Sustainable Schools for pupils, communities and the environment

A Sustainable Education As part of a new consultation from the Department for Education and Skills, developed with support from the Sustainable Development Commission, school leaders and pupils are being asked:

“How should we prepare pupils for a more sustainable lifestyle? ”

THE CONSULTATION IS NOW CLOSED

The Government’s aim is for all schools to be models of sustainable development for their communities by 2020. As they contribute 15 per cent of public sector carbon emissions and 2 per cent for the whole of the UK¹, there is an obvious opportunity for schools to become more energy efficient. England’s public sector schools have the opportunity to impact millions of people with over 8 million pupils and almost half a million teachers².

This is a unique opportunity for those working with and in schools to work together on the improvements they would like to see. The consultation asks schools to look at their impact across the curricululm, campus and community with reference to eight themes or ‘doorways’, including food and drink, purchasing and waste and the global dimension.

Leading the way
Some schools are already tackling these areas, like Cassop Primary School in County Durham. They have reduced their energy bills by a third thanks to the wind turbine installed in the school grounds in partnership with Durham County Council and Northern Electric. Low-energy light bulbs are in use throughout the school and elected pupils, known as Energy Monitors, graph and analyse the school’s energy and water use to identify efficiency savings.

Going Neutral
In what is believed to be a first for government, the consultation is climate neutral. Working with Climate Care, the Department has offset the CO2 emissions arising from all printing and distribution, consultation events, and response routes. The money used to offset these will go towards sustainable energy projects, like the production of energy efficient cooking stoves for schools in India.

Image: Department for Education and Skills © Crown Copyright
¹ SDC Schools Carbon Footprinting Scoping Study (Unpublished)
² Office for National Statistics, Regional Trends 38, 2002/3, www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=7727&Pos=7&ColRank=1&Rank=272

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32% of SDC website users think schools have the primary responibility for preparing children and young people to take action on sustainable development.

Source: Website Poll, May 2006