manner.
Evening classes and other formal education classes that occur outside the normal school day involve the consumption of additional energy over and above what should be consumed during a normal school day.
The 'No. hours per year for additional classes' is the approximate number of hours over the course of the year during which the school was open for the delivery of formal education classes outside the normal school day.
The ‘Average no. students for each additional hour’ is the average number of students in attendance during the delivery of those formal education classes that are outside the normal school day, e.g. average number of students in attendance at evening classes.
Key rules:
- You must report annual values for all years back to the start of your energy efficiency baseline.
- You must report your activity levels in the units indicated.
The best way to calculate your oil consumption is by taking readings from a meter, if you have one. If you don’t have a meter or sufficient meter readings you should estimate the consumption from your oil bills. Remember that the billed quantities will not necessarily match your consumption in a specific year because your tank could have different levels at the start and end of the year. Only the fuel consumed in each calendar year should be reported.
There are two different types of heating oil used in schools - kerosene and gasoil. If you are not sure which type of heating oil you use, you can either ack your supplier or check the colour of the fuel.
Kerosene
Kerosene is reddish in colour. Report the litres of kerosene consumed by your school each year.
Gasoil
Gasoil is dyed green in colour. Report the litres of gasoil consumed by your organisation each year.
The vast majority of schools use heating oil or natural gas for all or part of their heating.
Some schools top this up by heating some rooms using electricity, e.g. storage heaters, plug-in radiators etc.
A small number of schools use electricity for all of their heating. These schools have no boilers.
Under the ‘heating your school’ section users are asked ‘Does (did) your school use electricity for heating any rooms?’
If you answer ‘Yes’, complete the table for every year back to your energy efficiency baseline. For each year, either tick the box to indicate that your school was heated entirely by electricity in the year or enter the number of classrooms that were heated by electricity in the year.
The M&R system operates on a calendar year.
For pupil numbers, you can choose to calculate your pupil numbers in one of two ways:
- You can enter the number of pupils as of the beginning of September each year.
- Or you can calculate an average number of pupils across the calendar year, based on pupil numbers in different months or terms.
The important thing is that you calculate your pupil numbers in the same way for each year that you report data.