Sustainable school cultures: a democratic methodology for transitioning schools to net-zero

Abstract

There is a pressing need for scholarly work which explores the specific ways in which schools can reduce their carbon emissions on a path to achieving net-zero by 2050 in line with UK government guidelines. This article makes several key contributions to literatures on net-zero, education for environmental sustainability (ESD) and school-based professional cultures. 1) It provides what we understand to be the first complete practical methodology that enables schools to account for their carbon emissions; 2) it argues that this data is key for galvanising pro-environmental student actions in which students can become agents of change supporting schools on their net-zero journey; 3) we develop the concept of ‘sustainable school cultures’ to argue that carbon accounting is more than a technical process and must begin by and be enabled through creating a distinctive ethos of methodological transparency and collaboration.

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ORCID for Cyrus Golding: orcid.org/0000-0001-5580-4362

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