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Why sustainability is fundamental for schools?

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Kapes Co
Why sustainability is fundamental for schools?

Sustainability is a nice-to-have for independent schools? Think again. It’s fundamental, and here are 3 reasons why, based on the latest business thinking.

“Many people anticipate that sustainability might be an additional cost to their businesses (necessary or otherwise), but in fact it makes excellent economic sense. Every project that I oversaw had payback in both spheres.” Richard Carter, former Financial Director of Adnams – award-winning sustainable beverages company.

We share three reasons Carter and other business leaders have used sustainability to grow their organisations, and why it makes sense for schools. 

1. Go fast? Go alone. Go far? Go together

The 2020 pandemic gave businesses the experience of what it feels like to be unprepared for shocks to a system. A school, just like any other company, needs to think about making its business model resilient and prepared to face risks coming down the pipeline. One risk could be another pandemic, but it’s much more likely to be climate change related. Basic resource costs including water and energy are already increasing as natural resources come under environmental pressure. Climate change is fuelling economic uncertainty, a challenge that lies ahead for many individuals and parents. Schools need to manage these risks.

Collective action has shown itself to be effective in managing climate risk. In the business sector, many big corporations have come together in roundtables and coalitions in order to improve long-term resilience and sustainability for a whole sector. Working ‘pre-competitively’ takes opportunities for advancement out of the competitive market arena and focuses instead on improving the context in which individual businesses operate; outcomes and opportunities for all. One example is the food sector. The world’s largest food companies, from Tesco to McDonalds, are collaborating to improve the resilience in the global food systems, such as tackling deforestation caused by the beef production industry. This is an issue which affects everyone; working together makes the playing field more secure for all.
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