Our key sustainability commitments
Anna Seward Primary School | 2023
Education
We are dedicated to preparing and empowering our children and young people for a world shaped by climate change. We promote sustainable learning and embed climate education across the curriculum, around school and in our extra-curricular activities. We encourage learning both inside and outside of the classroom, ensuring that our students have increased access to outdoor learning. We support and empower student engagement and leadership, including eco committees and student-led environmental projects.
Learning environment
The ATLP has invested in significant building work to create modern, energy-efficient education environments designed to support the Government’s net zero target. We have installed solar panels, LED lighting upgrades and smart thermostats.
We encourage biodiversity – protect green spaces and create nature-friendly school environments with tree planting, wildflower areas, rainwater harvesting/water butt installations.
Waste
We aim to minimise waste by cutting single-use plastics, boosting/responsible recycling and moving towards zero net practices.
Operations
In addition to our commitment to creating more sustainability across education, our Support Services team work with schools and partners to keep sustainability at the forefront of ATLP’s business operations. Whenever possible, we expect our suppliers to meet environmental standards in the services and goods they provide.
Food sustainability
We have introduced a paperless catering management system to reduce our carbon footprint. All of our food packaging is recyclable, and we continue to increase the level of fresh vegetables, fruit and plant-based meals on our menus. We are committed to working with our suppliers to build greater transparency within supply chains. The meat we use is red tractor assured, our fish carries the marine stewardship approval, and the eggs are free-range.”
The ATLP’s Catering Team has achieved Food for Life Served Here Bronze certification from the Soil Association for serving healthy and sustainable meals across all schools. Food for Life Served Here certification recognises and celebrates caterers who use sustainable ingredients, champion good practice and cook from scratch. The accreditation also highlights the Catering Team’s ongoing efforts to reduce food miles, support local suppliers and ensure our pupils and communities have access to nutritious, responsibly sourced meals every day.
IT Services
We are committed to integrating sustainability into everything we do, including how we manage our technology. This includes refurbished laptop trials, reusing equipment wherever possible maximises the life cycle of our equipment and reduces unnecessary waste, ensuring a more responsible use of resources.
As part of our Learning Futures programme, we partner with a dedicated repair service to ensure that any damaged iPads are repaired whenever possible. This not only reduces waste but extends the usable life of each device.
Energy Saving Through Smart IT Management – We’ve a number of group policies in place to automatically power down devices when not in use, promoting both energy efficiency and cost savings. We kindly remind all staff to switch off laptops, desktops, iPads, monitors, screens, and other electrical equipment when not in use—every small action helps!
Printing
As we embrace our digital transformation journey, our commitment to innovation and sustainability is at the forefront of our strategy. Aligned with our Learning Futures programme, we are streamlining our printing processes to ensure that we enable a greener, more efficient future.
Sustainable travel
We promote sustainable transportation options, such as walking, cycling, and public transport, to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and promote healthier lifestyles.
