Green Schools Alliance

Green Schools Alliance (GSA) is an effort by primary and secondary schools worldwide to address climate change and conservation challenges by creating a peer-to-peer network of member schools committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating the implementation of sustainable solutions.

GSA member schools share and implement sustainability best practices and promote connections between schools, communities, and the environments that sustain them. GSA does this by creating peer-to-peer forums, exchanging resources, offering original programs and curriculum, and connecting youth to nature.[1] The sustainability coordinators that participate in the network are composed of faculty, staff, students, administrators, and other school decision makers.

History

The GSA was formed in October 2007 as a result of Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC and related challenge to all NYC facilities to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2050, with support from the NYC Mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), Consolidated Edison, National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and National Business Officers Association (NBOA).

The Allen-Stevenson School in NYC hosted the first GSA planning session that convened schools to address climate change and "what schools can do about it", and review the GSA Commitment. With additional guidance from the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), Second Nature and AASHE, the GSA primary and secondary school climate commitment was further refined. In November 2007, with a signatory group of 40 schools, the GSA was launched to the public at the US Green Building Council annual GreenBuild Conference when President Bill Clinton highlighted the GSA in his keynote speech. It is currently listed as one of the organizations committed to the Climate Education and Literacy Initiative launched by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)[2]

Green Schools Alliance today

The 501c3 nonprofit organization connects more than 9,000 schools,[3] districts,[4] and organizations worldwide, representing more than 5 million students in 48 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and 88 countries. Schools are participating individually or and as entire school districts[5] to share sustainability best practices and reduce their environmental footprint.[6] In January 2016, 21 school districts[7] formed the Green Schools Alliance District Collaborative[8]which will harness the collective power of schools to support greener, more efficient solutions. These districts will build and share best practices, leverage their combined purchasing power to increase access to sustainable alternatives, promote market transformation, and influence policy decisions. Charter members of the District Collaborative affect the lives of 3.6 million children in 5,726 schools with more than 550 million square feet of building area.

Membership to the GSA's online community is free. Schools and districts can also pledge the Sustainability Leadership where principals, heads of school, and superintendents pledge to take action in these areas: Reduce Our Climate & Ecological Impact, Educate & Engage Our Community, and Transform Our Culture.

Programs

GSA programs integrate education and action and aggregate and quantify progress. Using the building and campus as a teaching tool, students work alongside faculty and staff on projects from recycling, weatherizing, conducting energy audits, changing lights and replacing old boilers to improving science and technology education, restoring wetlands and planting green roofs. Best practices ripple outward from schools to families, to the workplace. GSA programs include:

  • Green Cup Challenge[9]
  • Student Climate & Conservation Corps (Sc3)[10]
  • GSA Online Community
  • GSA Sustainability Leadership Commitment
  • GSA Purchasing Solution
  • OnAir Schools
  • protostar
  • Sustainability Tracking and Roadmap Tool (START)

See also

References
  1. Mounce Stancil, Joanna. "Student Climate and Conservation Congress: Bright Young Minds". U.S.Forest Service. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  2. Bidwell, Allie (5 December 2014). "Obama Wants Kids to Learn About Global Warming.Read more: The administration wants students and teachers to toe the line on climate change". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  3. Kaye, Leon (14 June 2012). "Mayor Bloomberg Turns on NYC's First Wind Turbine at a City School". Inhabitat New York City. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  4. New York City Department of Education (13 January 2010). "Schools Facilities CEO John Shea, City Sustainability Deputy Director Adam Freed and Actor Matthew Modine Call on Schools to Reduce Energy Consumption by Joining the Green Cup Challenge". Highbeam.com. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  5. Lauren, Roth (22 April 2014). "Orange schools recognize Earth Day with green initiatives". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  6. Perryfirst=Katy (3 May 2013). "How schools across the US united to save 2.5M pounds of CO2". Greenbiz.com. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  7. "Large School Districts Come Together to Prioritize Sustainability - ED.gov Blog". ED.gov Blog. 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  8. "An alliance of superheroes from schools seek green strategies (podcast)". Lincoln Public Schools. Archived from the original on 2016-03-16.
  9. Peter, Gow (9 August 2013). "Public Purpose: Environmentalism in Independent Schools--and Others!". Education Week. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  10. Watson, Rob (30 June 2011). "Radical Confidence in the Next Green Generation". Greenbiz.com. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
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