The Eco-Code
Your Eco-Code should be your mission statement. It should demonstrate, in a clear and imaginative way, your school's core values and commitment towards improving its environmental performance and striving towards a sustainable future.
What form should the Eco Code take?
The format of the Code is entirely up to the school. You have a license to be as creative as you like. Ideally, it could be a list of statements, an acrostic, song/rap or poem. The format should be appropriate for the age and ability of the pupils concerned.
TOP TIP: Link this task to literacy curriculum work!
Students should create this code, as it gives them a greater sense of ownership and responsibility for the programme and its values. Some schools even hold a schoolwide competition and vote for a winner.
The Eco-Code should be displayed in every classroom and on the Eco-Schools notice board, in communal areas and in the staff room. The content of the Code should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it continues to reflect the school's eco aims and targets as new issues are addressed. The Eco-Code should be linked to your Action Plan, covering real actions that students and staff intend to carry out.
TOP TIP: As outlined above, the Eco-Code can be an excellent ‘hook’ for informing and involving the whole school. Some schools have turned their Eco-Code into a ‘rap’ or slogan that all students and staff can use. A further development of this is the use of a catchy ‘mnemonic’ or ‘acronym’, where by the first letters of each line of the Eco-code spell out an aspect of the code.
For a list of further resources, please go to the Resources section of this site.
To contact an Eco-Schools Officer, please fill in the form on the Contact page.
- There is an agreement on some environmental statements for the school drawn up by the environmental group and agreed by the whole school.
- The Eco-Committee suggests an Eco-Code to the school for their agreement.
- The Eco-Code is displayed on the Eco-Schools notice board.
- The whole school is given the opportunity to make suggestions for what they believe should be included in the Eco-Code.
- The Eco-Committee creates a code using suggestions. The code is then presented to the rest of the school for approval.
- The Eco-Code is displayed on the Eco-Schools notice board and in all classrooms. It is also displayed in any communal areas, offices and staff rooms and on the school's web site (if the school has one).
- The Eco-Code is reviewed by the whole school every year to make sure it remains appropriate.