This article was originally featured in PAISBOA’s Friday Flyer.
With Earth Day around the corner, PAISBOA recently hosted a webinar on Leading Change: Environmental Sustainability. Sponsored by PECO Smart Energy, the program featured Mary Ann Boyer and Anne Sudduth of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants along with Chief Financial Officers Frank Aloise from Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH) and Miriam Fisher Schaefer of Friends Central School (FCS).
PECO’s Patricia Forero, shared energy efficiency incentives for schools that save money and reduce environmental impact. For schools that have not yet taken advantage of this program, eligible projects including lighting upgrades and more.
Mary Ann Boyer and Anne Sudduth of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants provided guidance on steps to lead change based on their experience guiding K-12 schools, colleges and businesses to adopt environmentally sustainable practices. Their top take-aways included:
Engage a broad team with representatives from key areas such as facilities, cafeteria food service, business office, faculty and students.
Track data on environmental impact area (such as waste, energy, or water) and engage students to conduct audits
Start small and create momentum or a “snowball effect” with projects that are visible and engage the community
Tell powerful stories that share project progress and inspire action
In order to demonstrate the power of these and other steps, Aloise and Schaefer provided insight to their respective school’s decision making process. Both noted that large projects, like SCH’s solar panel installation and FCS’s recent Energy Saving Initiative, come with significant upfront costs; yet they noted that in the long run, these projects pay off. However, not all sustainability projects have to cost money. There are ways to get started without investing a lot of capital and some projects can be deliberately cost neutral. To achieve success on getting sustainability initiatives started, Aloise advised, “Don’t go to school leadership with a problem. Go with a solution.” He added, “We are faced with trying times,” he noted, “Solutions that don’t cost much money can still have a positive impact, especially when you have the passion and energy of a school’s green team behind an idea.”
Schaefer attributed her school’s success with sustainability to a diverse and passionate team. Shaefer advised, “Find the people who care about environmental sustainability and together they can tackle projects.” When Schaefer first introduced the idea of forming a green team, she invited the entire school community and asked for any volunteers. She was pleasantly surprised to hear back from people from all aspects of the school -- from a facilities team member who is passionate about native plants to the summer programs director who emerged as a co-leader of FCS’s green team.
Interested in sustainability at your school? Please consider joining the PAISBOA Sustainability Group which includes faculty, business officers, administrators, and heads of school who lead or champion sustainability within their schools. For more information email Ron Hill at rhill@paisboa.org or Mary Ann Boyer at maryann@boyersudduth.com.
Written by Shannon Ruane, Sustainability Intern, Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants.
