Sustainability in schools: What education suppliers need to know

Over the last few years, the Department for Education has released guidance to improve sustainability in schools and help education settings effectively adapt to climate change. The question is – are you aware of the guidance and how it might impact your future education marketing? Keep reading to find out.

What’s the government’s guidance on sustainability in schools?

The Department for Education published their sustainability and climate change strategy back in 2022, where they advised all education settings to nominate a sustainability lead and create a climate action plan by 2025. But what does this guidance actually look like in practice?

The introduction of sustainability leads

Sustainability leads are encouraged to establish and progress the school’s or education setting’s climate action plan. Their specific duties may vary depending on their unique setting, but generally their role involves leading the climate action plan, monitoring how their school or setting is progressing against its sustainability objectives, and reporting impact. The lead doesn’t have to work alone on improving sustainability – to achieve a greater impact, they’re encouraged to work with other staff members and adopt a whole-setting approach.

The introduction of climate action plans

Developed by the sustainability lead, the climate action plan is designed to help education settings start or progress their sustainability initiatives. It’s recommended that climate action plans cover these 4 areas:

What programmes are in place to support schools with sustainability?

The DfE has introduced various forms of sustainability support for schools, nurseries and colleges so far, including:

🌳 The National Education Nature Park

A free programme to help education settings engage learners with their outdoor spaces, and incorporate climate and nature into their curriculum.

🤝 Climate Ambassador Programme

A programme designed to help settings develop and implement their climate action plans with expert support from climate ambassadors, regional networks and Let’s Go Zero’s climate action advisors.

🏫 Education Estates Strategy

This is a 10-year plan to develop high-quality classrooms and school buildings that are inclusive by design, accessible, fit for purpose, futureproof and resilient to climate change.

📚 Sustainability Support for Education

An online support hub, commissioned by the DfE, that provides trusted resources, guidance and recommended actions for education settings to support with implementing their climate action plans.

These programmes collectively demonstrate the government’s commitment to a more sustainable education system and importantly for you, a greener system that’ll impact education suppliers and contractors too…

How does the new sustainability guidance impact education suppliers?

When choosing which education suppliers to work with, schools will continue to assess factors like value-for-money and curriculum relevance, but they’ll now consider sustainability too.

In fact, schools and education settings are now encouraged to choose suppliers who demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, and who can help them to develop and implement their climate action plans.

This is outlined clearly on the ‘Sustainability Support for Education‘ website (the DfE-commissioned service mentioned above), where they advise schools and education establishments to:

The guidance also outlines the various sustainability credentials schools can look out for in education suppliers such as published sustainability strategies, environmental commitments such as net zero targets, waste policies or biodiversity policies etc. They also emphasise the importance of suppliers being able to evidence their sustainability strategy:

Schools will be increasingly eager to work with suppliers who can demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. That’s why we recommend developing your organisation’s sustainability strategy so schools know your values and objectives align with theirs. 

Remember, if you don’t have a sustainability strategy, do not greenwash (falsely present your organisation to be sustainable when it isn’t) – just create a plan to develop one.

Sustainability in schools: Key things to remember

As climate change takes a more prominent position in government policy and the wider national and global agenda, we expect to see further support programmes and initiatives implemented over the next few years, alongside an increased demand in education for sustainable suppliers. 

By building your sustainability strategy and credentials now, you’ll be better equipped to support schools and education settings as their priorities and processes shift. Plus, you’ll be able to confidently demonstrate that you’re a supplier whose values align with theirs, helping you build lasting relationships with your chosen settings.

If you’d like to delve deeper into the government guidance and programmes mentioned above, head over to the government website for further information.