Skip to content
Home » Sustainable schools » Sustainable schools – act

Sustainable schools – act

Make the everyday running of your school more sustainable with these tips and resources.

Case Studies

See what schools in the district and beyond have been doing.

Facilities and Buildings

Ideas to improve your bills, wellbeing and carbon impact.

Waste & Recycling

Reduce, reuse and recycle with students and parents to save money and waste.


Pupils at Crabtree Infants washing up their reuse-able milk cups

Case Studies


Fleetville Junior School’s Eco School notice board

Facilities and Buildings

  • Policies and Approaches:
    • Make a Sustainability Policy for your school’s students and staff to work towards
    • How Green is Your School podcast is a very useful overview of the role of schools in environmental sustainability, and tips for where to begin, by Kate Mouncey (Associate Assistant Head Teacher & Director of Sixth Form at Sandringham School)
    • Join the Let’s Go Zero campaign which unites and supports UK schools working together to be carbon zero by 2030 through providing support and advice on, for example, energy use, car-free school runs and plant-based canteens.
    • Ecosia – why not switch your school search engines to default to this one that plants trees for every search made.
  • Energy & Electricity:
    • Calculate your school’s Carbon footprint using online UK government resources
    • Look at the Energy in Schools website: a helpful tool aid for schools to be more energy aware and reduce their energy, whilst giving the opportunity for pupils to use BBC micro:bit technology to solve problems.
    • See where your school’s heat is escaping by borrowing a thermal imaging camera. Children love to use these too: see what Sandringham school and Killigrew School did when they borrowed one. Beaumont School used the camera to check their recently installed windows, and heat losses from other doors and windows. To borrow the Community Camera (available for week+ loans, for free) contact the Harpenden Camera Team directly at thermal.imaging@sustainablestalbans.org 
  • Food & Diet:
    • Join Meat Free Mondays and try their impact calculator, where you can find out your impact on animals, people and the planet by having meat-free days.  For learning resources, see our Learn Page – Reducing Meat Consumption.
    • Olio for Schools – help schools pass surplus food to those in need; also teaching resources and activities
    • What is your schools milk solution? Still using individual cartons with plastic straws? Why not ask your milk provider to supply large cartons which you serve in cups? Read how one local school changed this.
  • Greening and planting:
  • With students:
    • Talk about Climate change with students and teachers. We have plenty of resources in our Learn section
    • Join The Pod, and interactive sustainability website with resources such as the ‘Switch On to Switching Off lesson plan’
    • Wombles Campaigns: The Wombles were always ahead of their time, championing sustainability, a love of nature and the importance of community. Check out the Wombles Sustainability website to see how to get involved with any of their campaigns including: The Wombles Great British Spring Clean, The Wombles Meat Free Monday, The Wombles & National Tree Week.
    • Sustainable St Albans Climate Champions are available to give talks in assembly or to Year groups. Contact vanessa.sharp@sustainablestalbans.org
  • With Parents and PTA:

Waste and Recycling

  • Consider hard to recycle items:
    • Recycle your crisp packets
    • Investigate TerraCycle’s hard to recycle solutions including crisp cans, makeup, stationery and more
    • Herts Sustainable Periods – free reusable period product demonstration kit and training for teachers (how to use and clean the products, health and environmental benefits). If anyone is interested please email periods@hertfordshire.gov.uk.