Educating students about environmental sustainability is an important step in addressing and mitigating climate change. Education for sustainability (EfS) is a component of school curricula designed to provide students with the knowledge and critical thinking skills to live sustainably. EfS aims to foster future environmental advocates and encourage pro-environmental behaviors. One example of EfS is the Ten Tonne Plan, an initiative created and implemented by a school near Perth, Australia. The plan used a systems thinking approach rather than fragmenting by discipline, and engaged the entire school community to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by ten metric tons within the first year of implementation. This research investigated the efficacy of this systems thinking approach and better understand how stakeholders perceived the school initiative.
The Ten Tonne Plan used information from the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative – Western Australia to design an educational strategy to teach students about sustainability. The curriculum was centered around two concepts: the ecological footprint and the social handprint. The ecological footprint focused on five areas, or “toes,” of sustainability: air quality, biodiversity, energy, waste reduction, and water conservation. The social handprint encouraged sustainable behaviors through social actions or programs, such as environmental education and community engagement. A volunteer association—the Maia Maia Emissions Reduction Currency system—supported the school during its sustainability initiative and calculated its emissions reductions. The association awarded shopping vouchers, termed “boyas,” to participants who reduced their GHG emissions.
The research occurred at an unnamed independent public school in Perth, Australia. The school served about 350 students ranging from 5 to 12 years old. The authors implemented three strategies to learn about the Ten Tonne Plan, its outcomes, and stakeholder perceptions: 1) conducted a document search for general information about school policies; 2) interviewed the school principal and project coordinator; and 3) disseminated a survey to 75 participants representing different stakeholder groups, including students, school faculty, parents, and school organization partners. The authors analyzed common themes from the survey results to gauge the program's efficacy.
The authors concluded that the Ten Tonne Plan successfully reduced the school's GHG emissions by ten tons within the first year of implementation as a result of community members adopting sustainable behaviors such as recycling, waste reduction, and walking or biking to school. The overall findings suggested that members from each stakeholder group were pleased with the initiative and felt the school should engage in a 50- or 100-ton emissions reduction plan.
Results showed that student participants believed the school initiative was a good idea. Students felt the boyas served as good motivation to reduce carbon because the vouchers allowed them to purchase items at community events. When asked about future initiatives, 50% of student participants wanted to achieve a 50-ton GHG emissions reduction, while 30% indicated a desire to achieve a 100-ton reduction.
Staff and faculty members expressed satisfaction with the program and showed support for a 50-ton reduction in GHG emissions. Faculty felt the program was important and should be implemented in other schools because they believed it increased students' environmental awareness. Staff also praised the program for increasing community members' environmental behaviors, such as recycling, gardening, and walking or biking for transportation. Similarly, school partners were proud of the initiative's success and emphasized the importance of educating students about sustainability at a young age.
A majority of the parent participants (84%) indicated that they engaged in sustainable activities with their kids. While parents indicated that the initiative taught their children important lessons about sustainability and served as a promising model for other schools, they also expressed concern about certain aspects of the program. For instance, parents stated that the program needed more community involvement and that informational signs should be placed throughout the school.
Practitioners should use caution when generalizing the results of this study as findings may differ for different schools and in other countries. This research was specific to this school and initiative, and another study undertaken in a different context may produce different results. Lastly, the study did not measure changes in environmental awareness but focused on self-reported information from the stakeholders.
The authors recommended that schools adopt similar initiatives, but felt it was important to consider the time and effort required for program implementation. They also suggested that schools develop an evaluation scheme to ensure the program is effective and that all stakeholders are engaged.
The Bottom Line
A public school in Perth, Australia, launched an Education for Sustainability (EfS) initiative—the Ten Tonne Plan—to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 10 tons within one year. The program used a systems thinking approach to encourage community members and students to adopt pro-environmental behaviors, such as recycling, gardening, and using alternative modes of transportation. Researchers interviewed stakeholders and disseminated surveys to student participants (aged 5-12 years), parents, school faculty, and school partners to explore perceptions of the program. The Ten Tonne Plan successfully met the GHG reduction goal and received positive feedback from all stakeholder groups. The findings demonstrated how schools can apply systems thinking to encourage environmental sustainability. The authors recommended that other schools implement similar programs but suggested tailoring the GHG emissions reduction targets to the size of the school and stakeholders' willingness to participate.