Website – UKSSN Operations Group

LinkedIn – (3) UK Schools Sustainability Network Operations Group | Groups | LinkedIn

“Progress, not perfection” – The Equalizer

This week from UKSSN Ops Group –

  • Procurement: CST Building Excellence
  • Water: Waterwise and Water Literacy
  • ICT: Carbon footprint (opportunity)
  • Support: Let’s Go Zero training and advice
  • Support: Climate Education – free platform subscription
  • Support: Zerergi Energy & Carbon Management workshops
  • Nature: Education Nature Park – Mental Health
  • Planning: Greener Schools Index
  • Catering: Proveg Caterer Rankings
  • Communication: edie – Sustainability Uncovered
  • CPD: Sustainability Events
  • UKSSN Network Meeting – Retrofit (27th Feb)
  • Progress, not perfection
  • Plus: Advice and Support

🛒Procurement: CST Building Excellence🛒
This week I had the privilege of presenting alongside David Shields, CEO of Value Match, at the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) Finance and Operations Conference, ‘Building Excellence’. Our talk was on how we can lever procurement to deliver improved outcomes for schools, with better value, in a more sustainable and socially responsible manner.

  • Collectively we are responsible for £ billions of expenditure on goods and services.
  • Two-thirds of a school carbon footprint in embedded in what we buy.
  • We all buy from complex supply chains that can be linked to human rights abuse and inequality.

We challenged our audience with three questions –

  1. What actions can we take as leaders to ensure what we are buying will deliver value-for-money and have a positive societal impact?
  2. What actions can we take to improve how we are buying efficiently and allocate resources to critical areas of supply?
  3. What actions can we take to ensure we have suppliers who support our strategic outcomes in a sustainable and socially responsible manner?

The good news is there are actions we can take when we work strategically to create value for our schools and reduce the harms we do to people and planet. What we can’t do is think a business-as-usual approach will deliver the outcomes we need.

“If you keep doing what you have always done, you’ll keep getting what you have always got.” (T. Harv Eker)  


Plus: edie free to attend webinars on sustainable supply chains. the Sustainable Supply Chain Webinar Sessions will take place from 1pm to 2.45pm on Thursday 27 February 2025. These free-to-attend online events are designed to equip sustainability and procurement professionals from organisations of all sizes and sectors with actionable insights on engaging with suppliers to measure and manage sustainability impacts and risks in their supply chains.

🌊Water: Water Literacy & Waterwise🌊
Webinar: Becoming A Water Wise Organisation
Waterwise recently deliver a webinar on ‘becoming a water-wise’ organisation. Water scarcity is a growing issue globally as well as in the UK. Last year, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) revealed that 2023 was the driest year for global rivers in more than thirty years. The report shows that river flows and reservoir inflows have recorded below-normal levels for the past five consecutive years. In 2023, more than 50% of global catchment areas showed abnormal conditions, with most exhibiting water deficits. The UK is highlighted as facing increasing water insecurity that could potentially hinder economic growth. Water also accounts for 6% of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK.

  • If you’re interested in applying for a Waterwise Checkmark Award or finding out more please contact us on info@waterwise.org.uk.
  • To sign up for a free space on the national Water Literacy pilot and for more details about the project please visit the newly launched Water Literacy website here.
  • You can purchase tickets to the Waterwise 2025 Online Water Efficiency Conference: No Time To Waste here.

💻ICT: Carbon Footprint💻
https://px3.org.uk/2024/07/08/px3-begins-one-of-the-largest-sustainable-it-research-projects-conducted-to-date/
University of Warwick is running a study on the carbon footprint of ICT in schools. The study is coming to a conclusion but there is still opportunity to take part – and receive a report showing the carbon footprint of your schools ICT – if you can provide asset data (make, model, quantity) by 14th February. If you are interested in participating, please contact Dr Justin Sutton-Parker – justin@px3.org.uk.

⛑️Support: Let’s Go Zero⛑️
Free Carbon Literacy training from Let’s Go Zero
Starting 11 March, Let’s Go Zero are running brand new Carbon Literacy training programme which will support school staff members looking to boost their confidence and understanding of climate change and carbon emissions. The course will focus on key topics like recycling, pollution, climate change and how to inspire the next generation to take action on environmental issues. You can also get in touch with your local Climate Advisor for support in developing your climate action plan and reducing your emissions.

⛑️Support: Climate Education (PECT)⛑️
Our subscriptions – Climate Education
The team at Climate Education have released a free version of their school/trust support package. Free membership enables schools to join our growing network, receive our termly newsletter and make use of a selection of resources, information and guidance. We have also worked with PECT, the environmental charity that built Climate Education, to create nature development plans for each of our schools 💚.

⛑️Support: Zenergi – Energy & Carbon Management Workshop⛑️
Half-day training workshop for sustainability leaders: Register now! – Zenergi
Register for Zenergi’s interactive, half-day workshop, led by senior energy consultants and technical experts and designed to give school Sustainability Leads practical tools and insights needed to take control of energy and carbon management in their school or MAT.

🦋Nature: Education Nature Park – Mental Health🦋
Resources
As Children’s Mental Health Week kicks off, be sure to check out free nature connection resources. From a barefoot safari and forest bathing to storytelling and designing a plant, there are curriculum-linked activities across subjects and key stages. Educators may also like to take a look through their guide to Climate Education and Mental Health, which introduces a range of ways that young people can be supported to learn about the climate crisis while protecting their mental health and wellbeing.

