Organizational Culture:
Planning & Policy
START Metric #16:
Strategic Planning
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Ideas & Resources
Strategic planning is essential for embedding environmental, economic, and social sustainability into the long-term goals and direction of your school. This START metric focuses on integrating sustainability principles into the school’s mission, vision, and action plans to ensure that decisions and operations align with broader sustainability goals. By taking a strategic approach, schools can set a clear roadmap for achieving impactful, measurable, and enduring progress in areas such as environmental stewardship, equity, and resource efficiency.
Effective sustainability-focused strategic planning not only helps schools address pressing global challenges but also positions them as leaders in fostering a sustainable future. This process provides clarity, accountability, and momentum, ensuring that sustainability is an integral part of the school’s growth and success.
Strategies for Strategic Sustainability Planning
NOTE: This is not a prescriptive list; it just offers ideas to inspire action and can be tailored to fit the unique needs of each school.
Incorporate Sustainability into the Mission and Vision
Explicitly state the school’s commitment to environmental, economic, and social sustainability in its mission and vision statements.
Use these statements to guide all decision-making and strategic planning efforts.
Engage Stakeholders in the Planning Process
Involve students, staff, parents, and community members in discussions about the school’s sustainability priorities.
Use workshops, surveys, or focus groups to gather diverse perspectives and build buy-in.
Conduct a Baseline Assessment
Evaluate the school’s current performance in areas like energy use, waste management, equity, and community engagement.
Use this data to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.
Define Clear Sustainability Goals
Establish long-term goals, such as achieving carbon neutrality, zero waste, or equitable access to resources.
Break these goals into actionable, measurable steps to ensure progress can be tracked.
Develop an Actionable Plan
Outline specific strategies, initiatives, and timelines for achieving each sustainability goal.
Assign responsibilities to individuals or teams to ensure accountability.
Align Sustainability with Academic Goals
Integrate sustainability themes into the school’s educational objectives, curriculum, and extracurricular activities.
Use strategic planning to ensure sustainability efforts enhance learning opportunities for students.
Prioritize Equity and Inclusion
Address social sustainability by ensuring equitable access to resources, opportunities, and programs.
Include goals that promote diversity, inclusion, and community engagement.
Incorporate Financial Planning
Plan for the long-term financial sustainability of initiatives by identifying funding sources and cost-saving opportunities.
Use life-cycle cost analysis to evaluate investments in energy-efficient or sustainable infrastructure.
Leverage Technology and Data
Use data analytics and digital tools to monitor progress, identify trends, and refine strategies.
Incorporate technology to optimize resource use, such as energy management systems or waste tracking apps.
Foster Partnerships
Collaborate with local organizations, businesses, and government agencies to support sustainability initiatives.
Use partnerships to access funding, expertise, and community resources.
Monitor and Evaluate Progress
Establish metrics to measure success in areas like emissions reductions, waste diversion, or student engagement.
Conduct regular reviews of the strategic plan to assess progress and make adjustments as needed.
Communicate the Plan
Share the school’s sustainability vision and strategic plan with the entire community through newsletters, social media, or events.
Use transparent reporting to build trust and encourage ongoing support.
Celebrate Milestones and Successes
Recognize achievements in implementing the strategic plan, such as reaching energy-saving targets or launching new initiatives.
Use celebrations to sustain momentum and inspire further participation.
Adapt to Emerging Challenges and Opportunities
Design the plan to be flexible and responsive to new technologies, funding opportunities, or environmental challenges.
Regularly revisit goals to ensure they remain relevant and ambitious.
Involve Students in Strategic Planning
Encourage student participation in shaping the school’s sustainability vision and goals.
Use the planning process as an educational opportunity to teach leadership and systems thinking.
Additional Resources
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Sustainability Stock Take for Districts
From the New Buildings Institute, a primer to help you take stock of current stakeholders and activities in the district so you can uncover existing relevant plans, goals, and policies.
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Affordable Zero Energy K–12 Schools: The Cost Barrier Illusion
From the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a report on the costs of renovations and energy efficiency upgrades versus long term savings.
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The Financial Case for Net-Zero Schools
From UndauntedK12, a report on aggregated cost savings versus the costs of building inefficiencies.
Schools hold the key to a healthy, sustainable and regenerative future.
They are role-models and incubators that that nurture, educate and prepare each generation for adult life.
Schools have a unique opportunity and profound responsibility to become part the transition to a sustainable, regenerative future in which people and planet can thrive.
But how do we get there?
START: Sustainability Tracking, Analytics & Roadmap Tool was created by schools, for schools, to help them develop comprehensive programs for step-by-step progress towards sustainability, regenerative practice, and student empowerment.
START provides a Roadmap for School Sustainability:
It breaks down school sustainability into clear actions (‘metrics’), such as Minimizing Waste, Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and supporting Sustainable Transportation options.
However, research shows it’s not enough for a school to simply reduce its environmental impact.
Students and staff also need to learn about sustainability, and practice it in day-to-day activities, because this impacts their attitudes and behaviors when they leave school. That’s why START includes metrics like Sustainability Events for Students, Sustainability Course Content, and Sustainable Purchasing Practices.
How sustainable is our school now?
Schools use START to measure how sustainable they are now. A school’s START team investigates how their school currently operates to find their ‘sustainability baseline’ for each metric. For example, is our school a beginner, intermediate or advanced in sustainable water use? START enables schools to benchmark, track and visualize their current sustainability levels, as well as hard data around their waste, water, energy and greenhouse gas emissions.
Where should we go next, and do we collaborate for success?
What do we need to do to ‘level up’ in each metric? Once schools have their baselines, START helps them to set goals and plan for progress. START provides a central hub for school members to collaborate, document, and plan their school’s sustainability journey.
START is a subscription-based Whole School Sustainability dashboard.
It requires at least one adult school member to create a school’s START account, but it will need a team (students, teachers and staff) to grow a Whole School Sustainability program.
Interested schools can sign up for a demo or apply to set up an account.
Learn more about START here, and consider sharing the brochure with your school.
Let’s create a better future, one school at a time.
Contact us at guides@greenschoolsalliance.org if you have a free resource to contribute or recommend that can help schools take action around this specific sustainability metric.