The recently formed Foundation Environmental Sustainability Working Group met for the first time on 3rd May. The group includes a representative from each of the twelve Foundation schools, along with two Foundation Office members of staff and Governor representation from the Chair of the Foundation Finance and Investment Committee. It serves as an important and exciting step forward for the Foundation and Academy Trust providing another example of the increasing focus on working collaboratively across our organisation.
The first meeting looked at:
- agreement on the working group terms of reference;
- reviewing the Foundation’s initial Sustainability Strategy and Environmental Sustainability Statement;
- high-level overview of current sustainability initiatives at each school; and
- agreement of next steps, focusing on baselining the progress made to date by each school so that future improvements can be identified, measured and reported on.
The group will meet regularly over the coming months to build on the environmental sustainability initiatives already in place at our schools. It will work with students and a wide range of stakeholders to convert the aspirations set out in the Foundation Sustainability Strategy into a detailed set of action plans to deliver impactful change and improvement. The first meeting was full of passion and ideas, from how we can involve students in the energy audit and energy improvement work currently being undertaken across our schools by Briar, to how we can engage a wide range of stakeholders in future meetings, including parents, external experts and students.
Anybody interested in finding out more about the Foundation’s environmental sustainability work can contact Tom Rowland, Director of Finance and Operations: [email protected]
