Measures aimed at making Scotland�s schools greener were announced yesterday by Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop.

Measures aimed at making Scotland's schools greener were announced yesterday by Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop.

The initiative hopes to boost the use of renewables in schools and also improve energy efficiency.

A report by watchdogs Audit Scotland last year said councils needed to do more to ensure environmental sustainability is a key factor in the design of schools.

Funding is being provided for two specialist officers, who will work with councils to encourage greater use of renewables in schools. The Carbon Trust, which helps organisations cut their carbon emissions, will also offer each local authority a "low-carbon" consultant. The trust has already worked with Inverclyde Council to help achieve energy efficiency for schools in its PPP project.

Ms Hyslop said: "The green message to be conveyed through environmentally-friendly school buildings and facilities cannot be stressed enough." The education secretary visited Sanderson's Wynd Primary School in Tranent, East Lothian, where she saw a "low-carbon school" with a windmill and solar panels.

The school also has automatic lighting that reacts to the amount of daylight in a room, along with an information panel displaying how much energy the school is generating at any one time.

Ms Hyslop said: "All of the measures at Sanderson will be important in helping tackle climate change and, at a time of high fuel prices, both renewable generation and energy efficiency measures will be important in helping local authorities reduce consumption, carbon emissions and energy bills."

John Stocks, manager of the Carbon Trust in Scotland, said working with Inverclyde Council had helped create schools with a "significantly lower carbon footprint".