The Eco School Award - Striving for Sustainability

by Vlad Nedelcu, Year 12

The ever-present climate crisis, spotlighted more and more in both the mainstream media nd on social media, has led to increasing numbers of people committing themselves to the cause of environmental sustainability. IBSB has joined this effort and plans to achieve the Eco-schools Green Flag award, a prestigious award given to an educational institution upon the completion of the seven step Ecoschools programme. For those interested in more details, please check the Eco-Schools website: www.eco-schools.org.uk/ about/what-is-eco-schools.

To this end, IBSB has consistently taken steps and made efforts to reach its ambitious goal through a couple of initiatives, such as the Student Executive Sustainability Committee and the Paper Tree CAS.

To begin with, the Sustainability Committee is part of the wider Student Executive, with its primary goal being improving sustainability and help IBSB in its effort to obtain the Green Flag award. Our main mission is to come up with achievable ideas and concrete plans of action. We have already managed to get in touch with the company FREPRAwhich supplied us with ten large recycling bins. By the start of term 2A the students of the main campus should be able to fully use the bins.

(https://fepra.ro/)

Furthermore, the Sustainability Committee is looking into other possibilities to spread awareness about the sustainable cause via presentations and cooperation with other organisations, such as the Paper Tree CAS, one of the CAS organisations which the sixth-form students partake in.

Paper Tree CAS is primarily focused on reducing the environmental waste generated by students. Every Wednesday, during period four, its members visit all the classrooms in the Primary and Secondary school buildings and collect the Paper Tree boxes designated for reusing and recycling paper. By now, you already know that each classroom hosts a Paper Tree box. The collected materials are then sorted in the Secondary Science Lab, before being taken to a recycling centre nearby.

It may not appear to be all that important, but Paper Tree CAS works hard to ensure that paper waste at IBSB is reduced and doesn’t end up harming our collective environment. We consider that it is of utmost importance that all students place only paper in the Paper Tree boxes. Be aware, however, these boxes do not coexist well with used tissues, hand sanitizer, or leftover lunch, to name a few. We have not been alone in our efforts. Ms Senzaconi, the Paper Tree CAS Coordinator, has helped us on every step of the way and deserves our heartiest thanks. Please feel free to contact her or any of the Paper Tree CAS members for any questions, requests or suggestions, regarding paper recycling in IBSB.

For ideas and proposals you might have on how to improve environmental sustainability within our school you can contact any of the Sustainability Committee members: Haidar Mrad, our chair, Vlad Nedelcu, the vice-chair, Tudor Georgescu, or Augadh Arora, committee members.