Low Carbon Schools Pilot Program

Transcription

1 Making Carbon Management Simple Low Carbon Schools Pilot Program Image courtesy of South Fremantle Senior High School Australia s first carbon neutral school. An information pack providing details of the Low Carbon Schools Pilot Program. For further information, please contact: Phill Raso Sustainability Transition Coordinator SimplyCarbon E: phill@simplycarbon.com.au Ph: *Please be aware that as this is a pilot program, elements of this information pack may be subject to change.

2 Overview The Low Carbon Schools Pilot Program is a new voluntary two year program developed in WA to assist schools to improve their sustainability and operating efficiency whilst reducing their carbon footprint. All schools - primary and secondary, public, independent and Catholic schools, will be eligible to participate in the program. The program will largely focus on those involved in operating school buildings and infrastructure, as well as those responsible for managing school budgets. A range of technical solutions will be explored along with behaviour change initiatives to reduce the carbon emissions that individual schools produce. By participating in this program, school staff, teachers, students and members of the school community will have the opportunity to improve their understanding of sustainability and resource management as well as identify innovative procurement and financing options to reduce resource consumption, carbon emissions and utility costs in their schools and communities. There will be a variety of opportunities for teachers to embed low carbon initiatives into the curriculum. Reduce your school s carbon emissions from electricity and gas by 20% Address emissions from the commute to school by staff and students Objectives Measure and reduce your school s water consumption and waste production Create a low carbon school community Create relationships with local sustainability businesses to build a local low carbon economy Enhance your connection with the AuSSI WA network Identify ways to embed low carbon initiatives into the curriculum Program Benefits Reduce the annual cost of operating your school Access expertise from experienced and qualified specialists Receive assistance to calculate your school s emissions and create emissions reduction strategies Access peer support through regular contact with other schools and the LCS Pilot Program facilitators Connect to local suppliers and receive help to sources discounts Create your own unique carbon management plan Carbon Schools program facilitators

3 Program Schedule The program is split into three phases: Workshops (6 months), Monthly Meet-ups (18 months) and Evaluation (6 months). 1. Workshops 2. Meet-ups 3. Evaluation During the first phase, five workshops will be held. These workshops will be run during the period of February to June The workshop topics are outlined below. The second phase, which runs over the remaining eighteen months, will focus on support for the implementation of initiatives. Participating schools will meet monthly to share progress, challenges and build a network. The third and final phase will be evaluating the program. This includes identifying the carbon and cost savings, and collecting feedback from each school on their overall achievements, obstacles and lessons learnt. Five workshops will impart valuable and practical knowledge around emissions management and the implementation and monitoring of initiatives. Guest speakers at the workshops will provide specific expertise and connect you to partner programs that can assist your school Policy & Governance Energy Food, Waste & Wellbeing Water & Transport Implementation Workshops Establishing a committee Setting targets Measuring progress Psychology behind behaviour change Toolkit folder for bills Sustainable procurement Sustainability policies Sustainability criteria for tenders Revolving energy fund Checking, negotiating and contesting your tariff Metering and sub-metering Energy audit results Renewable energy options at your school Community renewables GreenPower Preparing a business case, cost benefit analysis and payback periods Healthy eating Locally grown food Starting a permaculture garden Food miles Wastewise schools How to measure and reduce waste Indoor Environment Quality Green cleaning and low VOC alternatives Benefits of greenery Water audit results Measuring water use on site Strategies for reducing water consumption Measuring emissions from the commute to school Strategies for reducing travel emissions Cycling to school funding options Selecting relevant initiatives from the program to apply to your school Creating an action plan based on energy and water audit results Requesting quotes from suppliers How to fund initiatives Applying the business case