Plus: Staff and students share their ideas for the Nature Park at the final Schools Forum session
This month saw the final gathering of the Nature Park Schools Forum, the result of several sessions where staff and students from across England have been giving their thoughts on development of the National Education Nature Park programme.

Plus: School grounds as a classroom for curriculum learning: a secondary school case study
At Lady Manners School in Derbyshire, teachers have been using their school grounds to support curriculum learning in a range of subjects. We spoke to three teachers from the Maths, Science and Geography departments. They explained how using real world examples helps engage their students: bringing subjects to life, collecting real data to provide powerful learning experiences and nurturing care for the local environment through connecting to their grounds.

📋Planning: Greener School Index (GSI)📋
Greener Schools Index
The GSI is a free tool self-assessment tool designed to support all schools, however big or small, and at whatever stage they are on their net zero journey.

  • Helps you evaluate your school’s progress, strengths and areas for improvement in essential areas such as air quality, biodiversity, catering management, energy, ICT, procurement, waste management and water​.
  • Each completed survey generates an individual pdf report of responses that can be shared with Governors and Trustees, or used to inform a Climate Action Plan and help develop your school’s sustainability roadmap​.

The first pilot of the GSI will run until 28th February 2025 and will help you assess your current level of climate action and identify areas for further development. Give it a try…it is free and a particularly useful planning tool.

🍅Catering: Proveg – Caterer rankings🍅
ProVeg UK launches Contract Caterer Ranking – ProVeg UK
ProVeg UK has launched the first of its kind ranking of contract caterers across England to find the most planet-friendly menus. To reach the top spots, caterers are ranked on their promotion of plant-based foods, the quality of plant-based dishes, and also score points on transparency and communication about these topics.

Plus: 9 top-tips from Giki for promoting a plant-rich diet.

📻Communication: Edie – Sustainability Uncovered📻
https://tinyurl.com/bde746d7
edie’s Sustainability Uncovered podcast is back for 2025. Tune in to this new episode for a focus on all things sustainability communications, from making accurate customer-facing claims and building great stories, to making sure your coworkers ‘get’ climate. Not everything is related to schools but there is a lot we can learn from business to strengthen our work in education.

📅 CPD: Sustainability Events 📅
On Monday I attended a fantastic event held by the East of England Climate Ambassador team. Conferences and events for climate and nature are great for CPD and building your network. We promote training on the website where all Members have facility to add local or regional events. Here are just a few more to look forward to –

  • East of England Sustainability in Education Series with updates from DfE in Bedfordshire (12th February 2025), Essex (26th March 2025) and Suffolk (2nd Apil 2025)
  • Schools Sustainability Showcase, ARU Peterborough (22nd May 2025)
  • ASCL Annual Sustainability Conference, Manchester (5th June 2025)

Plus: School Resource Management training (by Entrust) on ‘A Sustainable Estate and Climate Action Plans‘ running in the new year.

🎓UKSSN Ops Group: Network Meeting – Retrofit🎓
UKSSN Operations Group Online Community
A reminder that we have our next UKSSN Ops Group network meeting on 27th February at 16.00 (MS Teams). The theme of the meeting is retrofit. We know that 80% of the school buildings that exist today will still be in use by 2050. We need to retrofit what we have to make sure it is fit-for-purpose and supports both people and planet.

And finally….progress, not perfection
The world’s hottest year on record is behind us; devastating wildfires have set the tone for the year ahead. January 2025 was the warmest since records began. The impacts of climate and nature crises are no longer distant warnings, they are here. The cost of the LA fires is upwards of $150 billion with many 1,000’s uninsured. The agenda for 2025 is not about perfection but about progress. But it must be the year in which we abandon complacency, we must transform now or defend a future that is already lost. A few final thoughts –

  • Government and DfE will only lead if we actively and collectively push and support them.
  • Small incremental change is no longer sufficient. A whole-school approach and a change in culture is required.
  • Transitioning towards sustainability isn’t painless or cost-free. Manageable costs today or catastrophic consequences tomorrow. There are trade-offs necessary for our long-term resilience.

Have a great weekend 💚

 

Sources of advice and support

  1. DfE sustainability hub: Sustainability Support for Education (with updated features for 2025 and updates in LinkedIn
  2. UKSSN: UKSSN Operations Group
  3. Education Nature Park: Home | Education Nature Park
  4. Climate Ambassadors: Climate Ambassadors:
Turning Climate Ambition into Climate Action in Education | Climate Ambassadors
  5. Let’s Go Zero: UK Climate Change • Let’s Go Zero
  6. EAUC: The Platform – Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges, EAUC – United Kingdom
  7. FED: FED | Climate Change
  8. Good Estate Management for Schools – Good estate management for schools – Guidance – GOV.UK
  9. Sustainable Drainage (SUDS) – Susdrain – The community for sustainable drainage 

References
HM Government Net Zero Strategy (October 2021, page 29)
‘Government is leading the way – embedding climate into our policy and spending decisions, increasing the transparency of our progress on climate goals, and providing funding to drive ambitious emissions reductions in schools and hospitals.’
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6194dfa4d3bf7f0555071b1b/net-zero-strategy-beis.pdf

Department for Education Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy (April 2022)
Sustainability and climate change strategy – GOV.UK

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)
Environmental reporting guidelines: including Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting requirements – GOV.UK

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