Sustainable Schools - Glossary

Sustainable Schools

Glossary

Campus

The school buildings and grounds. Sometimes also referred to as the school estate.

Community

This includes not only those within schools – pupils, staff and governors – but also people in the wider community, for example parents and carers, suppliers, local organisations and businesses.

Eco-efficiency

Eco-efficiency is a management strategy that links financial and environmental performance to create more value with less ecological impact.

Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is quite simple - it's about thinking about how to save as much energy as possible. The average school could save money by implementing energy efficiency measures. This would result in a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Ethical goods & services

Goods and services provided by companies involved in a process of trying to ensure that the basic labour rights of the employees of their third world suppliers are respected.

Sustainable development

Sustainable development will enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life, without compromising the quality of life of future generations.

Sustainable school

A sustainable school is essentially one which is guided through the principle of care:

• care for oneself
• care for each other, across cultures, distances and time
• care for the environment, both far and near.

Whole-life costs

This includes not only the cost of acquiring a facility, but also that of operating and maintaining a school over its whole life, including any costs relating to its sustainability.

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