A free-to-use online resource – specifically designed for school sustainability champions

Zenergi has partnered with the UK Schools Sustainability Network (UKSSN) Operations Group to develop a powerful new tool to allow schools to measure, track and benchmark progress against key sustainability objectives.

This ground breaking initiative provides a structured approach for participants to understand their school site’s environmental impact against targeted metrics, and offers actionable insights in essential management areas such as air quality, biodiversity, catering, energy, ICT, procurement, waste management and water.

Responding to a critical need for climate action support

The team behind the initiative developed it following the publication of the government’s policy paper, ‘Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children’s services systems’. Recognising the growing obligations on the education sector to meet critical net zero targets and a competing set of priorities and challenges holding schools back from doing so, the Index is designed to help steer and guide school leaders, in particular new Sustainability Leads, to achieving milestones. By participating, schools gain valuable insights into their sustainability practices and can easily pinpoint their next steps.

Comprehensive survey provides insights across key sustainability metrics

The Greener Schools Index invites schools to complete a comprehensive online survey, developed alongside esteemed sustainability authorities Paul Edmond, Chief Finance and Sustainability Officer at HEART Academies Trust, and Helen Burge, Interim CFO / COO for The Priory Learning Trust. Together they lead the UKSSN Operations Group, bringing together operations, finance and business management teams across a range of educational settings to engage with the sustainability agenda via network meetings, sharing resources, and podcasts.

To aid completion of the survey, a useful resources section includes a comprehensive range of support materials. On completion of the survey, an individual pdf report will be provided, summarising progress and identifying achievements as well as areas where more can be done. The report can be shared with governors and trustees and the content copied into a Climate Action Plan to help develop a sustainability roadmap. With participants’ permission, results are populated into an index, helping schools benchmark and identify where to seek support from peers.