Why become a Sustainable School?
Sustainability means “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Evidence shows the broad positive impacts of sustainable schools on students, staff and the wider community.
Being a sustainable school raises standards and achievements, enhances well-being and attendance, improves motivation and behaviour, and promotes healthy school environments and lifestyles. It improves teaching and learning by “providing a meaningful, real-world focus which young people recognize as significant for their lives”.
- Final Recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review (2010)
Empower today’s students to build a better future
- for People, Planet and Prosperity
Schools are incubators for ideas, innovation, and leadership. What students learn and experience at school will ripple into the wider community.
Healthy, sustainable and climate-resilient schools will lead to a healthier, more sustainable, and climate-resilient world.
“The countries that build great zero-carbon companies and industries will be the ones that lead the global economy in the coming decades.” - Bill Gates
Schools have a unique opportunity—and a profound responsibility—to empower their students to shape a better future. School is where students gain knowledge, learn norms and expectations, and practice what it is to be a good citizen of the world. Schools have a responsibility to show students how to live sustainably by integrating these values into learning environments, everyday practices and curricula.
It’s not enough for students to learn about sustainability in theory—they need to see it in action.
“Pessimism turned to hope when [people] felt that they had the power to act. … the children who were most confident that climate change need not overwhelm them were those whose schools had decided to replace unfocused fear by factual information and practical strategies for energy reduction and sustainability”.
Final Recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review (2010)
Become a Leader and Role-Model in your Community
Embracing sustainability is an opportunity for schools to demonstrate leadership in their community and to show that their school is looking ahead. Becoming a sustainable school improves the public image of a school, offering a competitive advantage - particularly as the governments, markets and society at large are increasingly concerned about environmental and social outcomes. The business case for sustainable schools extends to lowered operational costs, with estimates indicating that schools that do not pursue net-zero may spend 20-25% more over a 30-year life cycle based on increased energy and maintenance costs alone.
