A climate-friendly school, or eco-school, encourages the education of sustainable developments, especially by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide produced in order to decrease the effects of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. The term "climate-friendly school" arose and was promoted by the United Nation's

education for sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

program (ESD). The near scientific consensus on the warming of the climate system and growing

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

concern about its effects, as well as the increased international commitments by countries to reduce global emissions, has accelerated investment into climate-friendly technologies in recent years.

Climate-friendly initiatives

International initiatives such as the United Nation's

program (ESD), supported by the

Foundation for Environmental Education The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation promoting sustainable development through environmental education. FEE is active through five programmes; Blue Flag, Eco-Schools, Young Reporters ...

eco-schools program and the UNEP's

global universities partnership on environment and sustainability The Global Universities Partnership on Environment for Sustainability (GUPES) is a United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) flagship programme, hosted by the Environmental Education and Training Unit (EETU), at the UNEP Headquarters in Nair ...

have led the development of climate-friendly schools. In order to minimise the production of carbon dioxide, these initiatives have encouraged the calculation and reduction of carbon footprints, the reduction of waste (through composting, purchasing policies, litter-less lunches), alternative transport options and increased education of climate change issues.

Education for sustainable development (ESD)

The education for sustainable development (ESD) was developed through broad consultations with stakeholders from 2016 to 2018 with the aim of contributing to the achievement of 17 sustainable development goals. The United Nations introduced a "whole-school" approach, surrounding a situation where students learn about climate change is further improved by formal and informal messages promoted by the school's values and actions. The "whole-school" approach to climate change means that an educational institution encourages action for reducing climate change in every aspect of school life. This includes school governance, teaching content and methodology, campus and facilities management as well as cooperation with partners and the broader communities. This actively involves all internal and external school stakeholders, namely students, teachers, principals, school staff at all levels and the wider school community such as families and community members in reflecting and acting on climate change is key to a whole-school approach.

Eco-schools

The eco-schools program was developed in 1994 with the support of the European Commission and identified as model initiative for the ESD program by the United Nations. The aim of the program is to promote sustainable development issues in schools through the introduction of a seven-step methodology and eleven-subject theme encouragement.

Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability

The

was launched in 2012 at the UNEP in Shanghai, China. In accordance with the ESD program it aims to increase the mainstreaming of sustainability practises and education into universities worldwide. The program pays special attention to enabling individual transformation, societal transformation and technological advancement.

Climate-friendly schools

The following schools situated around the world have implemented the system of a "climate-friendly school", with respect to climate agreements.

Greece

As an experimental school, the Athens-Gennadeio in Greece was encouraged to introduce innovative programmes. In 2013, the school introduced systems into biology and chemistry courses for 157 senior secondary students. In this systems unit, students worked in groups to investigate climate change, virus transmission, and ecosystem dynamics with the help of computer simulations. Through their investigations, students discovered the properties of complex systems, such as positive and negative feedback loops. A group of students measured the energy sustainability of the school building, to find its weaknesses and construct an action plan to improve it.

Lebanon

The Al-Kawthar Secondary School in Beirut, Lebanon works to raise awareness of climate change within their school. So far, 2,421 students, 310 teachers, and 110 families have been involved in projects including tree-planting, making handicrafts from recycled materials, visiting national forests, recycling, and conserving water. The school also hosted film nights and workshops where students, families and teachers suggested ways to save the planet. Following the ISO-26000 guidelines for socially responsible institutions, the school has committed to a continuous process of improvement. At the beginning of the school year, the environmental committee develops an action plan based on what was learned and achieved the previous year. The committee keeps a record of their activities, so the school can identify high-impact activities and activities that could be scaled up. Teachers and students deepen their learning by sharing their experiences with other schools in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and around the world.

Côte d’Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, ASPnet schools implemented initiatives, with the consultation university researchers and medical practitioners, that aimed to preserve the biodiversity of forests. The biodiversity of forests was acknowledged to be under threat due to the widespread uses of forest resources as a culturally important practise in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before th ...

. The schools promote visits to botanical gardens where parents and traditional medicine practitioners teach students about traditional medicinal plant cultivation and methods of sustainable conservation. In collaboration with the experts and researchers, the ASPnet schools are now considering creating a genebank as well as replanting endangered species.

Brazil

In Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, the Colégio Israelita Brasileiro A. Liessen's environment team has developed initiatives to teach janitors, teachers, students and engineers about sustainable practices in experiential, non-formal learning activities. The team built a

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainag ...

solar ovens A solar cooker is a device which uses the energy of direct sunlight to heat, cook or pasteurize drink and other food materials. Many solar cookers currently in use are relatively inexpensive, low-tech devices, although some are as powerful or as ...

, bamboo bicycle racks and planted spices, flowers, and meditation gardens that could be converted into

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat ( tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil ...

cooking oils. The team has also offered trainings for school community members in order to secure buy-ins for the projects. For example, training on waste sorting and cooking oil collection was offered to employees and a gardening workshop was organized for student volunteers, so they could assist maintenance staff in caring for the expanding school gardens.

Denmark

The Endrupskolen School in Fredensborg, Denmark is able to offer students practical learning experiences in its partnership with the local non-profit organisation “Haver til Maver”. Specialist practitioners such as farmers, cooks, biologists or gardeners guide student excursions 8 times a year where lessons are taught about biodiversity. According to Endrupskolen teachers, students have reaped benefits in building better food futures for themselves, their families and society as a whole. Learning outside the traditional classroom has also helped students develop stronger peer relations and encouraged the growth of their self-esteem. Nagoya City Sengoku Elementary School

Japan

The Nagoya International School in Japan is committed to developing a school culture of sustainability, as expressed in their school mission statement. The institution aims to “nurture in its students the capacity to objectively define what is truly needed in the global society, to take action on their own, and to become active agents for sustainable development.” The Tokyo Global Engineering Corporation located in Japan (and globally) is an education-services organization that provides culminating education programs free of charge to engineering students and other stakeholders. These subsidised programs are intended to complement (but not replace) coursework required by academic degree programs of study. All correspondence among members is completed via e-mail and Skype, with English as the main language of education. Although, students are encouraged to publish organizational documents in their primary languages if English is a secondary language.

Sources

{{Free-content attribution , title = Getting Climate Ready: A Guide for Schools on Climate Action , author = Gibb, Natalie , publisher = UNESCO , page numbers = 5, 7-8, 10, 15, 18-19 , source = UNESCO , documentURL = http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002467/246740e.pdf , license statement URL = http://www.unesco.org/ulis/cgi-bin/ulis.pl?catno=246740&set=0058D7D42B_3_16&gp=1&lin=1&ll=1 , license = CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

References

Free content from UNESCO Sustainable development Environmental education