How Do Schools Contribute To Carbon Footprints?
As an academic institution, a school is designed to provide learning environments and learning spaces for students under the instructions and supervision of the teachers. However, a study reports that schools emit 9.4 metric tonnes of greenhouse gases each year.
The use of heaters and boilers in winters, the waste generated by students and employees, and the activities of companies providing goods and services to schools contribute to carbon emissions. Many CBSE schools in Chennai (https://www.babajividhyashram.org/) have realised the need to reduce carbon emissions.
Fortunately, if all schools take effective actions, it is predicted that educational institutions will reduce their carbon footprints to half by 2020. Many good schools in Chennai are implementing effective measures to curb carbon emissions. Let’s see how your school can contribute to the same.
Measures Schools Can Take To Curb CO2 Emissions
Schools can reduce carbon emissions by taking measures consistent with their core values, such as teaching and ensuring the academic welfare of students.
- Use of fewer vehicles
Schools can reduce their carbon footprint by encouraging students, teachers, and other school personnel to travel more actively. Encourage students to walk or ride their bicycles to school, switch to a renewable energy provider, and reduce their energy consumption.
- Reducing and recycling waste
Reducing carbon footprints in schools can be accomplished by increasing the amount of waste you recycle, teaching your students how to properly dispose of waste, and showing them a documentary on the negative impact of unrecycled materials. School recycling programmes can ensure that used printer cartridges and old mobile phones are not disposed of in the landfill, reducing waste generated on campus and providing families with a convenient drop-off point. To reduce your school’s carbon footprint, use recycled copy paper. It helps create more green jobs, promotes local recycling industries, and conserves precious natural resources.
- Use renewable energy
Consider converting your school into a clean energy power station by installing rooftop solar panels and selling clean energy to your community during the school holidays. If your school building is poorly insulated, you can reduce energy consumption by installing motion sensor lighting. You can also monitor and report energy consumption and set targets for lowering it.
- Use environment-friendly products
It is essential to review school purchases to reduce carbon footprints. The schools should select the products made using environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. For example, compost can be made in school gardens instead of purchasing them from garden supply stores. You can also encourage students to use reusable cutlery and bottles and recycle soft plastics through REDcycle.
Simple Measures To Make The Earth Greener
- Teach children about the benefits of trees and why it is important to care for our natural environment.
- Apply for grants to help fund projects that benefit the environment.
- Encourage students to form their own environmental club and carry out environment-related activities.
- Switch to energy-saving light bulbs, reduce the temperature by one or two degrees, and turn off lights.
- Reduce your carbon footprint by reducing your waste, reusing IT equipment, and recycling waste.
The Closing Chapter
Your school can reduce its environmental impact by taking positive environmental actions. You could be raising a generation of little waste warriors who will carry that knowledge into adulthood and their homes, passing on what they have learned at school to their children and grandchildren. Read More