GESS – International School announced its commitment to sustainability during the recent Earth Day. Read on to find out what green initiatives the school has in the pipeline.
Sustainability is more than just a concept in GESS – International School. Since its inception, the school has been progressively integrating this concept along with social responsibility into its curriculum and around the campus so that students can learn by practice. For example, the school has a decarbonisation roadmap that aims at reducing consumption, and is actively measuring its carbon footprint. In addition, student-initiated and -led initiatives (such as the Green and Care Committee) involve the young generation in raising awareness of environmental issues and encouraging sustainable practices.
GESS’ green journey started with the building of its current campus
Fun fact: the school’s green efforts started way back in 2018. GESS’ Dairy Farm Lane campus was awarded the Green Mark Gold Certification by Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority. This is a rating system that evaluates a building’s environmental impact and performance.
GESS has also switched to energy-efficient lighting in the past few years to reduce waste. Just last year, the school introduced rooftop solar panels to harness renewable energy too.
GESS made a Sustainability Commitment on the recent Earth Day
In conjunction with Earth Day on 22 April, the school is working towards shaping a brighter, greener, and more responsible future one step at a time. Jason Hoppner, GESS’ Director of Operations and Customer Experience, shared that they have a few new initiatives in the plans.
“We will shortly be installing our first electric vehicle charger on campus to support Singapore’s goal of achieving 100% cleaner energy vehicles by 2040. Come summer break, we’ll also be building an exciting new Eco-Garden, which will serve as a hands-on learning environment for our students,” Jason said.
The Eco-Garden is a particularly exciting addition for the campus, as it’ll be an outdoor ‘classroom’ for students to learn about ecology, agriculture, and sustainability. This will also be an edible garden, as the school plans to grow vegetables and herbs that will be used to whip up healthy meals in its canteen.
Everyone plays a role in shaping a greener future
Whether you’re a staff, student, or a family member of a student, Jason believes that everyone can do their part to help the school achieve its green goals. He explained, “Participation can be as simple as adopting the three ‘R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle; or participating in school-led sustainability projects and initiatives. We always encourage our community to share innovative ideas that can contribute to our green footprint too.”
Keen to see sustainability in action? Book a tour to visit GESS’ green campus today, where you can learn more about how the school integrates sustainability into its curriculum and learning environment.
This post is in partnership with GESS – International School.
