Themes

The Green School - Advancing a Step Towards Sustainable Behaviour

23 Nov 2024

Launched in April 2017 by Tata Steel Foundation and TERI, The Green School Initiative aims to foster behavior change for environmental conservation and build resilience in vulnerable communities. It drives school ecosystems by exploring curriculum connections, implementing action projects, and conducting capacity-building activities across four major themes: Energy, Water, Forest & Biodiversity, and Waste, with links to Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030. The initiative focuses on empowering middle school students, teachers, and community members through capacity building training programs to spread climate change mitigation and adaptation messages to a wider audience.

Launched in 2017, the project has expanded significantly in its seventh phase, growing from 10 schools in 2 states to 110 schools across 6 states — Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. It now engages over 35,000 students and 1,100 teachers, fostering student-led initiatives that promote sustainability on a larger scale.

Building on the achievements of Phase VI, Phase VII further integrates climate change, INDCs, and Sustainable Development Goals into school curricula by creating age-appropriate learning modules. These modules include hands-on activities designed to inspire creative thinking and environmental action. Location-wise teacher training programs, capacity-building workshops also referred to as “BeEcoMatic workshops,” and expert sessions were integral components of this initiative. A major highlight of this initiative is the promotion of traditional knowledge and practices rooted in India’s heritage and active participation of students in actionable projects with communities, such as organizing rallies, setting up bamboo drip irrigation systems, creating compost, producing bio-enzymes, recycling paper, and engaging in hands-on activities.

WSDS 2025

To amplify the impact of environmental initiatives, the project's learnings were shared at national and international platforms. As part of Phase VII, the project’s insights were showcased to the global community at the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2024 in the thematic track, “Partnering for a Greener Future.” This thematic track highlighted how The Green School initiative integrates environmental education into the school curriculum. Opportunities were explored to identify ways in which partnerships with different stakeholders could help scale the project’s journey.

Phase VII continues to empower students to act as agents of change by adopting traditional practices and working on actionable projects to instill behavior change among their peers. Through hands-on involvement, students are encouraged to lead initiatives that promote sustainability and environmental stewardship, inspiring their communities to follow suit. This approach fosters a deep sense of responsibility towards the environment and equips students with the skills to drive long-lasting positive change.