School climate action guide
In 2019 Cheshire West and Chester Council declared a Climate Emergency and developed a Climate Emergency Response Plan to help the borough to become net zero by 2045.
This ambitious target will help to provide greener communities for our residents today and for future generations.
Everyone can play their part to help us achieve this goal including our local schools and young people.
This guide and accompanying template have been created to help your school do that. It will also help to fulfil the requirement set by the Department for Education‘s (DfE) sustainability and climate change strategy for educationContinue reading
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Waste, consumption and recycling
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As a society, we are consuming more and more. The result of this is an increase in waste. The items we consume produce a large amount of carbon emissions throughout their lives.
Decomposing waste also produces large amounts of carbon dioxide. It also creates other greenhouse gases like methane which have a direct impact on climate change.
Waste that is not properly disposed of can cause pollution and harm natural habitats and biodiversity.
This means that reducing waste and reducing our consumption of goods is key to helping to tackle climate change. This can be done by encouraging people to reduce, reuse, recycle and repair. Only buying what we need can also help to prevent climate change. Schools can play a key role in changing these behaviours by leading by example and teaching about it. This isn’t just among students, but also within your wider communities.
Some ideas for actions schools can take in this area include:
- Encouraging pupils to bring in reusable water bottles
- When hosting events consider using reusable cups, plates etc.
- Offer a swap shop for uniform, so it can be passed on to other year groups.
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Food
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The food we eat, grow, and buy has a big impact on how we reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.
12% of greenhouse emissions in the UK are from farming. Across the globe, how we grow, make and move around food leads to 50% of biodiversity loss and around 30% of carbon emissions. These impacts are mostly from the farming of animals and the use of machinery in farms.
How schools find, buy and manage school meals is a big opportunity to address climate change.
Making school food more sustainable is good for the environment. It can also save schools money, reduce food waste and support your students to eat healthier food. Key actions schools can take are set out below.
Cheshire West and Chester is accredited as a Sustainable Food Place, and there are a range of resources available, with some examples of the action you can take provided below.
Introducing sustainability standards in food procurement
Such as:
introducing a meat-free day every week, using ‘plant-powered’ meals
substituting some meat with other proteins like lentils. This also has financial and nutritional benefits
using more locally grown produce, seeking out local suppliers
minimising food packaging and choosing more sustainable options with less plastic
introducing higher welfare meat. For example ‘Red Tractor’ certified
offering seasonal menus
Reducing palm oil usage
Promote healthy and sustainable diets
Such as:
encouraging children to eat more vegetables and fruit. This should include two portions per meal
Provide greener energy sources for kitchens
Such as
moving to renewable energy sources for cooking and preparing food
Tailor school meals for students and staff
Such as:
remove or improve any meals which are not popular with staff and students
Connecting with others
Such as:
connecting with local community growing groups
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Putting your climate plan into action
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Hopefully the above has provided a guide to creating an effective climate action plan. This plan will result in simple, positive steps being taken by your school.
Once you have decided which actions you will take and committed resources to this, we recommend publishing your climate action plan on your school’s website. The benefit of publishing your plan is that it holds you accountable and ensures you take the actions that you have pledged to take.
It is also an opportunity to highlight what your school has achieved and showcase your school as a leading example tackling climate change. You may wish to identify when you will provide an update on delivering your plan. For example, this could be at the end of every school year, and you may wish to involve pupils or organise an assembly on it.
Climate action advisors
For further support with your climate action plans, Let's Go Zero Climate Action Advisors are now in place across the whole of England. They can deliver a free support programme to all schools, colleges and nurseries across England.
They offer schools a trusted expert on:
taking quick wins to reduce energy use and wider carbon impact
retrofitting a school. Including options, routes to funding, priorities and next steps
using government and private funding options
accelerating strategic sustainability across multi academy trusts
bringing together local and national organisations and projects who can help schools act
connecting with other local schools to share ideas
advising schools on their climate action plans.
They also work very closely with Councils to ensure the best support is offered to schools. For more information visit their website.
