Greening the Classroom: Sustainable Tips for an Eco-Friendly Return to School

The start of September usually brings to mind the start of another school year. It’s crucial that we start to consider the environmental impact of going back to school. From the stationery we use to the energy we consume, small changes can make a big difference. In this blog post, we’ll explore practical tips to make going back to school a greener and more eco-friendly experience.

Eco-Friendly Stationery

One of the most tedious tasks when it comes to preparing to go back to school is buying stationery. There is stationery you can buy which is inherently eco-friendly, this includes notebooks made from recycled paper or pens made out of sustainable material such as bamboo. Brands committed to reducing their ecological footprint are worth supporting and remember, every little bit helps.

Zero-Waste Lunches

The start of the new school year also means the preparation of school lunches. Whenever possible, make an effort to not generate any waste from the lunch prepared. Waste can easily be avoided by making adequate portions, using reusable containers, cloth napkins and reusable water bottles instead of single-use plastic. When preparing lunches in the future, keep in mind the amount of packaging waste that might be generated from particular products.

Make Use of Carpooling and Transportation

Throughout the school year, there are dozens of instances where one finds themselves sitting in traffic on the way to or from school. This is because parents often take their children to school using their personal car. Carpooling offers a solution to not only the issue of traffic but it is also greener and more convenient! It would be much more eco-friendly if in the same car there would be three or even four school children. When this happens on a big enough scale, this could remove dozens of cars from the road. This leads to less congestion, less emissions and less pollution. School transport is another good alternative which is less harmful for the environment.

Green Classroom Initiatives

Aside from what parents can do to help make going back to school greener, schools also have a big part to play in making this transition eco-friendlier! There is a wide range of changes that schools can undertake to make a greener environment for students. This would include changes like incorporating plants in classrooms to help improve air quality. Schools could also set up waste reduction programs and educate their students on the importance of reducing waste wherever and whenever possible. This can be done through the implementation of sorting bins and awareness campaigns on the environment and sustainability. Schools can also partner with eco-conscious vendors which can stock the school cafeteria with healthy but also environmentally friendly food. Lastly, it’s of the utmost importance that schools promote student activism whenever possible, especially in terms of the environment and sustainability. This can be done by encouraging students to set up green clubs which the students themselves actually run and manage. This empowers students to take more responsibility and engages them to act when necessary to be more eco-friendly.

In conclusion, the new school year always brings about new challenges for parents, students and schools. Amongst these challenges, there’s also the concern to be more sustainable in the way we live. Therefore with these little changes, everyone can benefit from the positive impacts that will be enjoyed by the environment. Every little bit counts and if everyone pulls in the same direction, we can make a real difference!

Our GO Green Initiative

At GO plc, we’re not just a telecommunications company, we’re a group of people who connect people all over Malta and Gozo. We strive to maintain this connectivity, not just digitally, but also physically. It’s important that we take care of our physical environment so that future generations can also enjoy the same connectivity. That’s why we’ve set up GO Green, an extension of GO primarily focusing on helping sustain and improve the environment whenever possible.

This blog post was written by Benjamin Thomas Scerri – Sustainability Associate, GO Green.

Benjamin is a member of the GO Green team. His main focus is keeping track of new ways in which to make GO more sustainable wherever and whenever possible.