A Student-Centred Approach to
Whole School Sustainability Transformation
We work with all stakeholders in the school community to envision and deliver ambitious versions of their aspirations - like becoming a carbon-neutral or zero-waste school.
Solutions for Whole School Sustainability
Sustainability Auditing
We review all aspects of a school operations: energy, food and food waste, procurement and waste, communication, governance, stakeholder engagement, travel, community engagement, curriculum, and buildings and grounds.
Teaching & Learning
Using the campus as a living laboratory, we help schools unlock the sustainability learning that is embedded in the school’s campus and daily life.
Capacity Building
We develop the capacity of students and school communities to do the practical and intellectual work of becoming sustainable school communities.
Transformation
We engage, empower, and educate school communities to review, understand and transform their environmental footprint.
What is a Whole School Sustainability Audit?
A short introduction to our student-centred model with Metanoia Founder,
Anthony Dixon
The 5 C’s of a Sustainable School
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Many schools aspire to the ideal of a sustainable campus but live with the reality of older buildings that weren't designed to the highest environmental standards. But there are multiple ways to improve the environmental performance of a campus, from energy efficient appliances to redesign retrofits, low-impact cleaning materials and green landscaping - and they're all a source of learning opportunities to supplement what's taught in the classroom.
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To develop eco-literate students with the capacity to create and lead a sustainable society, we must do more than teach about sustainability, we must equip them with the skills and competencies to tackle real-world environmental challenges. A comprehensive experiential eco-literacy curriculum is embedded in the campus and everything the school does, from the way the buildings are designed, to the type of food served in the canteen and how decisions are made. There's material here for every subject and every grade level.
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Sustainability is a community practice - it depends on a network of relationships inside and outside the school, relationships which require effective collaboration and cooperative decision-making to maintain.
These skills are among those the students will need to tackle our many environmental challenges. The road to becoming a sustainable school, therefore, offers many opportunities for staff and students to model and learn these skills.
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Sustainable schools have a culture of sustainability. They do more than teach sustainability and model it in certain ways, their commitment to it is reflected in their mission and values, they integrate it into their governance and operations, including: long-term strategy, policy, decision-making, target-setting, partnerships with suppliers and daily practices, and they continuously engage a wide range of students, parents, staff and members of the external community in sustainabliity initiatives.
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Sustainable schools understand the fundamental role of communication in supporting the other 4Cs and embedding sustainability in the ethos culture and everyday practises of the school community. Sustainable schools develop communication strategies, dialogues and narratives that facilitate and enrich their sustainability journey.
Why Schools?
Schools are a microcosm of the city.
They share the same environmental problems as cities - waste, air quality, energy-inefficient buildings and carbon emissions.
Schools We’ve Worked With
Chinese International School
Hong Kong, SAR
The ISF Academy
Hong Kong, SAR
Kellett School
Hong Kong, SAR
Western Academy of Beijing
Beijing, China
The Arbor School
Dubai, UAE
Dubai College
Dubai, UAE
Rashid and Latifa Schools
Dubai, UAE
AISL Harrow Schools
Hong Kong SAR, China, Bangkok, Japan
French International School
Hong Kong, SAR
Tanglin Trust School
Singapore
How Sustainable is Your School?
Take our 5-minute school sustainability survey and find out
Upon completion, we’ll send you a confidential report with a summary of your results, recommendations for how to become a more sustainable school, and a snapshot of how you’re doing compared to other schools around the world.