Education providers: Do you have a climate action plan?
A straightforward action plan empowers education settings to realise climate ambitions.
The Department for Education (DfE) expects all education settings in England, including non-domestic early years settings, schools, multi-academy trusts, colleges and universities – to have a climate action plan.
Beyond compliance alone, a straightforward action plan empowers your organisation to realise climate ambitions.
In turn, this can empower your staff, students and wider community to be a part of positive change.
What is a climate action plan?
This is a detailed plan which allows your education setting or trust to progress or commence sustainability initiatives. Your climate action plan may sit within an individual setting, across a trust, or both.
While the format of your climate action plan may vary, all should include these four key pillars:
- Adaptation and resilience: How the education setting in question is preparing for and responding to climate change impacts.
- Biodiversity and nature: Efforts to protect and enhance nature and wildlife within the education setting and its surroundings.
- Climate education and green skills: How learners are supported to understand climate change and sustainability and develop relevant skills.
- Decarbonisation and net zero: Actions to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions – working towards net zero.
Creating your climate action plan allows an education setting to take a structured and strategic route toward ensuring your organisation is acting toward, and educating about sustainability.
There is no expectation to store your climate action plan in a specific way. However, you may choose to publish this on your website for transparency and accountability.
According to the sustainability and climate change strategy for education: “By 2025, all education settings will have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan.”
Do you have a sustainability lead?
Besides having a climate action plan, nurseries, schools and colleges are also expected to nominate a sustainability lead. Sustainability leads often:
- Develop and drive the education setting’s sustainability vision and action plan.
- Coordinate activity across teaching, estates, leadership and community engagement.
- Engage staff, learners and other stakeholders to build buy-in and momentum.
- Track progress against sustainability goals, reporting impact and lessons learned.
- Stay informed about relevant policies, practices and opportunities.
- Champion equity and inclusive approaches in sustainability work.
How can Inspired help?
As a focal point of students’ lives and bedrocks of their communities, education providers are also in a uniquely prominent position when it comes to climate action.
Meanwhile, education providers navigate budgetary constraints and resource limitations amidst a continuously evolving compliance landscape, all the while prioritising your students.
Understandably, your organisation may lack the resources and expertise required for data collection, action plan development, and effective reporting.
This is where we come in. Working in collaboration with your sustainability lead, Inspired’s ESG experts can help you create and refine a powerful climate action plan.
If you would like to discuss how we could best support you, please email us at [email protected]
