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Making sustainability a strategic priority

Mobilise your school or trust to embed environmental sustainability into its vision, strategy and practice, in line with the DfE's sustainability strategy. Find out how to get started and get your whole school or trust community involved.

Last reviewed on 20 March 2025See updates
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 45949
Contents
  1. Why act on sustainability now?
  2. Get buy-in from your governors
  3. Find out how sustainable your current practice is and report back to your governors
  4. Collaborate with governors to put sustainability at the heart of your vision 
  5. Agree a strategy with your governors
  6. Set ambitious goals
  7. Create a climate action plan to address your goals
  8. Your governing board will monitor progress

Why act on sustainability now?

In April 2022, the DfE published its sustainability and climate change strategy, to improve sustainability in schools. In December 2023, it published a summary of progress so far.

While the DfE hasn't imposed any reporting requirements on schools yet, its strategy may ultimately have an impact on your curriculum, school premises, procurement processes and more.

Prepare for these changes by embedding sustainability across your school. With rising costs and budget constraints, reducing energy usage and other waste will also save you money.

Don't worry if you’re just getting started on this journey – below you'll find out how to take your first steps to embed sustainability across your school or trust.

The DfE expects you to have a climate action plan

Decarbonisation, such as finding ways to be more energy efficient and taking action to reduce carbon emissions Adaptation and resilience, for example taking action to