4 Program Fee Eligibility Criteria To be eligible to join the program, schools will need to: Obtain a letter from the school principal indicating their support for the school s participation; a commitment to participate for the entirety of the two year program; and a commitment to pursue retrofit opportunities and measures that have a realistic payback period. Establish a school sustainability committee consisting of at least three people - principal, deputy principal or registrar/business manager, a teacher and a P&C member. Secondary schools are also encouraged to include one or more student representatives. Commit to at least one person from the committee in attendance at each workshop Provide SimplyCarbon with access to relevant records and utility bills Commit to actively participate in the program and share learnings with other participants Complete of a survey to determine past and current sustainability initiatives in place at your school and participate in an evaluation of the program at the conclusion of the two year program The full fee to participate in the Low Carbon Schools Pilot Program is $12,500. As this is a pilot program, schools can become a Founding Member and pay a discounted fee of $6,500 if they enroll in the program before October 31 st, Founding Member $6,500 Enrol before Oct 31, 2015 A discounted fee of $9,900 is available if schools join the program between November 1 st and December 31 st, After this time, the full fee of $12,500 applies. It is expected that schools will be able to recoup the participation fee before the end of the two year program through the reductions in costs they achieve in energy, water and waste. Standard Member $9,900 Nov 1 to Dec 31, 2015 Standard Member $12,500 Jan 1, 2015 to Feb 15, 2016 To register your interest, click on the link below to go to the SimplyCarbon website. Register My Interest

5 The Low Carbon Schools Pilot Program is proudly supported by our founding partner Dr Vanessa Rauland BA (Nature Tourism), MSc (Environment and Resource Management energy & carbon management), PhD Vanessa is a Co-Founder and Director of SimplyCarbon and Research Manager and Lecturer at Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute (CUSP). Her research includes Decarbonising Cities, Low Carbon Schools and Innovative Financing and Governance for Green Infrastructure at the Precinct Level. She coordinates and lectures in two Master Units at CUSP: Climate Policy and Decarbonising Cities and Regions. Using a grant from the CRC in Low Carbon Living, Vanessa conducted a scoping study on Low Carbon, High Performance Schools in Australia. She has presented at numerous conferences and events on the topic of Low Carbon Schools. About SimplyCarbon Dr Samantha Hall B.Comm, M.Sc (Sustainability Management), PGDip. Project Management, PhD Samantha is a Co-Founder and Director of SimplyCarbon. Sam completed her PhD at Curtin University where she led a project for the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre Performance Assessment of Commercial Buildings project. Her areas of expertise include green building (with a particular focus on health and productivity in the workplace) and construction and occupancy assessments of buildings to improve holistic performance. Sam is trained and experienced in the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS), National Australian Built Environment Rating Scheme (NABERS), Green Star certification and carbon accounting. Portia Odell BA (Environmental Science & Policy), PhD Candidate Portia is a Project Manager at SimplyCarbon, coordinating the Low Carbon Schools Program. She is a Research Associate at Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute (CUSP) and was the key researcher on the CRC funded Low Carbon, High Performance Schools Research Report at CUSP in Portia is currently undertaking a PhD at CUSP on the topic of mainstreaming low carbon, high performance schools. Portia is also the Communications Manager at etool, which has developed unique Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software to optimise sustainable design of the built environment. She is trained in etool s software and is undertaking a carbon management course. Phill Raso BA (Outdoor Ed), GDip (Education), PGCert & PGDip (Sustainable Urban & Regional Planning), MA (Ecologically Sustainable Development) Graphics Credits: The Noun Project s Nicolo Bertoncin, Ian Kirkland, Wilson Joseph, Juan Pablo Bravo, Ricardo Moreira, Yazmin Alanis, Matthew Hawdon, Jessica Lock, Lance Hancock, Kenneth Von Alt, Vicons Designs Phill Raso is SimplyCarbon s Sustainability Transition Coordinator. Phill is a qualified teacher and sustainability professional and has over fifteen years of experience working in environmentally focused professions. Using expertise in organisational psychology and sustainable development, he wrote his Masters thesis on strategies to achieve sustainability across public schools in Western Australia. More recently, he has worked as a Sustainability Officer and a Geography teacher in a large Catholic school in Canberra where he set best practice in waste management. As well as working for SimplyCarbon, Phill is on the teaching staff at Murdoch University.