Dear friends and members of the Ecolint community,
Our commitment to the values that enshrined the very inception of this school directly after World War One are centred on peace. Today, this idea of peace extends from diplomatic and peaceful relations between nation states to inclusion, diversity, equity and anti-discrimination to the natural environment itself. For a regenerative future for humanity to flourish, we must be at peace with each other, at peace with the idea that the world will be a better place if it is more equitable and inclusive and, finally, at peace with our planet.
Climate change has become a direct threat to the biodiversity of the world and the future of life on earth. Dramatic increases in extreme events across the globe, affecting populations of the Global South in particular, a rise in the average world temperature, are anthropocenic in nature. Therefore it is through human decisions and behaviours that this catastrophe can be slowed down, mitigated and even reversed. We must remain hopeful and focussed on a solution-orientated approach.
The responsibility on educators to respond to this state of affairs is particularly acute, since it is in the lessons that we teach, the behaviours that we model and the culture of learning that we engender that more awareness, understanding and action can be encouraged in the present and the future. If schools do not embrace regenerative and sustainable systems through the global goals as a clear imperative, and put their heads in the sand, they will be tacitly contributing to the demise of our planet.
This is why sustainability is one of our core goals for 2023-2024 and will remain a central tenet of our work in the future. To reinforce this, we have taken the following steps this year:
- The appointment of a full time sustainability lead (Jan Dijkstra) to coordinate a clear, institutionalised approach to this theme.
- Every student, staff member and parent has been challenged to set themselves one sustainable habit that reduces energy consumption.
- A reduction of car use by 30% by all of our staff through our mobility plan
- A ban on single use plastics across the cafeteria in our schools.
- A shift towards increased plant-based diets, in line with the EAT-Lancet report.
- An agreed commitment to reduce flights for professional development and sports events.
- We are working with the company Sweep to ascertain objective data on our carbon footprint so as to analyse our carbon reduction over time.
Next academic year is Ecolint’s centenary and will be a celebration of who we are and where we are going through our 2024-2030 Strategic Plan (which will be released at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year). Our commitment to sustainability will be further developed through numerous projects, the main four in 2024-2025 being:
- A conference on sustainability featuring thought leaders, our own students and members of the community. Part of this will be the writing of a global white paper on education for sustainable development which Ecolint will lead.
- The release of a global citizenship education course for our students, anchoring their learning concretely in projects focussed on sustainability.
- The planting of trees and/or local flora across and/or around our campuses.
- Sustained efforts to Carbon inset the Alumni World Reunion (scheduled for June 2024) as much as possible.
Our established partnerships with the International Baccalaureate Office, Council of International Schools, UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education and Young Activists Summit reinforce the work we are doing for a more sustainable planet.
Ecolint joins those countries and entities that have declared a climate emergency. Care for our planet is of paramount importance and has never been more urgent.
We urge other schools and educational institutions to take concrete steps for regenerative change. Please consider joining our Schools for Regenerative Futures coalition by contacting our Sustainability Lead (jan.dijkstra@ecolint.ch) to work with us on a better today and tomorrow.
Conrad Hughes Jan Dijkstra
Director General Sustainability Lead