Projects
Read more about Sustainability at School in action.
.png)
Hastings School
Madrid, Spain
Sustainability at School began working with Hastings in 2021: the school wanted to create a clearer focus for environmental action, and to measure impact.
At the outset, we supported the school to set up a whole school team to drive sustainability action across all 6 buildings, designed a three-year sustainability strategy, and implemented systematic impact measurement.
Each year we helped the team prioritise a thematic focus to drive whole school action. So far, they have implemented successful campaigns to reduce energy consumption (achieving a 10% reduction in one year), combat food waste and boost climate friendly eating, as well as establishing thriving urban gardens across 4 of the campuses. And, in 2023 Hastings was awarded the EcoSchools green flag in recognition of these efforts.
To support the school to take their sustainability work to the next level, each year we collected and analysed data to create its carbon footprint (scope 1-3). The team was inspired to set the ambitious goal to become the first carbon neutral school in Madrid. By continuing to reduce emissions through student & staff action, as well as fundraising more than €15,000 to offset unavoidable emissions (an innovative partnership with Ripple Africa), they achieved this goal in 2024.
The school has now appointed a School Sustainability Lead to support its network of eco leaders and student-led action on an on-going basis. While there’s always more to do, it’s clear that sustainable behaviours (such as recycling properly, turning off the lights, or not wasting food) that were ‘new’ for many staff and students 4 years ago have increasingly become simply ‘the way things are done’ at Hastings.
The team is now keen to explore how to further embed Education for Sustainability within the curriculum throughout the school to further increase impact.
Our impact:
'After having developed a very ambitious sustainability project at Hastings during the past four years which has ensured attitudes such as reducing and recycling are fully embedded in the school community, Clare is now supporting us to continue moving forward in our sustainability journey, which is never the end product, but an evolving project from which students, staff and families can always learn something new. I cannot recommend Clare and her team highly enough.'
​
Eva Gallego, Hastings Sustainability Lead
.png)
St. Andrews International School Dusit
Bangkok, Thailand
At St Andrew’s Dusit, various environmental initiatives had been started, but the team was keen to create a more structured approach and increase their impact. Based on surveys and interviews with the school community, they decided tackle the issue of food waste.
 
We helped establish a Sustainability Action Team (SAT) to drive change, who, in turn, recruited an enthusiastic group of ‘Eco Warriors’ representing each class. Students undertook a specific food waste review including interviewing the catering team.
With our support, the team turned the ideas generated by students and staff into an actionable plan, and then implemented key actions including:
-
Introducing operational changes in the lunch room and increasing student autonomy
-
Developing an awareness video with specific actions to take
-
Creating an inter-house competition monitoring food waste
-
Creating a food waste slogan competition 
-
Launching ‘snack trackers’ to gather data on which snacks get thrown away and adapting the snack menu accordingly
-
Implementing daily composting in the rooftop garden 
By the end the 23/24 academic year the school had already achieved a 9% reduction in daily food waste but decided to continue focussing on this topic with the aim of achieving a 15% reduction in 24/25.
 
In addition, the team also redesigned their rooftop garden (adding shading, fans and furniture for learning space) to increase the use of this space to enhance learning outdoors. Sustainability at School is also working with the academic Phase Leads drive an increased focus on Education for Sustainability. Through a simple and practical review process, the team has set a goal to review at least one learning theme per year group identifying opportunities to enhance Education for Sustainability and test new approaches in the 25/26 academic year.
Our impact:
'You have really helped to plan and bring the community’s ideas to life with simple steps. We have actually achieved a lot already and you have helped to clarify what happens next and who can lead.'​
​
Louise Stout, Head of School
El Limonar International School
Murcia, Spain
ELIS Murcia has invested in a state-of-the-art sustainable campus, but leadership and staff felt that this forward-thinking approach was not reflected in the day-to-day life of the school in simple habits like effective recycling.
​
Following staff consultation, we supported the school to set up a Sustainability Action Team to drive action across the whole school. We helped the team prioritise their efforts and recruit a new network of peer-elected student eco leaders from infants through to upper school.
The team decided to focus first on reducing waste and improving recycling. We worked with the operations team to set up systematic data collection and set targets for waste reduction. The students undertook a comprehensive waste review to generate ideas for action, subsequently creating videos, leading assemblies, organing litter collection and teaching their peers how to separate waste correctly.
By the end of the first year, the school had achieved a 16% reduction in overall waste. In year 2 the team focussed in specifically on food waste achieving a 10% reduction. In addition to the quantitative impact achieved, however, the school emphasises the importance of a true culture shift to more sustainable behaviours among students and staff. This is evidenced, for example, by students holding one another to account to finish the food on their plate or to not drop litter.
To support the development of student leadership, Sustainability at School also recently delivered Student Advocacy Workshops to the 40+ Upper School Eco Leaders. These young change makers developed mini-advocacy strategies which they will soon have the opportunity to present to the school’s leadership team. We can’t wait to see what they will achieve!
Our impact:
'Clare’s clarity of vision, and subject knowledge have led to enriching meetings with staff who, in turn, are supporting the development of student eco-leadership teams. We are very happy with the steps we are taking to develop consistent, sustainable habits that will have a life-lasting impact on the planet and the generations to come.'
​
Vanessa Grimward, Executive Principal
Downsend School
Leatherhead, UK
Downsend School began work with Sustainability at School already having in place a well-established sustainability portfolio. Building on this strong foundation, we supported the school to scale up ambition and deliver a whole-school, data-driven approach to sustainability, with the structures, measurement, and accountability in place to deliver meaningful and measurable change.
This process began in September 2023, when we supported Downsend School to establish a sustainability baseline through surveys, interviews, and data analysis. We also helped them to establish a school-wide Sustainability Action Team, with representation from students and a range of senior, classroom, and non-teaching staff.
​
For the 2023/24 academic year, the Sustainability Action Team chose to focus on waste reduction, including food waste, as its priority.​ The Team agreed SMART objectives and time-bound actions to help deliver them, all pulled together in a widely shared Action Plan. The Action Plan served as the foundation for monitoring and accountability, with actions led by a combination of staff and students, including the Junior and Senior School Eco-Committees.
​
And this worked - by May 2024, Downsend School had achieved a 20% reduction in total general waste and increased the percentage of waste recycled from 21% to 25%. The school also saw ​qualitative improvements in knowledge and awareness of sustainability. These successes were well-recognised, with Downsend School being named a National Topic Award Winner by Eco Schools and receiving a City Kids Green Award for ‘Best Student Initiative’.
​
Downsend School continues to scale up its sustainability work, with the 2024/25 academic year focussing on energy reduction.
Our impact:
‘Having the involvement of Sustainability at School has meant that we have been able to be truly focused on the changes that we want to implement in an informed and dynamic way. Without their keen awareness of what data is available and their understanding of the art of the possible with regards to environmental change, starting a project of this type and gaining traction with it would have been almost impossible. As it is, the progress against our target has been even better than we’d hoped and there’s no stopping us now!’ ​
​
Clare Kirkham, Head of Junior School