Victoria's next generation of sustainability leaders have shared their tips for making small changes for big impact – and you can do the same.
Since 2008, these simple ideas have helped more than 1400 Victorian schools participating in the ResourceSmart Schools Program collectively save more than $28 million and reduce more than 80,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases through energy, water and waste efficiencies.
As Victorian schools prepare their entries for the 2020 ResourceSmart Schools Awards, we look at some of the most innovative and practical ways our 2019 finalists made sustainability part of the everyday in their school.
Try them at home, in your community, or in your workplace and see how much you can save.
Colbinabbin Primary School – 2019 School of the year finalist
Buy smarter with a green purchase policy
Big changes are generating big impact in the tiny Victorian town of Colbinabbin. Colbinabbin Primary School's 'green purchase policy' supports ethical and sustainable purchasing decisions by school leaders and empowers students to make their own smarter choices as consumers. For example, the school returned its water cooler to encourage students to refill bottles from the tap and avoid purchasing bottled water.
A commitment to purchasing ethical, sustainable and locally-produced goods in your home or organisation supports the local economy and reduces 'food miles' – that is, the energy required, and greenhouse gases produced in the transport of goods you consume at home or at work.
